Weyburn Big Muddy MLA Brenda Bakken is congratulating McDonald's Canada for switching to 100 per cent Canadian beef. McDonald's is the largest fast food outlet to stop importing part of its beef supply.

Bakken called the change a major development in the campaign to increase Canadian beef consumption in Canada while the U.S. border remains closed to Canadian exports due to a case of mad cow disease in an Alberta cow this spring.

"This is huge," she said. "McDonald's is the largest purchaser of beef in the Canadian restaurant industry. This will mean an increase of about 15 million pounds of Canadian beef a year being purchased by McDonald's."

Bakken convinced Dairy Queen to switch to 100 per cent Canadian beef and wrote letters to Burger King, A&W, McDonald's and Wendy's, urging them to switch. Burger King, A&W, and Wendy's have done so as well.

Bakken said Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of where the beef they are eating comes from and are demanding that restaurants and grocery stores sell 100 per cent Canadian.

Spokespeople for both the Weyburn Co-op and the Great Canadian Wholesale Club both sell only Canadian beef.

Co-op manager Don Kraft said the store has always sold only Canadian beef.

Lori Stene, public relations director for Westfair Foods, owners of the Wholesale Club, said Westfair has not imported beef since the BSE crisis began. "We're a western Canadian company based in Calgary and we try to do what we can to help the beef industry."