CanYourFood.com is operated by Templeton’s—an old family business on Water Street in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, which today is known mainly as a paint, wallpaper and flooring company.
Why is Templeton’s also in the home canning business? Because cans and canning are connected to our long roots here.
Home canning is popular in this part of the country, and it has been that way for generations. We live close to the land and the sea, and appreciate its resources.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, however, canning was more of a corporate activity. At that time, Robert Templeton and several other St. John’s merchants built a factory to safely preserve lobster in a new and hygienic way: by canning. Their factory operated from 1872 to 1936, finally closing when the Newfoundland lobster fishery failed.
By that time, however, a lot of people had discovered the benefits of canning food. So Templeton’s stayed in the canning business, selling canners and the accessories needed for people to can moose, seal and rabbit and produce in their homes.
Today, Templeton’s is one of the few places in North America where people who can will find canners, cans, can sealers and repair parts.