Tim Horton, right, founded the business, and Ron Joyce, left, expanded it
across the country. Tim Hortons locations are now found in 22 countries. (Tim Hortons)
By Frances Willick
Patriotic fervour amid Trump tariff and annexation threats has stoked debate online.
It’s as Canadian as hockey, the maple leaf and Canada geese. Or is it?
In the past, Tim Hortons rightfully earned its place as a Canadian icon, starting with one coffee shop in Ontario and eventually building an empire that made Timbits and double doubles part of the national lexicon.
But after the company was bought by U.S. burger chain Wendy’s, and later became part of a holding company backed by a Brazilian investment firm, did it forfeit its claim to Canadian identity?
The topic has been hotly debated online — and likely in coffee shops across the nation — in the wake of the patriotic fervour whipped up by tariff and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
A recent social media post from the company declares it to be “proudly Canadian,” but many of the 2,500 comments below dispute the statement, insisting it is not Canadian, but rather American or Brazilian. Posts about the topic in “Buy Canadian” groups on social media sites have devolved into the same debate.
So where does the truth lie? What makes a company Canadian? Is it the ownership? The supply chain? The franchise locations? The employees? The headquarters? Or is it something more intangible — a reflection of our values, history or traditions?
Origin and ownership
First, let’s look at the hard facts.
Tim Hortons was founded in 1964 by longtime Toronto Maple Leafs player Tim Horton, and was later taken over by Nova Scotia-born Ron Joyce after Horton’s death in 1974.
Today, Canadian banks such as Toronto Dominion, Bank of Montreal, National Bank and Royal Bank, as well as Canadian institutional investors such as the CPP Investment Board, cumulatively hold a stake comparable to 3G, according to Michael Oliveira, the director of communications for Tim Hortons.
“We understand how this ‘Brazilian-owned’ narrative evolved over time but it’s simply not accurate,” he said in an email.
Restaurant Brands International’s financial documents show that U.S.-based Capital World Investors has the next largest percentage of voting power, at about 9.5 per cent, and U.S.-based Pershing Square Funds has about 6.5 per cent.
Identity goes beyond ownership
Florian Muenkel, an assistant professor of finance at Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business in Halifax, says where shareholders are located doesn’t have a big impact on the perception of a company’s nationality. He says consumers likely associate the brands Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati and Peugeot with certain countries, but they are all part of Stellantis, a multinational company with headquarters in the Netherlands.
Source: cbc.ca/news/
