Toronto’s internet-famous Nonna Elda is best known for teaching younger generations the basics of rustic Italian cooking, but now the great-grandmother is using her massive social media platform to encourage Canadians to do one important thing amid renewed U.S. trade tensions: support local businesses.
In an Instagram video posted Tuesday that has already racked up nearly 100,000 views, the Toronto nonna urged Canadians to support homegrown farms, stores and small businesses.
“I hope the people know we gotta be very strong to support Canada,” Elda said in the video, pointing to the abundance of locally grown produce and farms across the country.
“Support the Canadian store[s]. Support the Canadian people,” she continued. “Canadians have so many small businesses, good farm[s] and good store[s]. Support those people,” she said, before ending her message with a very patriotic declaration: “Canada’s going to be very strong, not for sale.”
The timing of her message couldn’t be more relevant. Canada-U.S. trade tensions escalated again this week after the U.S. imposed 50 per cent tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods (Canada responded by saying it would match the latest tariffs dollar for dollar).
In the caption of the Insta video, Elda and her granddaughter Alessandra highlighted some Canadian businesses they personally support, like Sandy’s Farm on King-Vaughan Rd., where they shop for Ontario-grown produce and plants, and International Cheese on Mulock Ave., where Elda picks up Canadian-made cheese.
They also gave some love to Rustic Bakery for its gelato and Tre Mari Bakery for its cornetto, as well as a few local tradespeople who have helped make their homes “safe and strong and beautiful.”
And her followers were quick to agree with her message!
“Thank you, nonna!! Canada strong!!” one person wrote.
“Everyone shut up right now and listen to every word of wisdom that Nonna just dropped,” another joked, while another commenter wrote, “Let’s all follow Nonna’s lead and support our great country!!”
Even Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca got in on the conversation.
“I’m the Mayor of Vaughan and I endorse this message. Canada strong all the way,” he wrote, adding, “Grazie, Nonna Elda!”
Nonna Elda has come a long way since arriving in Canada with her husband and children in the 1960s, when she worked in factories and later as a caretaker in a seniors’ home.
Money was tight, so she grew her own produce and even raised chickens in her Toronto backyard to keep the family’s cantina stocked. Decades later, the Toronto-based great-grandmother became an unlikely social media sensation in her early 80s after her granddaughter began filming her passing down traditional Italian recipes and old-school kitchen wisdom. Those same lessons are now reaching hundreds of thousands of people online, from her two-ingredient homemade ricotta to her secret trick for peeling tomatoes!
One of the videos that helped propel her into internet stardom features what some followers have called the ultimate life hack: Elda demonstrated the Italian nonna-approved way to open a plastic package of spaghetti by smacking it against the counter. The clip went viral, racking up about 14 million views on TikTok (she even brought the famous pasta-opening trick to Family Feud Canada!)
Today, the now 86-year-old has built an audience of about 700,000 followers across her social media platforms. And judging by her latest message, she still has a lot of lessons to pass down (even beyond the kitchen).
Follow Nonna Elda and her granddaughter Alessandra on Instagram @nonna.elda.cooks.