FAQ

Ontario Made is a branding program that highlights and promotes products manufactured in Ontario, aiming to boost local manufacturing and help consumers and businesses identify and purchase locally made goods.

CME is a member-driven non-profit business association that manages the Ontario Made program. With over 150 years of helping manufacturers grow, CME advocates for manufacturers and provides tools to give businesses a competitive edge.

Manufacturers registered and approved for the Ontario Made program receive access to a wide variety of complimentary marketing materials. This includes stickers, product information cards, shelf talkers, banners, window decals, notepads, card stands etc.

 The Ontario Made program offers several networking opportunities, as well as access to CME initiatives designed to help manufacturing businesses.

Once your Ontario Made profile has been approved, it’s essential to add your products to your manufacturer profile. Your business will not be featured on the SupportOntarioMade.ca website unless you have products listed.

Yes, the program offers various promotional opportunities, including features on the Ontario Made website, social media exposure, and participation in events that highlight local products.

The Ontario Made logo allows individuals to easily identify products made in Ontario, enhancing brand recognition, and appealing to those who prefer to support local companies.

Manufacturers producing goods within the province of Ontario are eligible to register and showcase their products under the Ontario Made initiative.

No, registration for the Ontario Made program is free for local manufacturers.

Once your company's profile has been submitted, our team will review its details to ensure that you meet the criteria as an Ontario Made Program participant. You may also receive an email to help clarify some of your application details. After the vetting process is finished, you will receive an email notification that your profile has been approved.

Once your company's products have been submitted, they will also need to undergo a vetting process, which can take approximately 3-5 business days. After submitting your product’s application, you will notice they will be listed as "inactive." Once the review process is completed and your products are approved, the products will be updated and listed as "active". Additionally, you will receive a confirmation email with your approved products.

 Please contact the Ontario Made team at OntarioMade@cme-mec.ca.

• A small home-based business – all our products are made in my living room.
  • We strongly encourage all businesses with Ontario-made products to register, no matter how small your operations are.
• A company that creates software products.
  • Software products that qualify are only those that have undergone their last substantial transformation in Ontario during the software development process. Qualifying factors include, location of engineers, or the majority of engineers who development the software/code, location of servers hosting the product, and the source of the code if it is outsourced. In the case of outsourcing the coding to another company, the location must still be within Ontario.
  • The software/IT product itself must be a completed “product” that serves a specific purpose to the consumer. These can include completed dashboards, databases, programs, and apps.
  • Not included are website design and development services, and other similar services that do not produce a completed “product”.
• A non-profit, charity, or other non-governmental organization that makes products in Ontario in support of a social cause.
  • Yes. All the better for everyone if we can help you support a social cause through Ontario-made products!

• Some or all of the content used to manufacture our products (such as ingredients, parts, or other components), are imported from outside of Ontario.
  • Your products can contain imported content. They only qualify if they have undergone their last substantial transformation in Ontario during the manufacturing process.
• Our products are not manufactured in Ontario, but we modify them for aesthetic purposes.
  • No. If you are simply modifying already manufactured products for aesthetic purposes, in which the products themselves do not fundamentally change in function in Ontario, they do not qualify. If you are altering blank and/or unmodified products, the blank products themselves (i.e. articles of clothing, bags, mugs, chair frames) must be manufactured in Ontario to qualify. Some examples of aesthetic modifications include: screen printing, upholstery, embroidery, digital heat transfer printing, etc.
• Our products are manufactured outside of Ontario, but they are designed, prototyped, and/or packaged in Ontario.
  • No. Your products do not qualify, as they have not undergone their last substantial transformation in Ontario during the manufacturing process.
• Our products are manufactured outside of Ontario, but they are distributed to Ontario retailers from our Ontario-based distribution centre.
  • No. Your products do not qualify, as they have not undergone their last substantial transformation in Ontario during the manufacturing process.
• We have manufacturing plants that are located both in Ontario and outside of Ontario.
  • The only products that qualify are those that are made in Ontario-based manufacturing plants – only these products can be registered. Any products that are made in manufacturing plants outside of Ontario do not qualify.