When I was growing up in Ottawa during the mid-1960s and early 70s, back-to-school shopping was accompanied by what became a family tradition. After we’d scoured the St. Laurent Shopping Centre for my new clothes, including such wardrobe staples as a navy blue polka-dotted mini-skirt and corduroy bell bottoms–which came from the department stores Simpsons Sears and Freiman’s–my mother would take me to Laura Secord. There, amid the store’s shelves and counters studded with chocolate, candies, and fudge, I would spend my allowance on butterscotch and cherry Kiddy Pops. My mum always bought herself a milk chocolate bar, the iconic French mint.

Although Laura Secord is no longer a shopping-mall staple, patriotic Canadians with a sweet tooth should consider seeking out the brand, which has endured for more than 110 years. For those who wish to support our country in the U.S. tariff war, the choice is particularly apt—especially if you know our nation’s history. Most of us are familiar with the name Laura Secord for reasons beyond quality chocolate. As schoolchildren, many Canadians learned the important role Secord played during the War of 1812, and how, in June 1813, she trekked 20 miles through dangerous territory to warn the British of an impending American attack, helping to repel their invasion of Upper Canada. Her message was relayed to an allied force of Indigenous warriors from Quebec, who ambushed U.S. troops at the Battle of Beaver Dams. Secord was thirty-seven at the time, and mother to seven children.

Children and adults alike may be less familiar with the interesting history of the company, which was founded by a high-school dropout turned chocolatier named Frank O’Connor (1885-1939). In 1913, O’Connor opened his first store at 354 Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, using the apartment above the shop as a kitchen to produce homemade chocolates. According to the company’s website, he chose to name them after Laura Secord because she was “an icon of courage, devotion and loyalty.” Fittingly, the year his store opened was the centenary of her brave walk.

The chocolates sold well and the company quickly grew, opening up stores throughout Ontario and Quebec. By the early 1930s, O’Connor had become a millionaire. In 1935, at the age of 50, he was appointed to the Senate by Liberal prime minister William Mackenzie King. By 1950, there were nearly a hundred Laura Secord stores in Canada.

A lifelong hockey fan, O’Connor invested some of his fortune in the Toronto Maple Leafs. He donated so much money to various Catholic charities that a Catholic high school in Toronto bears his name. His legacy is such that O’Connor Drive in East York is named after him too.

After O’Connor’s day, the ownership of Laura Secord changed several times, even briefly falling into American hands. But in a move befitting its namesake, the Canadian brand soon travelled back home. Since 2010, the company has been owned by Jean and Jacques Leclerc, two Quebec businessmen. And while bricks-and-mortar locations are less ubiquitous than they once were, Laura Secord still has more than 70 stores throughout Canada.

Now that I’m in my sixties, I no longer buy candy or run the gauntlet of back-to-school shopping. But when I miss my late mother, I sometimes pick up a French mint bar and find it a comforting treat. And though I may be indulging in a guilty pleasure, at least I can feel proud that my money is supporting a Canadian business as I celebrate two wonderful women.