May Walton made it easy to see her love of Canada from across the room at the Lanark County Quilters Guild show in July. Her Beauty of Canada quilt displayed all the provincial flowers and flags around a panel of tumbling maple leaves.

“I am proud to be Canadian and can’t imagine living anywhere else,” she said. “We try as much as possible to buy Canadian and to purchase locally. I also visit quilt shops when travelling because each one is different.”

Meanwhile, her Canada Road Trip quilt features Northcott prints of national parks and tourist sights across the nation. This summer, she finally made her way to Newfoundland and Labrador, checking off the final province she had yet to see.

May also has a wall-hanging with an outline of a map of Canada surrounded by images of geese, whales, loons, Mounties, the national coat of arms and other patriotic symbols. That one arose from the heart and her own design sketched out on graph paper.

“Any time we travel, I really want to see the nature of a place,” May said. “When it comes to things like the maple leaf, what’s not to love?”

A Desire to Buy Canadian

In the midst of tariffs and trade wars, she and other Canadians are standing up for their brands and businesses more than ever.

When we asked readers for suggestions, we were flooded with lists of their preferred brands and stores. You could sense their pride in advocating for their beloved shops. (We also loved the name of Marilyn Book’s favourite – Canada Eh! in Kitchener.)

“We need to support our local sewing machine suppliers and quilt shops,” Susan Selby wrote. “Any I have dealt with have given me excellent and friendly service. It is too easy to order on-line and we are hurting ourselves if local businesses are forced to close.”

A few generations ago, you could easily buy cottons made in Canada. Canada had a vibrant cloth-making industry with the earliest-known mill built in the 1820s. By the early 1900s, almost 2,000 cotton mills operated across Upper and Lower Canada.

But by the end of 20th century, production moved to developing nations. As a result, Canada now imports the majority of the cotton you wear and sew from Asia..

However, you can still support Canadian brands and retailers. In fact, we encourage you to do exactly that! For example, these three fabric companies take great pride in their Canadian roots.

Meet Mook Fabrics

This business began as Star Meat and Grocery in the mid-1940s in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Over time, it evolved to Mook Fabrics in the late 1990s as Jay Mook saw cotton and flannels favoured by the Hutterites as the future of the business. 

His team worked with Canadian suppliers in Winnipeg and the Maritimes in the 1970s and 1980s before production moved overseas.

“We bring in fabric from all over the world for various needs,” says sales manager Tom Saunders. “For quilters and crafters, we stand out as unique for our custom designs and novelty prints.”

Today, its headquarters has grown into a 30,000-square-foot facility dedicated to retail and wholesale fabrics and textiles. The company also has two locations in Pennsylvania, serving Amish and Mennonite communities there.

In 2020, it opened a depot in Oak Bluff, Manitoba and added a retail operation out front. With 60 of its 100 employees in Canada, its focus remains on its Canadian roots.

Mook makes its own designs in-house and sells them as well as other brands in Fabricland- Fabricville stores, on Amazon and online.

These include prints dedicated to curling, Canadian Football League teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and individual provinces or native animals. This includes the Manitoba-theme fabric above.

Northcott newest lines

Founded in Canada in 1935, Northcott Fabrics started out in fashion textiles then shifted its focus to the cotton quilt fabric market in the 1980s. At the time, quilting grew popular again!

These days, Northcott carries a wide range of Canadian-themed designs, such as the Quilts of Valour. It also just unveiled an Always In Our Hearts panel as a tribute to residential school survivors. Its artwork arose from Indigenous artist Shawna Boulette Grapentine and part of its sales will support the Orange Shirt Society and Quilts for Survivors.

Read about Northcott’s support for Quilts of Valour.

“We’re Canadian at our core,” said Naomi Hiller, its Senior Marketing Manager. “We’ve always been a family business.”

The company has offices in Vaughan, Ontario and Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Like Mook, about 60 percent of its employees work in Canada.

The company does a lot of custom work for shop hops, national parks (just ask May Walton) and guild events. It also creates kits and patterns to celebrate the Canadian spirit thanks to a team of homegrown designers.

Northcott recently seized the opportunity to feature a series of well-known Canadian artists and art institutions, Naomi said. “We love Canadian art,” she added.

It also recently added several licences for Coca-Cola, Squishmallows, Peanuts and FIFA – just in time for two Canadian stadiums to host games in 2026. It sells exclusively to shops, which shoppers can find via a special online tool within each fabric collection.

The TrendTex Touch

Founded in British Columbia, TrendTex started more than 40 years ago and has evolved into a national wholesale distributor. It represents some of the most respected brands in the industry: Moda, Hoffman California, Cotton + Steel, Poppie Cotton and many more.

“Though our reach is national, we remain proudly Canadian-owned and operated out of Port Coquitlam, B.C.,” said Lindsay Hay, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

“Every bolt of fabric that enters our system is handled, folded, and distributed by Canadians. By purchasing fabrics supplied by TrendTex, you’re directly supporting Canadian jobs, Canadian small businesses, and the long-term health of this creative industry within our country.”

Even if consumers shop online, they can ask that their preferred quilt shop still receives a portion of the sale.

“This ensures that no matter how customers shop, they continue to support their local quilt shops and keep the industry strong,” Lindsay said.

TrendTex employs more than 20 people at its head office and warehouse, on top of its nationwide team of sales representatives.

They often host in-store events, like trunk shows, product presentations, and charity sewing events. Happily, they also usually include free fabric giveaways.

Of course, you can always shop close to home at one of CQA/ACC’s 36 member shops. We’ve made it easy for you to sort through the list by province.

Shopping Canadian keeps local quilt stores open when you need them. Please invest in making our economy stronger.