Best shopping in Canadian ports?

We depart from Quebec City, with stops in Sydney, Halifax and Saint John. Any of these stand out as the best souvenir type shopping? We usually pick up a sweatshirt somewhere along our trips, but hate to do all of our shopping in the first port, only to find nicer stuff further into the trip!

Are you looking for locally made products??

There were some nice shops in Old town Quebec city (not sweatshirts) but some nice glass objects etc... not far from the funicular

Port in Sydney have some local wares in the building that may suit

Buy something small at each port ;)

I'd agree that if it's a souvenir in the literal sense, one from each province at least makes sense. Quebec is the biggest city, so most selection for your sweatshirt shopping - though much of the stock will have slogans in French (could be a Pro or a Con for you!)

So if it is purely quality of stuff you care about, Quebec City will likely give you the best range - but if you really mean 'what if I see the same sweatshirt with a moose/bear/maple leaf that I just bought for less cash at a later port' you may find better deals in the smallest place (Sydney), especially if you're near the end of the season. Tourism in Sydney is going to be hugely reduced as soon as the ships stop running - local tourism drops after labour day - so clearance bargains are likely, whereas Quebec City has lots of 'local' winter-based tourism with festivals, the ice hotel etc.

Great tips! Thanks!

Halifax has a large selection of shops as you exit the ship. Some are local arts and crafts. Next door is the Seaport Farmers Market with even more. Along the waterfront you can find more and up Spring Garden Road there is Jennifer's which has nothing but local products.

On 9/16/2018 at 4:29 AM, maryann ns said:

Halifax has a large selection of shops as you exit the ship. Some are local arts and crafts. Next door is the Seaport Farmers Market with even more. Along the waterfront you can find more and up Spring Garden Road there is Jennifer's which has nothing but local products.

Seagull Pewter items make a nice gift from Nova Scotia.

I live near the former home for Seagull Pewter. It was sold to a company from Asia and it no longer makes pewter here. However, the former owner of Seagull is the owner of Basic Spirit which you may see at the shops at or near the cruise port.

On 1/15/2019 at 8:30 AM, maryann ns said:

I live near the former home for Seagull Pewter. It was sold to a company from Asia and it no longer makes pewter here. However, the former owner of Seagull is the owner of Basic Spirit which you may see at the shops at or near the cruise port.

Thanks for the comment - I didn't know that Seagull was "gone".  Will look for Basic spirit.

There is a very nice Tartan shop in Halifax - The Plaid Place. You can purchase tartan yard goods as well as

Kilts. They sell all kinds of accessories such as hats, scarves, socks etc. I also saw 

sweaters,  blankets and throws.  They are located at 1603 Barrington Street. All made in Canada.