Why ‘Made in Canada’ matters – Wee Urban Ltd.
I’ve always been proud to be Canadian – but never more so than on November 11, 2001.
I was in France backpacking while teaching overseas and, on a whim, a bunch of Canadian women and I decided to take a ferry to Calais to see Vimy Ridge. We navigated through a small town and stumbled upon a Remembrance Day ceremony. The fact that we were there on November 11 was completely un-intentional but the most fitting co-incidence.
We watched as the French vets marched down the street and played their anthem. Next came the Canadian anthem as our flag rose up the pole – and I was completely overcome. With patriotism. With pride. With appreciation.
At the end of the ceremony, one of the French veterans came over and said “our boys would be so proud to have you Canadian gals here.” I’ll never forget that day or how I felt – thinking about his aged face, the stories he would have told, the legacy he would one day leave behind…still wells me up.
When I started WeeUrban many years later, making my products in Canada was really important to me – and remains so to this day. I’m proud that I can help support the local economy, that my kids can see where my products are made and walk freely on the floor of the factory. That our manufacturers (many of whom I consider family at this point) are safe and treated fairly – something workers in many parts of the world can’t count on, sadly.
As I run my business and go about my life as a busy Mom, I work hard to remember how lucky we are to live in this free and peaceful country – and that we have this privilege because of those who fought on our behalf decades ago, in that place I stumbled upon all those years ago.
On November 11, I make a point to be particularly grateful – and I hope you will too. As for WeeUrban, we’ll continue to make in Canada for as long as there is the opportunity and available resources to do so. I hope that’s forever, and thanks to those that have stuck with us.