***UPDATED Feb 3rd – A Reprieve Is Not A Pardon***
Let’s be clear, the only thing that has changed for Canada betwixt this morning and this afternoon is that our neighbour {never neighbors} has declared a brief timeout in the attack they’re staging against our economy. And while our various levels of government have also stepped back from the brink we need to be ever vigilant of the elephant in the grass.
Our federal, provincial, and municipal governments need to evaluate long-term procurement contracts and, in our new reality, must be prepared to break those that cede any level of sovereignty. For example, I’ve written my member of parliament asking why we’re still spending $74-Billion+ on an F35 platform/program that we will not ultimately control {that’s 51st state level nonsense} instead of the Saab Gripen that would be built, maintained, upgraded, and most importantly, completely the property of Canada.
I also want to clarify, that in encouraging folks to buy Canadian, whether it’s bicycles or peanut butter, I do not intend any judgment on those that don’t for whatever reasons – price or personal. I think that the most important step is awareness of where things come from. As I noted below, after a great deal of consideration, I will still be covering products from brands in ‘blue’ states and those from ‘red’ state brands who choose to denounce a tariff regime on their northern friends and neighbours.
Today’s piece is below. Cheers for reading and for all the messages today.
Devinci welds and assembles many of its bicycles in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada. They’ve done so since 1987. Norco doesn’t fabricate or assemble their rigs here in BC, but their design, engineering, sales, and customer support teams are still all based out of Port Coquitlam. They’ve been at it since 1964. The folks at Chromag source their frames in British Columbia and Taiwan, and their team is based in Whistler, BC. Canadian brands paying Canadian wages.
From Burnaby designed & supported, Taiwan-made, Knolly to Quebec’s semi-custom Marinoni. From Ontario’s Mariposa or Bridge Bicycles to New Brunswick’s Altruiste {that grew out of Dobermann Bikes, which hatched from Balfa}. The amount of CanCon (Canadian content) in any of these bicycles varies but whether it’s welding, assembly, or ‘simply’ design, engineering, and support the fact is these companies, and many others, deserve our support in a world where our ‘allies’ will burn over a century of goodwill on a whim.
From Project 321 to NSBillet and 9point8 to Outlier, and all the brands above, expect to see a significant bump in Canuck company coverage here on MEATengines. With limited exceptions for the hardcore cycling commuter, bicycle-related purchases are definitively discretionary and there is no more powerful vote in a capitalist economy than the one you make with your dollar.
I recognize that the world to our south isn’t as simple as ‘Blue States’ and ‘Red States’ but how nuanced a response are we, in the true north strong and free, expected to take? For simplicity’s sake, MEATengines will divide our southern neighbours politically into two categories, states who voted in favour of the new order and states who didn’t. And, while I recognize the impact of this vehicle {MEATengines} is beyond minuscule, I will pause future coverage of brands accordingly.
That means that as long as 500,000+++ Canadian jobs and the potential of a ruinous recession are on the line, this site will no longer be mentioning products we truly appreciate from Cane Creek, Industry Nine, Hayes Brakes, Trek Bicycles, etc. unless those companies expressly come out against the current tariff situation. Stand up publicly against arbitrary economic warfare on your allies or go fuck yourselves.
Again, appreciating my exceedingly limited impact, I will continue to mention products I love from Paul Components, DVO Suspension, Kali Helmets, Wolf Tooth Components, SKS USA, Transition Bicycles, {border straddling} Kona Bikes, and other companies from states that didn’t vote to arbitrarily tear up multilateral trade agreements.
Eyes wide open, I realize the futility of this stance and my limited purchasing action but if enough folks make the same decisions – vote with their wallets – maybe we’ll weather this economic attack and come out better on the other side.
Making different choices doesn’t have to be hard. In most cases, it’s just breaking routine and choosing a different, equivalent product. As an aside, unrelated to bicycles other than baking trail snacks, I have been eating Adams peanut butter since I was a teenager. I’d guess my family has spent around CA$300 a year on their products for the last decade {yes, we eat a lot of smashed peanuts}. Buying their spreads is, or actually was, simply habitual.
Adams is from Ohio, and not only did that state vote for the tariff tycoon, but punishing Canadians, for wind, is highly supported by their sitting senators. So Adams, and their Ohio-based parent company Smucker’s, are off the grocery list.
As it goes for beurre d’arachide, it goes for bicycles chez nous. With an overabundance of excellent choices in every product category, it is not hard to avoid buying specific products from people harming our friends and family. Impacts, I’ll note, that rise significantly above the importance of our escaping to ride bicycles in the forest.
Anywho, thanks for listening.
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