Sector Spotlight: Dollar / Discount Retailers
July 6, 2025
It's often said that shopping Canadian is too expensive.
There's some truth to that—Canadian-made products often do carry higher price tags. But this week we've purposely decided to focus on a corner of the Canadian retail landscape that's typically associated with bargains rather than local economic support: dollar, discount, and off-price retailers. Because even within this sector there are opportunities to support Canadian companies and Canadian goods.
Dollar and discount stores aren't merely surviving in Canada—they're booming. From downtown Toronto to small-town Saskatchewan, these budget-friendly retailers have become fixtures of our daily lives:
- Dollarama alone boasts over 1,600 locations nationwide,
- Dollar Tree adds another 200 or so, and
- Giant Tiger operates over 250 stores from coast to coast.
Beyond the big names, there are countless small, independently run dollar stores tucked into neighbourhood corners; and in rural areas, there are discount chains like Hart Stores, Korvette, The Bargain! Shop, Stedmans, Fields, and more.
Their appeal is obvious: these stores are genuinely affordable. But to get that pricing, their shelves are generally stacked high with inexpensive imports from overseas manufacturers. It's difficult to compete with China’s ability to produce cheaply made goods, and it’s often actually cheaper to ship those goods across the world than to make them here at home.
As a result, Canadians often feel they need to decide between the lesser of two evils: pay more for domestically made goods, or continue fueling manufacturing jobs overseas.
Yet, even within the dollar store space—seemingly the breeding ground for cheap overseas knockoffs—there are opportunities to prefer Canadian:
- Dollarama, founded in Montreal in 1992, has quietly built itself into a significant supporter of the Canadian economy. While its reputation might suggest shelves full of imports, Dollarama partners with over 1,000 Canadian vendors, and more than half of its products come from North American suppliers. Shampoos, soaps, cleaning supplies and food items, in particular, often show a high degree of Canadian sourcing—translating directly into local jobs and community support.
- Giant Tiger, founded in Ottawa in 1961, remains proudly Canadian-owned and deeply rooted in the communities it serves. The chain prioritizes Canadian-made food and household essentials where possible, and its franchise model empowers local owners to tailor offerings to their communities.
These chains stand out because domestic sourcing is so rare in this space. To contrast: Dollar Tree, a U.S.-based chain that acquired Dollar Giant, relies heavily on imported goods. And while it’s harder to track sourcing across smaller independents, most appear to follow similar sourcing strategies.
Of course, even at Dollarama and Giant Tiger, many items—especially clothing, housewares, and party supplies—remain imported. So, the diligent shopper still needs to check labels. But it’s heartening to know these stores are making an effort.
As a slight aside: you might think it doesn’t matter much whether your three-dollar can opener is made in Canada or overseas. But a recent analysis found that if every Canadian shifted just fourteen dollars of their weekly spending toward Canadian-made products, the annual economic impact would approach 40 billion dollars.
No one expects perfection. You don’t need to buy Canadian every time, for every purchase, at every turn. That’s not realistic. But we can all do what we can—within our means, within our priorities. And that still matters.
Next time you’re in a discount store, keep this in mind: supporting Canadian doesn’t always mean spending more. Sometimes it just means choosing carefully—making each dollar count a little more toward stronger communities and a healthier economy.
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