History
On October 24, 1922, John William Billes and Alfred Jackson Billes invested their combined savings of $1,800 in the Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd. (established in 1909 as the Hamilton Garage and Rubber Company) in Toronto.[8] Hamilton Tire and Garage specialized in buying tires at a discount from manufacturers in the winter then reselling the tires during the busy summer season. The brothers opened a retail store at Yonge and Gould Streets in Toronto, Ontario.[9]
A product focus on tires was emphasized in 1927 with the incorporation of the name Canadian Tire Corporation Limited because, as A.J. Billes said, "...it sounded big".[10] During 1928, the first Canadian Tire catalogues were distributed, consisting of price lists along with road maps.
In 1934, the first official Associate Store was opened in Hamilton, Ontario by Walker Anderson on King Street.[11] In 1944, to fund its growth, Canadian Tire Corporation became a public company and sold 100,000 shares. By 1945, there were 110 Canadian Tire stores. In 1946, an employee stock purchasing plan was implemented to encourage employee loyalty while discouraging unionization.[10]
The first gas bar opened in 1958 at the corner of Yonge and Church Streets in Toronto. Canadian Tire money that gave gas bar customers an in-store discount began the same year. By June 1961, there were 31 locations. The small financial services company Midland Shoppers Credit Limited was purchased in 1968 and renamed Canadian Tire Acceptance, Limited. Canadian Tire entered the clothing market by acquiring Mark's Work Wearhouse in 2001.[12]
In 2003, CTC established the Canadian Tire Bank, under Canada's Bank Act, from its then-named Canadian Tire Financial Services, Limited, subsidiary along with its Mastercard portfolio,[13] which was later renamed as Canadian Tire Services, Limited, effective January 1, 2015.[14][15] CTC sold 20% of its Canadian Tire Bank to Scotiabank in 2014; it later repurchased this stake in 2023.[16][17]
In April 2018, Triangle Rewards was launched as a replacement to the digital My Canadian Tire Money program and Options Mastercard.[18][19][20] Traditional paper Canadian Tire money continued to be offered at some Canadian Tire stores until 2020 for customers without a rewards card, though at a reduced rate.[21][22]
In May 2018, the company extended further into the clothing market by acquiring Helly Hansen.[23], but sold the brand to Kontoor Brands Inc. in 2025.[24] As of December 2021, the company operates 667 Canadian Tire stores, 397 SportChek stores, and 381 Mark's stores.[2] The current President and CEO is Greg Hicks.[25]
On May 15, 2025, Canadian Tire announced the acquisition of the Hudson's Bay Company brands and its intellectual property for $30 million CAD.[26] The transaction was approved by a court on June 3. Under the agreement, Canadian Tire will assume ownership of the Hudson's Bay name, trade marks, logos, slogans, coat of arms and the stripes pattern. It also acquired a number of former brands including Home Outfitters.[27] The Zellers name is not part of the deal, but the retailer's former slogan, "Lowest price is the law", is.[28][29]
U.S. expansion attempts
Canadian Tire tried twice to expand into the United States. In 1982, it purchased the Wichita Falls, Texas-based White Stores, Inc. automotive retail chain with 81 stores in Texas from its then-owner Household Merchandising Inc., a subsidiary of Household Finance, for US$40.2 million.[30][31][32] In 1986, after losing nearly US$100 million they closed some stores and sold the remaining 40 stores, three warehouses and other White assets to Kansas City, Missouri-based Western Auto Supply.[33]
The second time, during the early 1990s, Canadian Tire tried to open a specialized auto parts chain called Auto Source that attempted to have 25,000 different parts or more on the shelf in each store, more than its competitors. The first Auto Source was opened in Indianapolis in 1991.[34]
