New web browser plug-in designed by local university student helps shoppers buy Canadian

Those who have been in the “buy Canadian” spirit lately will now have a helping hand.

A new web browser plug-in called Support Canadian was launched last week. It works by bringing Canadian products to the top of search results on Amazon and will suggest Canadian alternatives when visiting American sites, like Nike or Netflix.

Aiden Haldane is the founder of Support Canadian and is a double degree student at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University studying computer science and business.

He said he developed the plug-in on his own over a few days and had the goal of helping Canadians find made-in-Canada companies when shopping online.

He noted the sentiment online showed people wanted to support Canadian businesses and would share lists that would help them. The problem, he says, is that it was a “disconnect” between the lists and people remembering to support Canadians.

“I looked at what a customer journey looks like when you’re through an online shopping experience and wanted to create something where it nudges and helps Canadians in a way that works for them,” said Haldane.

“When I was understanding that journey, it’s coming from ‘Hey, they’re visiting this website,’ can we use all these massive lists as a resource and implement into an extension, which then can transform them over to Canadian websites.”

Haldane said within the first week, it has over 500 users and early analytics show it can keep over a million dollars inside the Canadian economy.

“I think it just goes to show that this is a tool that used well can have major impacts on the Canadian economy,” said Haldane.

The plug-in is available on all web browsers, including Google Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge.