Napoleon’s open letter fires up support for Canadian-made goods

John Vennavally-Rao with a look at the concerns facing this Canadian family business amid a looming trade war with the U.S.

Amid uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs, a well-known Canadian brand is calling on consumers to rally behind homegrown business.

Napoleon, a major manufacturer of barbecues, fireplaces, furnaces and air conditioners is publishing an open letter expressing disappointment in U.S. trade policies. The letter, appearing as a full-page ad in the Toronto Star, urges Canadians to rally behind homegrown businesses.

“It’s extremely important to choose Canadian products right now,” says Chris Schroeter, co-CEO of Napoleon.

“As the economy faces uncertainty, we invite you to join us in strongly supporting not only Napoleon but all Canadian businesses,” the letter states.

Debbie Black, who works on the barbecue assembly line, said she supports the initiative.

“I think it’s great. I think everyone should be on board with buying Canadian,” she said.

Napoleon employs more than 1,000 Canadians and sells more than 350,000 barbecues and 125,000 fireplaces annually – most of them built in Ontario, largely using Canadian materials including aluminum and steel. The company sells its products in 70 countries, with about 30 percent of its sales in the United States, a growing market.

Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to delay broad tariffs, Napoleon executives held a company-wide call to address workers’ concerns.

“We’re completely focused on keeping everybody employed,” said company president Mike Tzimas. “That’s always a major concern when there’s talk around economic instability.”

“It’s a little scary, but I have confidence in the company I work for,” said Black.

Kyle Kerr, another worker, told CTV News he wasn’t paying too much attention to all of the “jibber jabber” about tariffs, but he does think there should be a bigger push on buying Canadian.

“I think that supporting goods that come from our country is always a good idea,” he said.

The family-owned company has been crunching numbers and working with its partners to limit price hikes in the U.S. if tariffs are imposed. If they lose some of their margins Napoleon executives think they can keep increases below 10 per cent.

“It still keeps us competitive but obviously that puts us a leg down with some of our competitors,” says company president Tzimas.

Napoleon has invested “tens of millions” of dollars building its brand in the U.S. and doesn’t want to lose hard-earned market share.

However, executives see a potential advantage if Canada imposes reciprocal tariffs on American goods, which could give their products a pricing edge domestically.

The company is also using this moment to highlight its lesser-known products such as air conditioners and furnaces, which are also made in Canada.

Founded nearly 50 years ago by Wolfgang and Ingrid Schroeter, Napoleon started as a small steel railing business before shifting to wood stoves built in a garage.

“He built a couple of stoves for his neighbours in the first year, then it went to 50 stoves, and then it went to 100 stoves years after. And it was a great start,” says Chris Schroeter.

Today, Napoleon has expanded with production in Mexico and China and offices in Europe and the United States, but remains committed to Canadian manufacturing.