St Norbert Farmers Market seeing uptick in customers looking to buy local

It’s bustling at La Marche St. Norbert, Manitoba’s largest farmers market, where things have kicked into gear for the spring season.

Vendors have noticed a major increase in customers over the last few weeks — some say it’s due to the “buy local” push that’s sweeping the province.

“We are one of the only places to get local ingredients where you don’t need a sticker or an app to know that it’s Canadian and Manitoba-made,” said Danielle Mondor, executive director of La Marche St. Norbert Farmers Market. “It’s been really nice to see people dig in a little bit more and look for local places to shop instead of going to a grocery store chain or big box store. I think it does have an economic impact on small businesses here in Manitoba.”

“The past couple of weeks, it’s picked up. It’s unusual — this time of year is usually pretty slow — but we’ve been seeing a lot of people coming through here and a lot of shoppers,” said Kon Paseschnikoff of Bee Boyzz.

“It’s just been… the atmosphere — there’s been such good energy, and we’re really noticing that,” said Jordan Storsley of Storsley Bison Ranch.

The market, which features over 200 local vendors, runs year-round on Saturdays. Typically, they start seeing an upswing in customers around the May long weekend. But given the current trade uncertainty with the United States, people seem to be coming out earlier this year in an effort to support Canadian vendors.

“This is fantastic — I was here last Saturday, and there were tons of people. I think more people are buying local,” said one market-goer.

“Considering the tariffs down in the States, it’s more important than ever to support Canadian businesses and shops. If you don’t, these businesses go away, and we become reliant on outside sources like the U.S. If you don’t support local, it disappears — and then we’re dependent on someone else,” said another market-goer.