Businesses in Pickering and Whitby up for ‘Ontario Made’ awards

Two Durham based businesses are nominated for the inaugural Ontario Made awards, which highlight excellence in manufacturing and retail across the province.

Whitby’s Great Canadian Meat Company is up for a Merchandising Excellence Award which will go to the business that demonstrates merchandising excellence in Ontario-made products.

Great Canadian Meat was founded in Whitby in 1992 by a two- man team with a single pepperoni recipe. Since then they’ve become a ubiquitous brand across Ontario and expanded into Kurzie’s deli products. They recently opened a dine-in deli, also called Kurtzie’s, in Whitby.

Great Canadian is competing with nine other nominees across the province from a variety of retail niches.

Pickering’s Dustbane, a cleaning product manufacturer with 112 years experience, is a finalist for the Manufacturer Spotlight Award. This honor will go to the manufacturer that “spotlights Ontario Made” and supports local initiatives.” Dustbane is facing off with 11 other nominees.

The awards are designed to spotlight members of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, an advocacy group with a history stretching back to 1871.

Two other awards are up for grabs, the Consumer Awareness Award and the Retailer Spotlight award. A full list of the nominees can be found online.

Ontarians can vote for their favorite companies on the Ontario Made website until January 22. All voters are entered to win a $100 gift card from an Ontario Made registered business of their choice each time they vote.

Winners will be announced February 22.