Spotlight on Local Business: Why Supporting Small Matters

Communities are more than just the places we live — they’re the people, shops, and shared spaces that shape our sense of belonging. At the heart of every vibrant community are small businesses: the coffee shops that know your order by heart, the boutiques that stock local artisans’ work, and the friendly storefronts that keep neighbourhoods thriving long after the tourists have gone home.

Across Canada, small businesses aren’t a niche — they’re the backbone of the economy. As of 2024, 98.1% of all employer businesses in Canada are small businesses, employing roughly 5.8 million Canadians, or 46.5% of the private labour force. They may be small in size, but they create nearly half of all private-sector jobs — and carry the heart of local economies on their shoulders.

And when you shop local, your impact multiplies: for every $100 spent at a small business, approximately $66 stays within the local community, circulating through wages, rent, and local suppliers. It’s proof that even modest purchases — a candle, a card, a handmade ornament — have a bigger ripple than most people realize.

This week’s Ledger spotlight shines on one such story: the Port Stanley Gift Shop, a cozy year-round boutique by the lake, and its soon-to-open sister store, The Local Gift Shop, inside White Oaks Mall in London, Ontario. Together, they illustrate why supporting small isn’t just a feel-good gesture — it’s what keeps our communities resilient.

🛍️ Port Stanley Gift Shop — Open Year-Round and Rooted in Community

If you’ve wandered through Port Stanley, you’ve likely seen the cheerful storefront of Port Stanley Gift Shop on the Main Street harbour — a warm, inviting space filled with home décor, seasonal gifts, artisan products, and one-of-a-kind nick-nacks. What makes it truly special, though, is not just what’s inside, but when it’s open.

While many lakeside shops close after the summer rush, Port Stanley Gift Shop will proudly be staying open year-round, offering locals and off-season visitors the same small-town hospitality no matter the weather. It’s a rare commitment that keeps Main Street lively even through January winds and quiet February afternoons, long after the beach towels are packed away.

It’s a rare choice — and one that comes with challenges. Seasonal businesses in tourism-driven towns face highly inconsistent and unpredictable cash flow — busy summers can’t always offset slow winters, and costs like utilities, insurance, and wages don’t take a holiday. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), seasonality affects nearly one-third of small retailers in Ontario, with many citing the colder months as their lowest-revenue period.

Yet these are the businesses that keep our community thriving. Open year-round, Port Stanley Gift Shop champions local artisans and gives residents a cozy, familiar spot to find one-of-a-kind gifts without having to leave town.

When you choose to visit in the off-season, you’re not just buying something pretty — you’re helping sustain a small business that keeps Port Stanley shining, 12 months a year.

🏙️ The Local Gift Shop — Bringing Small-Town Spirit to the City

Now, after an incredible sun-soaked summer, that same community-driven spirit is expanding beyond the shoreline. 

The owners of Port Stanley Gift Shop will soon be opening The Local Gift Shop, a new location in London inside White Oaks Mall. This space will carry the same mix of locally sourced products, seasonal décor, and artisan-made goods that made the Port Stanley store a staple — but it will introduce thousands of Londoners to the value of shopping small.

By bridging Port Stanley’s artisan charm with London’s urban energy, The Local Gift Shop creates new stability for its business and for the local vendors it represents. For artisans, it’s year-round exposure in a high-traffic mall. For customers, it’s a reminder that unique, handcrafted, locally made items can be found right alongside mainstream retailers.

🧶 A Hub for Local Makers and Creators

What makes Port Stanley Gift Shop — and its new sister store — even more special is their shared mission to lift others up. Both operate as collective showcases for local talent, featuring handmade goods and artisan products from dozens of small businesses across Southwestern Ontario.

From handcrafted jewelry and home décor to locally poured candles, natural skincare, preserves, and greeting cards, nearly every shelf tells a story — often made by someone just down the road.

Many of the vendors featured here are independent creators working from home studios, small farms, or community workshops. For them, having a retail presence in high-traffic spaces like Port Stanley’s Main Street or London’s White Oaks Mall is transformational. It offers year-round visibility, access to consistent foot traffic, and a supportive space where local products are celebrated — not lost among mass-produced goods.

In turn, the shops help fuel a sustainable local ecosystem:

• Makers gain exposure they might not otherwise have.
• Customers discover authentic, locally made products.
• The community benefits from keeping income circulating within local networks.

It’s a model built on collaboration, not competition — proving that small businesses thrive best when they lift one another up.

So when you visit, you’re not just supporting one shop — you’re supporting an entire network of small business owners, artisans, and dreamers who pour their hearts into what they create.

💚 Why Supporting Small Matters — Especially in the Off-Season

It’s easy to think of shopping local as a “nice-to-do,” but the reality is, for many small businesses, local support determines whether they can keep the doors open year after year.

Here’s what the numbers tell us:

• 82% of Canadians say they intentionally prioritize small and micro businesses when shopping.
• 70% believe their spending directly impacts the national economy, and 66% believe it affects their own community.
• Half of Canadians say they’re willing to pay a little more to support a local shop over a big-box retailer.

Those numbers matter — especially in regions like Elgin County, where small retail businesses balance tourism highs with off-season lows. When residents and visitors choose to spend locally — particularly outside the summer months — they help sustain the very businesses that make their communities worth visiting in the first place.

Small businesses reinvest differently, too: they hire local staff, donate to community causes, and work with nearby suppliers. Every purchase becomes a small act of economic resilience.

🌟 Community Roots, Expanding Reach

From a cozy lakeside storefront to a bustling London mall, the story of Port Stanley Gift Shop and The Local Gift Shop is a celebration of what happens when local passion meets community support.

Their journey proves that small doesn’t mean fragile — it means resilient. It means showing up when others can’t, staying open when it’s easier to close, and bringing heart to the marketplace all year long.

So whether you’re strolling through Port Stanley over the next few months or browsing White Oaks Mall this upcoming season, remember: every purchase tells a story.

Your support isn’t seasonal — it’s sustaining.

Because supporting small matters, and it’s how we keep our communities growing — even when the snow starts to fall.

- Taylor Munroe