March 4 - Buying Island goods amid trade war

Good morning !

The dreaded 25% tariffs on Canadian exports to the US landed today, as did our retaliatory tariffs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tariffs “unjustified” in a statement released last night, saying they would “disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship.”

The Buy Canada movement was sparked when Trump first made his tariff threats—now, it’s in full swing. But at Capital Daily, we like to keep things as close to home as possible, so we’ve rounded up Island-owned brands and grocery stores you may want to check out.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 8 / 5

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 9 / 4

Day after: ☀️ 8 / 5

7-day forecast

NEWS

Buy Island: How to shop hyperlocal amid US tariffs

After months of threats, the US officially implemented 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods today. The threat of levies has led to an icy relationship between the neighbouring nations, sparking the patriotic movement of Buy Canada. There are plenty of non-US products available to buy here, and grocery stores in BC and across the country are highlighting made-in-Canada products to make it easier for shoppers to select homegrown alternatives.

Being a hyperlocal publication, we wanted to spotlight products that are made and sold right here on the Island. Many of these local brands can be found at Island-owned grocery stores, such as Fairway Market or Country Grocer, ensuring you’re supporting Islanders at every step of your shopping trip.

Read our roundup of Island-owned products—and the local grocery stores where you can buy them.

Did we miss any Island food brands or household products available in stores? Let us know.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Crane removal: Today and tomorrow on Vancouver—bike lanes closed from Johnson to Pandora. [Details]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

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NEWS

An annual arrangement: 50 years of counting flowers

Since the 1970s, we’ve been doing something this time of year no other area in Canada can: we’ve been counting flowers. While we’re counting our blossoms, we can count our blessings that we live in such a temperate climate. 

“At the heart of it, Flower Count remains the same fun event, true to its core mission: to encourage Canadians out of their winter hibernation to enjoy Greater Victoria's mild climate, the outdoors, and welcome spring,” says the area’s tourism authority and event organizer, Destination Greater Victoria (DGV).

The cherry and plum blossoms are blooming, so the count is on, starting tomorrow and continuing until next Wed. You can take part by submitting your tally to flowercount.com. 

It’s all divided into communities, so we’ll see whether Sidney can three-peat its title as the "Bloomingest" community, which it has won the last two winters. 

Students in Grades 4 and 5 across Greater Victoria are enthusiastic enumerators of efflorescence—last year, Ms. Lake’s class at Margaret Jenkins Elementary counted the most, eight billion blooms.

DGV says the count originated in the ’60s with a Chamber of Commerce promotion called “Victorian Days.” The Chamber would visit snowy cities, such as Edmonton and Winnipeg, to hand out daffodils and talk up Victoria as a great destination for a getaway from the cold. 

By ’76, a local element was added, with residents encouraged to count February’s flowers. A flower HQ at Eaton’s was established where people could call in their numbers. Some 130 million blooms were recorded on four phones that year.

Twenty years later, more people were counting more flowers, and that number shot up to four billion.

The internet age expanded and simplified the count, which hit a record 38 billion blooms last year. And if those numbers seem too high to fathom, here are some counting tips from DGV that should put things into perspective:

• A small tree full of blossoms equals 250K blossoms

• A mid-sized heather bush has 1K blossoms

• Trees fully in bloom count for 750K blossoms

Follow the 50th installment of the Flower Count from March 5 to 12 on social media through Facebook and Instagram (@flowercount).

SPONSORED BY CONTINUING STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

Explore new careers and programs with Career Coach

Career Coach is a data-driven tool for professionals who are exploring new career opportunities, looking to reskill or upskill, or interested in building on their current skills.

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Browse the features and discover your next career and the programs to help you get there.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🍝 Savour Sidney continues this week and next. [Details]

🍵 Mateina’s low to no-sugar Yerba Mate beverages offer steady energy without the unwanted crash or jitters. Get 15% off Mateina's Energy Brews while supplies last.*

🐍 Rare species: Sharp-tailed snake seen in a Garry oak meadow. [Conservation Decisions]

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

US tariffs on Canadian goods go into effect today
US President Donald Trump confirmed yesterday that the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would move forward, saying there was “no room left” for the countries to strike a deal. Stock markets on both sides of the border plunged yesterday after tariffs were confirmed. [CBC]

Island Health lost access to patient records system for an hour-plus last Tuesday
All facilities were affected by a records blackout originating at a data centre in Eastern Canada. Island Health says no patients were affected, that these outages are rare, and that there are several layers of backup processes to rely on. [Times Colonist]

Yep, another one: 4.1-magnitude quake rumbles through CRD
This one struck 42 kilometres east of Sidney near the US San Juan Islands—17km underground—at 5:02 yesterday morning. Initially registered at a magnitude of 4.6, the 4.1 rattler wasn’t large enough to trigger an early warning alert—which happens at 5-magnitude and beyond. It was the third quake that could be felt in our region in the last two-and-a-half weeks, following a 4.7 magnitude tremor near Sechelt on Feb. 21 and a 3.8 quake near Victoria on Feb. 13. [CTV]

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SPONSORED BY VICTORIA HOCKEY LEGACY SOCIETY

Community festival marks historic milestone

Everyone is invited to Century Celebration March 29-30 in Oak Bay. The free, family oriented festival commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Victoria Cougars winning hockey's greatest trophy and promises a variety of hockey-themed activities. Festival partner is the District of Oak Bay. Presenting sponsor is author Helen Edwards.

🗓️ Things to do

🎧 The World of Drum and Bass: Enjoy an evening of energetic beats at the Downbeat tomorrow. 10pm. [Info]

🍷 Averill Creek Winemaker's Dinner at Fathom: Indulge in a five-course dining experience at Fathom. Thu. 6pm. [Info]

🎵 Jelly Roll: See his unique blend of hip-hop, country, and rock at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Thu. 7pm. [Info]

🎞️ A Night at the Oscars: An evening of glitz, glamour, and movie music at the Royal Theatre. Sat. 7:30pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Monday’s headlines: Vic-US travel down as much as 25%; Another quake in Vic—does it affect the likelihood of a Big One?; VicPD deputy chief to retire. [Mar. 3]

The best vegan & vegetarian food in Victoria. [Tasting Vic]

February in photos by Colin Smith [Instagram]

Cherry/plum blossom season: The view on View is pinker. [Doug Clement Photography]

Pod of dolphins chases e-surfboard rider near Howe Sound—caught on video. [CTV] 

Downtown Victoria clean-up event. [Volunteer for March 15]

That’s it!

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