Take home a gift that truly says "Made in Canada"
by Shari Bishop Bowes
The Hudson's Bay Company, Canada's oldest department store, came up with a very modern catchphrase for its cross-country advertising campaign: "Shopping is good."
Of course not everyone agrees that shopping is good, least of all the bored husbands who stalwartly traipse along behind their shopaholic wives whilst on vacation in any retail corner of the globe.
We contend, however, that shopping can be good, especially with a little advice about what to look for on your journey to Canada and the Canadian Rockies. A recent afternoon spent shopping on Canmore's Main St. and on Banff Avenue (the region's most dense shopping strip), reveals these gems - treats for yourself, or a special gift for a loved one at home. They're truly gifts that say "Canada" long after you've filed away the holiday photos.
Moccasins & Mukluks - Sleeping Buffalo, Banff
There is nothing like a gift that is both practical and beautiful. Native-crafted moccasins and mukluks are warm and cozy, a great alternative to your dowdy slippers, and made to last for years.
Slipper-style moccasins we spotted at Sleeping Buffalo on Banff Avenue come in all varieties and colours, and are sized for children through adults of both sexes. Trimmed with rabbit fur and hand-beaded on their uppers, slipper-style moccasins are offered with acrylic or sheepskin linings. Baby-size booties in warm, supple leather are adorable, with little wrap-around ties to hold them on. Full boot-sized - and extremely warm - mukluks are beautifully beaded, with a generous ruff of rabbit fur. They retail for $179.99.
Native made footwear is handcrafted in Canada, with a great selection available at Sleeping Buffalo in Banff. Shown here (left to right) are deerskin and rabbit fur mukluks; custom made moccasins crafted by Metis Native Joan Nelson of Slave Lake, Alberta, and baby-sized, self-tying leather moccasins.
For something really special, take home a pair of custom-made mukluks crafted in the traditional Native ways. Stitching and beading is done using rawhide sinew, while beading and finishing of each pair is truly unique. Sleeping Buffalo has many photo examples of custom-made moccasins and mukluks, and countless other Native-made garments, arts and crafts to view. Custom-made mukluks start at about $200 and range much above that for works of art that are highly sought by collectors.
Custom-made orders can be shipped directly to the purchaser, arranged by Sleeping Buffalo.
As you decide which pair you'll go home with, this of this Native proverb: "You can't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins."
Smoked Salmon - Widely available in Canmore and Banff
After a taste of wild salmon, smoked to sweet, delicate perfection - maybe served on a bagel with some cream cheese and capers. or in a succulent salmon eggs benedict - you are going to want to take some of this delicious fish home with you.
Don't concern yourself with a horrible image of fish leaking into your baggage - many varieties of smoked salmon are vacuum packaged for travel. Canadian West coast smoked salmon is available in everything from native art-decorated cedar boxes to the utilitarian tins you'll find in grocery stores. The vacuum packed varieties make great gifts and fit easily into your carry-on.
In your search for smoked salmon delicacies, you'll discover the five varieties of salmon found in cold British Columbia waters: chum, pink, spring/chinook, coho and sockeye. The latter is the most prized, and usually most expensive variety, with its rich, robust taste and deep red flesh.
Smoked salmon is highly nutritious, high in protein, and containing the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Your investment in a gift of salmon can range from a few dollars for a tin, to nearing $100 for a large gift package in a cedar box.
Pure Maple Syrup - Widely available in Canmore and Banff
There are few things more Canadian than maple syrup. Beavers, perhaps, but they don't travel well, and are likely to gnaw on your baggage enroute. Maple syrup is a traditional gift that is available in a huge variety of formats - pure maple syrup, maple fudge, maple candies, maple tea, maple butter, and maple cookies.
Pure maple syrup is available just about anywhere catering to visitors, as well as in area grocery stores - buy some for yourself along with some small containers as gifts. Maple syrup in old-fashioned tins or glass bottles shaped like maple leaves are very popular for gifts.
Canada produces about 85 per cent of the world's maple syrup, with the "sugar bush" production centred in the country's eastern provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Maple syrup connoisseurs can be as choosey with their selections as lovers of fine wine - there are five different classes of colour, and even more variations in taste.
Maple syrup cookery books are also widely available in Canadian bookstores, and prove that maple syrup isn't just for pancakes anymore.
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Maple syrup products are widely available in Canmore and Banff, and offered in containers of many shapes and sizes. We found these traditional tins at A Bit of Banff.
Alberta Beef Jerky - Valbella Deli, Canmore
Perhaps it's rude in some cultures to give someone a gift that has "jerky" written on the package. But certainly not in Canada, and certainly not after the recipient has had a single bite of one of Canadians' favourite treats.
Beef jerky is widely available throughout North America, but if you want the best, and the freshest, head to Valbella Deli on Elk Run Boulevard in Canmore. Valbella Meats is known internationally for its delicous sausages, and its fine smoked and cured meats, with its gorgeous jerky second to none you will find anywhere.
Jerky is made from a dual smoking and drying process that results in a deliciously flavoured meat that has a long shelf life. Valbella's also makes an even lower fat, equally delicious turkey jerky. (If you can say that with a straight face, we'd be surprised!).
Beef jerky is a great low fat, high protein snack that recalls the early days of Canada, when Native people used a similar process to create pemmican, a long-lasting meat for year-round use. Pemmican's origins extend far beyond any historical records, with recipes passed from the North American Indians to Canada's earliest explorers and settlers. Pemmican isn't widely available, likely due to its high fat content. Its made from red meat of any variety that is slowly dried, then ground up before adding dried fruit, such as cherries and currants, and fresh suet and marrow products. In the early days when any travel was truly an adventure, pemmican became the most concentrated, upspoilable and easily transportable food to be found in this country.
Hudson's Bay Point Blanket - Hudson Bay Company, Banff
Canadians have been cuddling up with Hudson's Bay Point Blankets since they were first manufactured as a mainstay of this country's fur trading industry in 1780.
Wrap yourself in your HBC blanket, and you'll be in the company of not only fur traders, but also First Nations people, Olympians and members of expeditions to the North and South Poles and Mount Everest. Today, HBC blankets are a cottage necessity, a cold weather staple, and an heirloom to pass down through the generations.
The Hudson's Bay Blanket's "points" refer to the wide stripes found on the solid coloured background. Many people believe the number of stripes or points refers to the number of beaver pelts for which each blanket could be traded. This is, in fact, incorrect - the points actually signify the size and weight of the blanket, and thus its value.
The most commonly recognized Hudson's Bay blanket has a creamy white background with stripes of bright red, green, yellow and indigo. A number of other colour combinations are also available, including two special blankets issued for the Millennium. One was a reintroduction of the early dark grey with black bar, the other a natural colour with muted browns and greys. Also available in Banff is a rich red blanket with black stripe.
Whichever colour or "point" size you choose, your HBC blanket will be a warm, soft, inviting layer to put between yourself and the cold world for many years to come.
The Hudson's Bay Company store on Banff Avenue carried a nice selection of HBC blankets, from the 3 1/2 point twin size at $250, to the 8-point king size at $450.
If the story behind the blanket is intriguing to you, you'll also want to pick up a copy of the book The Blanket: An illustrated history of the Hudson's Bay Point Blanket, by Harold Tichenor.
Hockey Jersies- SportChek, Banff
While a Canadian hockey team jersey will likely not become a mainstay of your everyday wardrobe, owning one will serve as a reminder of this country's maddest sports passion.
An authentic NHL jersey displaying the colours of your favourite Canadian team - in this case, the Calgary Flames - is an excellent reminder of time spent in Canada, and its national sporting obsession. NHL Jersey and Team Canada cap both available at SportChek in Banff.
Hockey jerseys are prized by Canadians who want to wear the "colours" of their favourite team. Tune into any National Hockey League Game, and you're be sure to see the stands filled with dedicated fans sporting jerseys for both sides. While hockey paraphernalia is widely available, the real thing is sanctioned by the NHL Players' Association.
NHL team jerseys, and the current Team Canada jersey is available at SportChek at 122 Banff Avenue - along with the currently popular Heritage Team Canada jerseys and caps. Manufactured by Canadian companies CCM and Bauer, jerseys range from $89.99 to $189.99. If you really want something that says Canada, bring home a hockey stick, too. They range anywhere from $15 to $200 and are available at most Canadian sporting good shops.
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