Making Canada stronger.
One small business at a time.

Dear Canada,

Thank you for inspiring the imagination of countless Canadian authors. Our home-grown stories help preserve our heritage and ensures that our voices continue to be heard.

My family has operated the Anne of Green Gables Museum & Store on Prince Edward Island for over 20 years. ...We are very grateful for all the support we have received as it allows us to give back to the community by hiring locally and showcasing locally made products.

Anne of Green Gables is a Canadian story but famous around the world. We get to meet and greet visitors from all over, who cherish the story and want souvenirs to take home. We sell many Anne of Green Gables products from porcelain and plush dolls, mugs, key chains, and many books, including special editions.

My family, who is related to the author L.M. Montgomery, also works in the Anne Store and helps design new products every year. Even after 112 years, Anne of Green Gables is still a beloved literary figure and we are proud to support the legacy of this Canadian icon.

Dear Canada,

I am grateful for the opportunity you have given me to create and grow my business. Curls and Confidence is a proud Canadian owned business. It is part of our brand identity. I started with nothing but had passion, ambition, and a vision. I was a student in love with the idea of creating a box full of natural curly hair products. The opportunity to bring ...my idea to life was supported by the City of Toronto, Summer Company, BIZ Start, and Business in the Streets. With their advice and help, I was able to launch Curls and Confidence, get business loans, and invest myself fully into developing my small business. I also have a community of support, including mentors and clients that choose to support local black businesses. I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for the support of my community and country.

Thank you Canada!

LightLeaf Solar started as a hobby project in a garage. Now, LightLeaf Solar employs two individuals to manufacture and market our lightweight, tough and stylish solar-panels; custom-made for specific environments. In one year, we have made a lightweight solar canopy for a boat company, drawer-style arrays for off-grid camper vans and contoured, ...easily mountable panels for teardrop trailer manufacturers across Canada & the US. Still growing, LightLeaf Solar is preparing to move into a new working space to further refine the manufacturing process and increase the production capacity.

Everyone in the company has Saskatchewan prairie roots. We all share the values of hard work, resourcefulness, and self-reliance, and have seen it payoff. Our willingness to self-teach, experiment, and draw on a wide range of abilities has led to the creation of a truly innovative product, the likes of which exists nowhere else globally. We are proud to be a small business that is #MakingCanadaStronger!

Jaiho Accessories was proudly born and raised in Canada, just like the owner of the company. We believe Canada is an amazing country because of the breadth of diversity in the people and cultures that make up our communities - and Calgary is no exception. In the spirit of bringing communities together, Jaiho Accessories creates high quality handcrafted jewelry and accessories inspired by travels and other cultures around the world. ...We’re proud to be a part of Calgary’s vibrant community that celebrates diversity and encourages self-expression.

Through these tough times of the global pandemic, we realized that small businesses are the true backbone of the Canadian economy. The sincere outpouring of support from our customers and fellow Canadian small businesses continues to energize us and has helped us become more resilient to the on-going challenges. We are grateful to be able to give support back to local businesses and bring the feeling of “jaiho”, which is good vibes and victory, to our clients and community. Jaiho Accessories is proud to be #MakingCanadaStronger.

Dear Canada,

As a small business among a great nation, we are grateful. Canada has a great history of doing the hard work of building, producing, and innovating for well over a century. As we enter a new era, Atlantic Hose & Fittings is very thankful for all the Canadians before us that have helped shape the country to where it is today. Small businesses from coast to coast have paved the way for us and ...we will strive to continue to pave the way for future Canadians. Atlantic Hose & Fittings couldn’t ask for a better country to become established. Thank you Canada!

We are proud to be a Canadian small business because of the freedom we have been given to pursue our dreams. We are proud of the tREv principles we promote: trust, respect, educate, and value and are thankful for the opportunity to connect with so many different people and diverse cultures within Canada. As a Canadian business, we stand together with ...all Canadians and look forward to continuing to build our message and use our brand as a symbol of inclusion, growth, and love!

As a small business, we appreciate Canada for being a nation that encourages creativity and entrepreneurship. Little Elska started in 2014, while I was on maternity leave with my youngest daughter Kylie. While she took naps, I was sewing at our kitchen table. Fast forward to 2020, and we have grown to have our own retail store front, 6 industrial embroidery machines, and ...a large warehouse space. We wholesale our line of stuffed animals to over 100 embroidery companies which enables stay-at-home moms to have a small business of their own as well. We’re proud to do our part in #MakingCanadaStronger!

Our handmade minky blankets and stuffies have been loved around the world, and even by a few celebrities! Providing a safe, high quality keepsake to fellow moms that becomes so valuable and precious, makes our work so rewarding. Support and recognition from a national company like Purolator, helps small Canadian businesses like Little Elska grow.

Being based in the bustling city of Toronto has woken us up to see how important our goal of providing Canadians with a better night’s sleep is, now more than ever. 2020 is the year of standing up, fighting for what we believe in, overcoming challenges, and taking action. All this requires energy, ...strength, and determination – which come after a good night’s rest.

We’re here to remind Canadians to be cognisant of their mental health during these difficult times. Only by remembering to take care of ourselves, can we be fully prepared to take care of others.

Hush blankets is beyond proud to provide Canadians with a natural solution to reduces stress, anxiety, and equip our city with the restful sleep required to keep doing the things that are most important to us. #MakingCanadaStronger

Dear Canada,

I am thankful to this country for giving me the chance to receive an education and for the opportunities it has opened for me. As I finish my business diploma, I am grateful to have been able to open Appearance Window & Door Ltd. as the first step in pursuing my dreams. As a Canadian, I am proud of the support that the Canadian government has provided businesses and ...individuals. The wage subsidy has helped keep my business running through these difficult times of COVID-19.

I started out in 2014, by helping my community fix their windows and doors. At first, it was just my father and I. My father has a lot experience from the window industry and taught me how to install and do repairs. We worked hard to get where we are today. We currently have 4 employees and we are proud of being able to create job opportunities for Canadians. As a small business owner, I am proud to help drive Canada's economy, and support the local community of Edmonton, in the beautiful province of Alberta.

Dear Canada,

Thank you for making this country the best place on the planet for building a business. I am incredibly grateful for the support we have received over the years. Thanks to The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) we continue to bring innovative products to market ...to help more senior dogs and their families enjoy life to the fullest. Export Development Canada helped us to better understand and capitalize on export opportunities and Royal Bank of Canada provided us with the financial assistance and guidance needed to support our continued growth. Thanks to Purolator for promoting and recognizing Canadian small businesses. Canada, you have helped us to build an amazing team that genuinely cares about the difference they are making and I am so proud of all they have accomplished. I honestly feel that you are behind us, cheering not just for our business, but for senior dogs around the world and we are forever grateful.

Softbox Integration is a company that specializes in the integration and custom manufacturing of LED lighting products, and the rental of AV equipment for the cultural and artistic community.

Expanding rapidly, the company has grown from 2 employees at its inception in 2014, to 12 employees this year. Softbox is proud to foster Quebec Canadian talent. The team is now ...working on permanent and temporary projects from all kinds of backgrounds: television shows, variety shows, sports and corporate events, theatres, festivals, immersive experiences, etc.

Softbox’s mission is to contribute, through its expertise, to the creation of high quality events and spectacular artistic installations. "Thanks to the trust of our clients, as well as the creativity and originality of their projects, we develop remarkable products that have already toured the world. Softbox is helping to promote Quebec’s expertise in China, Singapore, South Africa, Mexico and the United States," Softbox co-founder, Jonathan Pichette.

Although the current pandemic requires a certain slowdown and several adjustments, Softbox continues to innovate by working closely with its partners, suppliers and clients in order to continue its expansion on the international market, and bringing Canadian innovations to the world stage.

Dear Canada,

Thank you for supporting the small businesses of local craftsmen. Our work is handcrafted with New Brunswick pine and we are grateful for the opportunity to feature the simplistic beauty found in Canada’s natural resources.

Fiddlehead Casket Company was started in 2015 with the idea of bringing affordable, ...environmentally friendly caskets to people in the Maritime provinces in Canada. Under the traditional model of funeral home suppliers, we had a distributor and were making sales calls to local funeral homes. After fielding inquiries from outside the Maritimes and seeing limited success at the funeral homes, we pivoted to selling a flat packed model directly to individuals through online channels. The idea worked and we have sold casket kits in both Canada and the USA ever since. Thanks to e-commerce and shipping companies such as Purolator, we are no longer limited by the distance between our shop in New Brunswick and any interested customers. We have sent casket kits as far away as Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, more than 4,500 km away. We’re proud to be a small business that can be of help to Canadians from coast to coast!

We started Wize Coffee Leaf (formerly Wize Monkey) in 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Even though the idea originated from a school project we worked on while studying in Bordeaux, France, the goal from the get go was to launch our company and innovate in Canada. The reasoning was mainly the ease of doing business and incorporation, but also the supportive attitude of Canadians ...and their curiosity and willingness to try new products and support small businesses, and #MakingCanadaStronger. Vancouver was our starting ground, and with Max having grown up there, we were able to officially incorporate in July 2013. Shortly after, we flew to Nicaragua and started creating the first ever Coffee Leaf Tea on the American continent, and meeting our 3rd co-founder Enrique in the process. Fast forward to 2020, our company is distributed nationally in Canada and has received features in Forbes and The Globe and Mail, while having created over 75,000 work hours for off-season coffee workers and sold over 1 million cups of tea. We’re proud to be a part of the Canadian business ecosystem and to continue offering healthy, delicious teas to the Canadian public.