Ways to Tell if Your Windows Were Made in Canada

Ways to Tell if Your Windows Were Made in Canada

Canadian homeowners take great pride in knowing that their home is built of products that were manufactured on Canadian soil. This includes the windows and doors in your home. Many homeowners are not aware of the fact that recent changes have been made in reference to the real estate market when it comes to sustainable and eco-friendly products. As we all want to support local window manufacturers, it is important to know if the materials used in your windows have indeed been made in Canada.

Recent trends in real estate indicate that most homeowners prefer to purchase their products from a windows replacement company that manufactures all of their windows and doors right here in Canada. The majority of companies does, in fact, manufacture and sell their products in Canada in addition to locally sourced products. However, there are others that give the impression that their products are indeed “Made in Canada” when quite the opposite is true. Read on to find out how to determine if a windows supplier is selling products that are produced in Canada.

Is My Window Manufacturer Telling the Truth? Were My Windows Really Made in Canada?

Window manufacturers have to answer to the Competition Bureau to ensure that their claims that their windows are indeed made in Canada are true. The Competition Bureau is solely responsible for verifying these truths. According to law, products that are sold in Canada are not required to be labeled with the country in which they were produced. In the same respect, however, all products that are indeed manufactured on Canadian soil must adhere to strict quality conditions to be labeled as “made in Canada.”

In order for Canadian window manufacturers to be able to claim that their windows were indeed made in Canada, they must adhere to the following:

1. Every claim of a product to have been “made in Canada” must be accompanied by a qualifying statement, such as the following “Made in Canada with both domestic and imported materials” or “Manufactured in Canada with imported materials.” This statement must include quantifying details, such as “Made in Canada with 80% Canadian parts and 20% material that have been imported.”
2. At least 51% of the direct manufacturing costs must have been produced on Canadian grounds.
3. The overall and final production of the said product has to have taken place on Canadian soil.

Keep in mind that the above qualifying criteria can be a bit blurry when it pertains to windows that have been custom designed. The windows themselves may have been assembled in Canada; however, some materials used in the process may not have been made here. Recently, a lot of windows manufacturers have started to import some of their vinyl or glass material from overseas. While this does not meet the final aforementioned criteria, it has a direct effect on the cost ratio in the overall manufacturing process.

In this respect, since the window has been put together on Canadian soil and meets the above criteria, it is still made of outsourced parts; therefore, the window in question cannot be labeled as “Made in Canada.”

Total Home Windows and Doors stands behind our reputation as one of the top window manufacturers in Canada. If you have any questions regarding the above criteria, do not hesitate to ask us.