Every Child Matter - Orange Shirt Day Logo

Orange Shirt Day 2023

“The annual Orange Shirt Day on September 30th opens the door to global conversation on all aspects of Residential Schools. It is an opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and the legacy they have left behind. A discussion all Canadians can tune into and create bridges with each other for […]

Away for the Holidays

The holidays are almost here and our staff have been working tirelessly to make sure everyone’s orders get shipped out in time for Christmas. We appreciate how hard they have been working so much, and figured they could probably use a well-deserved break for the Holidays! For this reason, we’ll be closing our facilities from […]

June is BC Seafood Month

Why are we at St. Jean’s Cannery particularly smitten with June? June is BC Seafood Month! It’s a time to recognize and celebrate the bounty of seafood available to us on the west coast as well as the quality of the seafood industry in the province. The Comox Valley on Vancouver Island is arguably the […]

Nanaimo cannery and smokehouse sold to First Nations group

by  Chris Bush – Nanaimo News Bulletin posted Jun 8, 2016 at 4:00 PM The cannery and smokehouse that Armand St. Jean started in 1960, selling oysters and soup to local bars and grocery stores, has been purchased by the Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation. The sale was announced Friday with a celebration at the cannery […]

Expo 86 Saved Our Lives

Expo 86 – Jasperdo/Flickr I was nine years old when the ‘world’s exposition’—Expo 86—came to Vancouver and set up a bulbous, rainbow, multicultural, sky-defying shop in False Creek. Colourful pavilions trumpeted the accomplishments of countries far around the world, known to me only previously through atlases. Each stop offered a stamp for our mock passports; […]

Annual Give & Go event another rousing success

Nanaimo Daily News Friday, December 11, 2015 The 13th Annual Give & Go event was a rousing success. Vehicles from individuals and businesses streamed through the Daily News parking lot Wednesday in Nanaimo, dropping off enough donations to fill a Salvation Army truck and another van. Event organizer Cathy Webster says she co-ordinates the event […]

The Pull-Tab Seafood Can Lid – A 1990 Game Changer

All of our canned seafood comes in tins with an easy-open pull tab lid–something that was radical for canned seafood in Canada back in 1990. The pull-tab can lid idea was originally brought to St. Jean’s by the Hagensborg Food Company. The company had found a similar can in Norway, and wanted to use that […]

BC Family Fishing Weekend – June 19-21, 2015

June 19-21, 2015 is Family Fishing Weekend in BC! Now in its 16th year, it has become a Father’s Day weekend tradition. In addition to a number of FFW events throughout BC, there are a number of ways you can fish for free this weekend (ie. without needing a fishing license). Check out the BC […]

Bon Vivant: Vancouver Island food ‘n fun

One of our favourite sources for ‘food ‘n fun’ knowledge–as relating to Vancouver Island food, beverage, and local food events–is Bon Vivant on Vancouver Island. Created by Hans Peter Meyer and filled with posts and stories about farmers’ markets, food trucks, must-attend culinary events, artisan food producers, and more, the website and active Twitter feed […]

The People on Cannery Row

By Goody Niosi “I had an engineering company in Vancouver and I came over here to help my dad sell the business. He was getting old at the time and wanted to get out of it. I worked with him for six months and decided to keep it.”                 And so Gerard St. Jean stepped […]