Life’s full of big questions—some deep, some mundane.
“What’s the meaning of life?”—definitely a thinker.
“Should I shovel my sidewalk or let the chinook do the work?”—now, that’s just good old Canadian practicality.
But thanks to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, a new crisis has brewed across Canada: “Do we have to give up our Timmies?”
That’s right—Canadians from coast to coast are wrestling with whether to boycott what was once a symbol of true Canuck culture, right up there with hockey, maple syrup, poutine, and Alberta beef. It’s the kind of dilemma that could make even the strongest among us clutch our double-doubles just a little tighter.
Canadian or Not?
Ah, Tim Hortons—where Canadians fuel up on coffee and Timbits! This iconic fast-food chain opened in Hamilton, Ontario, on May 17, 1964. Fast forward to February 2025, and there are a whopping 3,567 locations across Canada, making it the country’s biggest fast-food chain. Not that is a Canadian success story!
Love it or hate it, chances are you’ve made at least a few pit stops at Timmies. With locations practically on every corner, is there even a Canadian out there who hasn’t been to one? Fun fact: in Ontario alone, there’s a Tim Hortons for every 7,991 people! That’s a lot of double-doubles.
While Timmies started as a proud Canadian brand and celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, things changed in 2014 when it was acquired by Restaurant Brands International (RBI). RBI has Canadian and American shareholders, but its biggest shareholder, 3G Capital, is a Brazilian investment firm with a 32% stake. The company is headquartered in Toronto, but Timmies is no longer entirely Canadian-owned.
So here’s the existential question: Should Canadians boycott Tim Hortons over U.S. tariffs?
The debate is alive and well—especially on Reddit, where people have strong opinions. Some argue that Timmies is not as Canadian as it used to be, while others say it’s still a national staple.
What do you think? Is Tim Hortons still a symbol of Canada, or is it another global brand to avoid?
Keeping Rolling up the Rim
Let’s talk about the not-so-secret addiction most Canadians share… coffee.
For a lot of us, the day doesn’t really start until there’s a steaming cup of caffeine in hand.
And since we’re creatures of habit, how many of us make that daily pit stop at the coffee drive-thru? Judging by the never-ending lineups at Timmies, it’s safe to say the love (or should we say need?) for Tim Hortons is still going strong.
One Redditor, HonchoHundo, put it best: “Tim Hortons coffee is probably the last thing on my list to boycott; sorry, not sorry, but I am fr addicted… I’ve been addicted since I was 15, so 18 years now, a cup of Tims every single morning. I cannot give it up that easily.”
Honestly? Same. Most of the articles on TheRockies.Life have been written under the influence… of caffeine.
Beyond Canadians’ addiction to caffeine is convenience, as SpentTime so well summarized, “There is a Tims on almost every corner, so I know I can grab a coffee and a snack almost any time of day or night – the same can’t be said for specialty ‘local’ coffee shops, plus Tims coffee is decent and inexpensive.”
Numerous other Redditors also mentioned that boycotting Tim Hortons would only put Canadian workers and franchise owners at risk.
Firm_Secret8449 wrote, “Doesn’t matter if it’s Canada-owned… American-owned… or some little part of the world no one has heard of owned… it’s employing Canadians.”
Loganjesse added, “I’m so conflicted with all this. Yes, the corporate brand is no longer Canadian. But the individual franchise locations are owned by local, Canadian people and employ tons of Canadians. So it’s SO conflicting!”
Summing up the complications of a Tims Boycott, Ffffllllpppp wrote, “At the minimum, I think for me that means [we] better focus on boycotting USA products with no real Canadian jobs attached to them and leave the ones with many Canadian jobs alone. So pick the battles that make the most sense, and beware of hurting fellow Canadians.”
Finally, Lucas99 offered up practical reasons to support Tims, “Tims does great things in communities across Canada like the Tim Hortons Kids Camps, plus they have Roll Up the Rim to Win, which I love because every year I win decent prizes just for getting coffee that I need anyway.”
Elbows Up, Support Local
On the other side of the boycott argument are those who feel it’s important to support locally owned independent coffee shops over multinational chains to keep money within the community and also to build community.
When it comes to publicly traded companies like Tim Hortons Clear_Ad577 said, “Nothing is really owned by any single country. Anyone can buy shares of any company. You should always support businesses that produce in your community.”
Plenty_Ad_3442 agrees but adds, “I also find that your local coffee shop is a great place to find community. I make friends with the baristas and the other local regulars. Some of my best friendships were formed by enjoying a cappuccino with a local stranger at a coffee shop. You obviously aren’t going to find this kind of community at a Tim Hortons, which is the main reason I don’t go there.”
When we asked about boycotting Timmies in a private Facebook group, one respondent said, “We should not support any multinational corporations– period! We should buy from local businesses and farmers as much as possible, not only to keep our local economy vibrant but doing so will create local jobs, reduce our environmental footprint, and give us higher quality products.”
Another person responding to the Facebook thread added, “And we should never order from Amazon, which has killed so many local businesses all because we want one-click convenience.”
Ice_cream_fan_69 laments the good old days of Timmies; “I personally think it’s tricky – it is a Canadian brand, and they employ a ton of Canadians. However, the core business decisions are not made by Canadians and haven’t been for over a decade, and the changes are very noticeable to Canadians who grew up with the brand and saw the quality drop over the years. It is Canadian, just not how it used to be.”
So what do you think? Head to our Facebook page and let us know if you think we should boycott Tim Hortons as part of the country’s “Buy Canadian” tariff response.
