Demand for at-home fireworks displays up ahead of Canada Day

A well-known Winnipeg fireworks dealer and presenter is seeing demand for at-home displays skyrocket as Canada Day draws near.

Mathieu Godin of Archangel Fireworks Ltd. told CTV Morning Live that the industry has seen a 30 per cent increase in new at-home customers. He says the past two years, which saw large community displays scrapped due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, drove people to seek fireworks they could set off themselves.

“This year with COVID not in the same place, the professional side is more active. It wasn’t last year. But it is still nice to know people crave their fireworks and people will find a way to do it,” said Godin.

Godin said another factor which hampered Archangel’s over-the-counter business in 2021 was the particularly severe forest fire situation across much of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

“The environmental situation (this year) is that they’re safe. No one is out doing anything risky, which is great. The weather is great and people want their fireworks,” Godin said.

He added he is seeing a lot of first-timers coming into the shop this year. They’re looking for displays they can take home or to the cabin at the lake. He said the company offers pre-packaged consumer displays, but is open to customizing orders as well.

“I like to cater to people’s wants and needs so if you have something that you like, you come in, you have a chat and we’ll customize and build something on the spot for you,” he said.

Another benefit of more customers choosing to visit the store, rather than to buy online, is that Godin can have what he calls the safety chat directly.

“We would rather have that face-to-face conversation with our customers and walk them through how you stay safe.”

Meanwhile, the federal government’s website lists a number of consumer firework safety tips, including how to choose the right site, how to store them and how to set them off safely.

Additionally, the City of Winnipeg's website outlines rules and regulations for personal firework use.

- With files from CTV’s Ainsley McPhail