As patio season approaches, outdoor furniture makers face a Made-in-USA obstacle to their 'buy Canadian' efforts

Open this photo in gallery: Richard Bockner, principal at ARD Outdoor Furniture, sits in the company’s Toronto showroom on March 20. Mr. Bockner has been replacing the American products in his supply chain with Canadian alternatives. It was a relatively simple matter for some items, but finding an alternate source for outdoor fabric proved difficult.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail Richard Bockner is doing his part for Canada in the North American trade war. As soon as economic hostilities broke out, the owner of ARD Outdoor Furniture started replacing the American products in his lineup with Canadian alternatives. For some items,…