More than ever, I am seeing a lot of chatter on Facebook about how we should ‘buy Canadian’ and ‘support Canadian companies’.
That’s a fantastic idea and for those who post these types of messages on their Facebook feed, I ask you to put your money (literally!) where your mouth is!
Let’s take a look at the gas stations around me. I have the choice of Esso, Ultramar and MacEwen. I always go to Ultramar because a) it has the cheaper gas compared to Esso and b) it has more pumps.
There’s a really neat website out there called Made in Canada which has a database tracking products that are Canadian. It also does its best to show you what does that really mean…is it controlled by a Canadian company, is it foreign controlled but manufactures the product in Canada, etc.
Lo and behold, it turns out that the MacEwen right next to the Ultramar is actually the Canadian owned company! So I suppose that I should drive the extra 20 metres and go wait for a pump to open at the MacEwen so I can support a Canadian company who also seems to purchase their gas from Canadian refineries.
In my case, I believe the price between the Ultramar and the MacEwen are the same so it is a no brainer. I shall go to MacEwen from now on.
But if you are driving by a Canadian owned gas station one day and they have more expensive gas compared to the American owned gas station across the street, put your money where your mouth is and support Canada even if you end up spending an extra buck when filling up a tank of gas.
For the folks up in Kapuskasing wondering which gas station they should go to in order to support Canada, that’s a little more research.
Shell is a British-Dutch owned company.
Flying J seems to be an American owned company.
Is that itÉ. Also, why is my keyboard stuck in the French mode and not giving me questions marksÉ. This is frustrating!
I suppose someone in Kap can do the next round of research and figure out if these companies obtain their gasoline from Canadian refineries or not. Until then, have fun supporting Canada!