It has been over a year since the #BuyCanadian movement emerged in response to President Donald Trump targeting both Canada and Mexico with tariffs.

Google Trends data shows that searches for “Made in Canada” in February 2025 reached their highest levels on record, with March 2025 following closely behind. Similarly, searches for “Buy Canadian” peaked the week of February 2, reaching their highest level in over five years, with February recording the most searches for the term in nearly a decade.

Canadian distributors of branded merchandise, especially those ranked in the 2026 PPAI 100, have benefitted.  

Mitch Freed headshot
The ‘Buy Canadian’ dialogue has moved from buzzword to business requirement for a lot of our clients.”

Mitch Freed

CEO, Genumark

“The ‘Buy Canadian’ dialogue has moved from buzzword to business requirement for a lot of our clients, particularly when tariffs are part of the conversation,” says Mitch Freed, CEO of Genumark, PPAI 100’s No. 30 distributor.

The Toronto-based firm increased revenue from $43.6 million in 2024 to $50.3 million last year, and Freed says that momentum hasn’t slowed down. “We’re seeing that carry into the back half of 2026,” he says, “and we’re well-equipped to deliver on it. There’s real opportunity here for Canadian distributors who’ve done the work to build those supplier relationships.”

‘Tangible Shift’

Akran Marketing, PPAI 100’s No. 74 distributor, has also felt the impact of the #BuyCanadian movement, generating $9.9 million in 2025 revenue, a 5% revenue increase from 2024.

“We’re seeing a tangible shift in action, not just sentiment,” says Mikas Agarwal, chief digital officer at Akran.

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The Ottawa, Ontario-based company has seen a significant number of new clients explicitly moving their business away from American distributors to support local businesses. Meanwhile, buyers are actively requiring the firm to source Canadian-made products.

“There is a higher demand for this than ever before, and clients are more than willing to absorb the higher costs associated with domestic manufacturing,” says Agarwal, a 2024 PPAI Rising Star.

Clients are more than willing to absorb the higher costs associated with domestic manufacturing.”

Mikas Agarwal

Chief Digital Officer, Akran Marketing

Furthermore, the public sector is heavily prioritizing vetted local partners, which Akran has experienced through its volume as a Platinum OECM supplier.

  • A “Platinum OECM” designation refers to a top-tier status awarded by the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace through its Supplier Recognition Program.


The desire to #BuyCanadian gets clients in the door, but world-class technology keeps them there, adds Agarwal.

“We’ve doubled down on becoming a tech-first distributor, most recently migrating to the akran.com domain,” he says. “By heavily investing in automation, we ensure clients don’t have to sacrifice a frictionless e-commerce experience to shop local, which is driving massive demand for our custom institutional online stores.”

Decentralizing Purchasing

The impact of tariffs, specifically the removal of the de minimis exemption, is a more interesting story, according to Aaron Moscoe, CEO of TPS Promotions & Incentives, PPAI 100’s No. 57 distributor.

While some multinational clients may have been content to overlook slight cost differences and inconveniences in the past, they’re now getting hit with duties, brokerage and administrative burden on even the smallest orders, Moscoe says.

Meanwhile, they’re seeing pricing lower in Canada because there are no tariffs on goods imported by suppliers directly into Canada, or to those that come to Canada via a tree-trade zone.

Aaron Moscoe headshot
We’re seeing a significant uptake in U.S.-based and other international clients recognizing the value of having a proper program in Canada to meet their needs.”

Aaron Moscoe

CEO, TPS Promotions & Incentives

“As a result, we’re seeing a significant uptake in U.S.-based and other international clients recognizing the value of having a proper program in Canada to meet their needs,” Moscoe says. “TPS is well positioned for these enquiries and we’re happy to collaborate with their U.S. distributor partner to ensure brand and product consistency, appropriately sourced products and a user experience tailored to the Canadian market.”

  • The Markham, Ontario-based firm increased revenue from $11.9 million in 2024 to $14.7 million last year.


“We’re seeing this upward trend of decentralizing purchasing to the country level across both special order and program business, which is exciting for distributors as that translates into both short term and long-term opportunities,” Moscoe says.