‘Alberta Certified’ aims to support Alberta-based businesses amid trade war
Posted August 26, 2026 12:28 pm.
Ever wonder which local businesses are fully owned and operated in Alberta?
Alberta Certified, a new service that launched Monday, aims to support local businesses and to help consumers verify Alberta-based companies.
“We’ve changed a lot of our buying practices, especially with what’s happening in the landscape with tariffs and things like that,” said Scott Sinclair, the director of sales at Freedom Cannabis. “We’ve now moved to procuring more, in our materials, locally, from our nutrients to our vape cartridges and things like that.
“And knowing that there is a certified vendor and they’re Alberta-based would be extremely important to us.”
Freedom Cannabis, about half an hour west of Edmonton, in Acheson, has chosen to be a member of Alberta Certified. They say the certification gives them an economic boost amid an escalating U.S.-Canada trade war.
“That stamp of certification means a lot. It means that you’re based here. You’re for Albertans. You’re by Albertans,” said Sinclair.
“It’s something that’s needed, especially with the economic landscape it is today.”
Against the backdrop of a trade war, the executive director of Alberta Certified says the new service is needed more than ever.
“With the changes in international trade, it’s so important that we support our own and that we can visually recognize which companies are indeed owned and operated in Alberta,” said Jon Dziadyk.
He believes this offers businesses a competitive advantage by shifting consumer spending towards shopping local.
“Companies find that this is helpful if they’re bidding on projects or contracts that require ‘buy Canadian’ or ‘buy Albertan’ or ‘support local’ requirements,” said Dziadyk.
“Basically, we de-risk ‘buy local’ because that’s a loose term that many folks just throw around. No, we actually look at the ownership structure and confirm that companies are actually owned and operated in Alberta.”
The CEO of Cannabis Tolling Solution, who’s also founder of True North Ballistics, also sees value in being ‘Alberta Certified.’
“So as we look at the defence sector really changing within Canada and committees like the Edmonton Regional Defence Association becoming a real manufacturing hub for our defence industry, I think making sure that we represent as strong and proud Albertans and saying, ‘We do this in Alberta for Alberta and for Canadian domestic defence supply chain independence,’” said Andrew Freedman.
Dziadyk says membership fees for the new service vary depending on the size of the business.
