Shop Local in Canada: myShopfront's Marketplace Is Live Nationwide... and FREE

Why Shopping Local in Canada Matters Right Now

With tariffs reshaping cross-border trade with the US, more Canadians and Canadian businesses are rethinking where they buy from and who they support. Choosing to support local businesses in Canada is more important than ever before, and where we decide to spend makes a bigger economic impact than we think: one that keeps money circulating inside Canadian communities instead of leaving the country.

myShopfront exists to make that decision easier, by giving local brands somewhere real to sell and giving shoppers an easy way to find ways to buy within their community.

We are launching in two phases:

Phase 1: Unlocking the virtual space for local businesses to list their offering, enabling shopping centres and BIAs a digital leg to their physical establishments, and allowing shoppers to easily search and find what they need within their communities.

Phase 2: Unlocking the phygital hybrid shopping experience, where local brands have meaningful access to physical and digital footprints in their local community and country in partnership with established operator spaces, and shoppers get to experience the magic of their community via in person events and regularly refreshed shopping offerings in their local centres.

What myShopfront Does

myShopfront connects three groups who all want the same thing: a more alive local retail scene, but have never had an easy way to work together:

Local brands get listed in a Canada-wide shopping marketplace, as part of Phase 1 of the launch, gaining visibility across their local community and their country. Grow with us and gain access to real physical retail space, on demand, in Phase 2. No long-term lease commitments, no massive upfront risk. A Canadian business who's only ever sold online can book space at a shopping centre, test out the market, and see real customers pick up what they've built.

Shopping centres, malls and BIAs get a chance to curate a rotating roster of local brands instead of the same global giants pulling the same traffic. They get a new branded digital marketplace of their own, foot traffic data that turns into real leasing insight, and a new revenue line layered on top of leasing income.

Shoppers get a reason to fall back in love with the centres in their own neighbourhood. Discovering local, Canadian-made brands around them, the option to shop them online or in person, earn perks for taking part of the local shopping experience, and actually find out what's new and worth visiting this weekend.

Why We're Invested In Local

Backed by local business owners, frankly, we know the challenges of growing a small business. The work that goes into gaining visibility. The desire to have a space in a high traffic location. To meet new potential customers, face to face.

We built myShopfront based on our own experience of trying to grow local, and we built it to help make your local Canadian business thrive.

If you run a shopping centre or BIA with vacant space, we want to talk to you.

If you're a Canadian brand wanting to establish a stronger local and national presence, we want you on the platform.

And if you're a shopper who wants to actually know what's happening at your local centre this weekend instead of finding out after the fact, keep telling myShopfront what you want to see more of so we can put it in front of you.

This Is Just the Start

Every dollar spent with a local Canadian brand instead of a big box or an overseas marketplace is a dollar that stays in this community. Local retail doesn't have to mean empty storefronts and shoppers who've drifted away. It can mean discovery, rotation, and a shopping centre that feels alive again, digitally and in person, built by and for the people who live here.

Ready to get involved? Visit myshopfront.ca to apply as a local brand, list your space as an operator, or head to our marketplace to start shopping local in Canada.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I support local businesses in Canada?

The easiest way is to buy directly from Canadian-made brands and small businesses in your own community, whether online or in person. myShopfront makes this simpler by putting local businesses in one marketplace and in real shopping centre locations, so shoppers can discover and support them without hunting across dozens of individual websites.

What is myShopfront (myshopfront.ca)?

myShopfront is a platform that connects local Canadian brands, shopping centres, malls and BIAs, and shoppers. It helps online-only local businesses get access to real physical retail space, helps operators fill vacant units with curated local brands, and helps shoppers discover and support local businesses in their own community.

How are tariffs affecting small businesses in Canada?

Tariffs are pushing many Canadian consumers and businesses to look inward, sourcing and spending closer to home rather than relying on cross-border trade. That shift is increasing demand for local Canadian products, but many local brands still lack affordable ways to reach shoppers in person. myShopfront was built to give those brands a physical presence without the cost and risk of a traditional retail lease.

Where is myShopfront available?

From August 31 2026, we have launched our phase 1 digital marketplace, FOR FREE, for everyone, nationally across Canada.