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.