With news alerts pinging every minute, and global politics filtering into our local communities, it’s been a frenetic and stressful start to the year. While we can’t control what happens south of the border, we’re committed to voting with our dollars and supporting the many wonderful local Canadian brands.
Leave it to Toronto’s makers and creators to have every craving covered, from popcorn and ice cream to ramen meal kits and seafood delivery services, all proudly Canadian brands. If you’re thirsty, Ontario is making some incredible wine that’s worth exploring, from rieslings as crisp as a $5 bill to funky gamays and cabernet sauvignons that offer you an epic taste of place in a glass. And don’t forget that Toronto and the GTA were making delicious pilsner, lager and hoppy IPAs long before Doug Ford threatened to put the kibosh on U.S. booze at the LCBO.
You can also support the local food community by shopping Canadian at Toronto businesses, from grocery stores and specialty food shops to bakeries and butchers. Here’s our list of the best food items from Canadian brands to put in your cart — online or physically — the next time you’re shopping.
12 Canadian brands and stores to try
1. Stush Patties
Jamaican-Canadian Opal Rowe grew up eating patties but always felt that the versatile snack needed a healthy overhaul. “Patties are joyful comfort food,” says Rowe. “But I wanted to create something more — something made with real, wholesome ingredients that honour the nostalgia while embracing modern health and wellness values.” The result is Stush Patties, a line of aromatic patties with no fillers or artificial additives, in flavours like beef, jerk chicken, and plant-based patties that are completely vegan.
Available at Whole Foods and Nature’s Emporium, or online.
$16.75 for four, stushpatties.com
2. Larry's Catch
When Glen Creaser moved to Ontario, he found the seafood selection a little fishy. What started with personal care packages from his fisherman father Larry in Nova Scotia became Larry’s Catch. This seafood subscription service supplies Ontarians with sustainably caught scallops, lobster, tuna and more from Canadian producers across the country. Customers can make a one-time purchase or subscribe and save.
3. Zing Sacha-ish Savoury Chili Miso
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Inspired by memories of hot pot and dipping sauces like shāchá jiàng, TV host (and perpetual foodie) Pay Chen created this umami flavour bomb condiment to transform your soups, stews and veggies.
$12.99, cookwithzing.com
4. Farm Boy Burgundy Cherry Ice Cream
Farm Boy started out as a humble 300-square-foot produce store in Cornwall, Ontario. Though it's grown to 51 stores across the province, the grocery store has stayed true to its roots with hundreds of locally sourced goods and highly curated food items stocking its shelves. While there are many products we could highlight, we're feeling particularly swoony over the frozen aisle. Don’t wait for your favourite scoop shops to open: We think you deserve a tub of Farm Boy Burgundy Cherry, churned with 100 per cent Canadian dairy.
$7.99, farmboy.ca
5. Wilmot Orchards Blueberry Mustard
Blueberries aren’t just a cereal topper. Wilmot Orchards, between Bowmanville and Newcastle, uses them in everything from cocoa to BBQ sauce, but we’re obsessed with slathering their sweet and spicy blueberry mustard on our sandwiches. Check back in the spring when their seasonal supply with be available to order.
$2.95, wilmotblueberries.com
6. The Grange of Prince Edward Winery 2023 Estate Gamay
We've long been a fan of local success story The Grange of Prince Edward Winery. The new Estate Series showcases the beautifully varied terroir of the Grange's historic 135-acre vineyard in Hillier, Ontario, and their 2023 gamay is the best of a very tasty bunch. Dusty tannins and high acidity come together in this bright red with plummy notes and reflect the skill of viticulturist Mike Peddlesden and winemaker Jonas Newman.
$26, grangewinery.com
7. Crafty Ramen Spice Heads kit
Co-founders Jared and Miki spent years travelling and slurping noodles around Tokyo before they perfected the ramen recipe for their Crafty Ramen shop in Guelph. The pair, along with Khalil Khamis, also secured the cash to launch their fresh ramen meal kit subscription service so Canadians can enjoy their noods at any time of day. The ramen kits, which arrive as a frozen puck, defrost to reveal real bone or veggie broth and handmade Canadian wheat noodles. They come in a variety of flavours, including vegan options, but we love the Spice Heads bundle, featuring Spicy Chicken Tantanmen, The Gryphon and Vegan Mapo Tofu.
$72.50 for a bundle of five, craftyramen.com
8. Chocolat de Kat Sourdough Toast Chocolate Bar
Kata Ambrus wanted to make delicious chocolate for her friends and family, but her stunning confections have reached a much wider audience. Head to the St. Clair West store, where glistening bonbons in quirky flavours like Kir Royale and Yuzu Caramel beg you to take them home. Chocolat de Kat uses fresh ingredients, so make sure to enjoy those "little orbs of joy" within two weeks. Yeah, like they were gonna last that long anyway.
9. Eatable x Hong Shing Ginger Scallion Kettle Corn
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Charlene and Vince Li fell in love with cabernet sauvignon first and each other second, but their union kickstarted a passion project that would become a business idea. Frustrated by a lack of healthy snacking options, the pair worked with Paris-trained pastry chefs to learn artisanal cooking methods and created a gourmet popcorn company with a focus on 100 per cent natural ingredients. Eatable makes delicious popcorn infused with the flavours of classic wines, spirits and cocktails, and have also worked on collaborations with local restaurants like Hong Shing to create the wildly moreish Ginger Scallion Kettle Popcorn.
$9.99, eatable.com
10. Craig’s Cookies Suprise Mix
Craig's Cookies might be a Newfoundland success story, but the beloved bakery has a strong presence in Toronto with five stores and counting. Inspired by his mom's cookies, Craig Pike started baking his own back in 2013 and now makes over 100 flavours, from Jersey Milk and Pop Tart to Pecan Butter Tart and Shortbread. Order a six-pack and get a medley of the cookie emporium's best six flavours.
$18, craigscookies.com
11. Kozlik’s Triple Crunch Mustard
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If you haven’t experienced Kozlik's mustard yet, go try it now — seriously, we’ll wait. St. Lawrence Market has an entire concession where you can sample the many varieties of Canadian mustard, but, after much tasting and considering, we've decided that the Triple Crunch is our favourite. It has three different types of whole mustard seed, Canadian whisky and Ontario honey, and enough pizzazz to make even the saddest of sandwiches pop. And if you wanted to eat it by the spoonful, that'd be just fine too.
$7, kozliks.com
12. Matheson Food Company Macaroni and Cheese Cracked Pep Pep
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Celeb chef of the moment and executive producer of The Bear, Matty Matheson has made waves far beyond the Great White North. The Fort Erie-based father of three has several restaurants in the province, from Prime Seafood Palace and Bar Clams in Toronto to Rizzo’s House of Parm in Ridgeway, On., but you don’t have to dine out to sample his cooking. Mattheson Food Company’s line of mac 'n' cheese is perfect for weeknight dinners and the Cheese Cracked Pep Pep is far and away his best flavour.
$4.29, well.ca
