‘We wanted to be there for our country, no matter how odd that it sounded,’ says chocolatier
TORONTO – After Tareq Hadhad and his family settled in Antigonish, N. S., as Syrian refugees in 2016, they started a business based on the idea that chocolate could bring people together and promote peace.
So when U. S. President Donald Trump called Lake Ontario “Lake America” in late August, the CEO of Peace by Chocolate felt he had to respond to this provocation.
Within a day, his company launched the Lake Ontario bar – 92 grams of milk chocolate and maple cream made with some local ingredients, wrapped in Canadian flag packaging featuring the lake’s name and details about its Indigenous heritage.
“We wanted to be there for our country, no matter how odd that it sounded,” Hadhad said. “If you showed me a Lake Ontario chocolate bar, even a year ago, I would say, why would we even create one because we have so many great lakes all across Canada? But it meant a big deal.”
The treat quickly became one of their top five bestsellers, attracting attention from coast to coast and sparking numerous emails from the U. S., where Peace by Chocolate has temporarily halted sales due to tariffs on exports.
The response has been similarly strong among various Canadian businesses offering Lake Ontario products like candles, caps, cottage decor, and more. A month after the lake was brought into political discussions by the president, many businesses report continued high interest in their Lake Ontario merchandise.
Teresa Paul, who runs a leather goods shop called Hides in Hand in Rockwood, Ont., mentioned that her recently launched Lake Ontario coin purses are quite popular.
Customers are purchasing them at stores in Erin, Ont., or at craft fairs she attends, often buying extras for friends and family.
“People are like, ‘Yep, I want it. Yep, I’ll take two,'” Paul said. “They love them.”
The zippered pouches come in red or blue leather with an embroidered outline of Lake Ontario along with its name. They use Canadian materials and are embroidered right here in Ontario.
Paul designed the pouch shortly after Trump’s renaming comment “rubbed me the wrong way,” she shared.
“Because I’m a leather designer, my way of responding was to actually make something. I thought why not put Lake Ontario right there on something that we’re making here in Ontario?” she said.
“It’s that little expression of Lake Ontario and Canadian pride. Nothing angry; nothing overly political. Just something practical that represents home for me.”
Unlike Paul’s proactive approach at first when the name change emerged as newsworthy chatter , Province of Canada wasn’t certain they should get involved immediately. Their Toronto-based apparel collection already included plenty of patriotic items – Le Canadien T-shirts and “Made in Canada” sweatshirts among others.
“But it really became a movement and we felt as a Canadian brand producing our products here we needed to join the conversation somehow,” product manager Alli Piccininni stated.
The company had previously sold prints of Great Lakes but decided they needed more than that.
They created a grey fleece sweatshirt featuring “Lake Ontario” printed in navy blue which was available through preorders with 15 percent from each sale donated to Indspire-a charity focused on Indigenous education.
The sweater sold out “really quickly,” Piccininni remarked happily.
A second batch was produced but stock is now limited to just a few sizes left; thus they’ve prepared another round set for shipment by December along with an additional color option expected before Christmas time.
Even while Province of Canada introduces other new items regularly, the Lake Ontario sweatshirt remains among their most sought-after releases overall.
Piccininni feels great about this enthusiastic reception.
“When customers get behind us and support us.. it’s such a good feeling,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first Sept. 30 , 2026.
Source link
