Vol. 7, Issue 1 | March 2015

Spring is Coming in Canada

By Julia Ricottone

It has been a cold, snowy winter in most of Canada, with many cities breaking records for low temperatures in February. However, those living in British Columbia have been experience spring-like temperatures. This will prove to result in an interesting spring across the country, and sales may be very dependent on where you live.

Since our last update, Garden Centres Canada has officially launched a national gift card program. This program uses electronic gift cards on customer’s smart phones instead of requiring a physical card. It operates through the MasterCard network, meaning that if a retailer already accepts MasterCard, they do not need any additional hardware to accept the gift cards. We hope this gift card will unite garden centre members across Canada, and provide more options to consumers – particularly those purchasing gifts for someone outside of their city or province.

And of course, we are busy preparing for the IGCA Congress in 2017. We look forward to welcoming you to the “Golden Horseshoe” area of Canada (including Toronto and Niagara Falls) the year of Canada’s 150th birthday. There will be many cultural events taking place that year, and you will have an opportunity to see some of the finest and innovative garden centres in the area.

Julia Ricottone
Canadian Nursery Landscape Association