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Community Impact

Our Commitment

We are committed to supporting opportunity for all by investing in the communities in which we operate.

Our Brand Purpose – that We Are Here to Make Life in Canada Better – drives our commitment to people and community. As one of Canada’s largest retailers, we believe that we owe it to Canada, which has given us so much as a Company, to make it a better place for all Canadians. We need to work hand in hand with community partners, all levels of government and other businesses to strengthen our communities collectively. In doing so, we will provide our communities with employment and business opportunities, access to high-quality products and services, and a dependable source of tax revenue. In turn, our communities will continue to provide us with a strong employee pipeline, an active consumer base and dependable domestic suppliers.

Our work across Canada, with charitable organizations and in support of equity-deserving communities, is an endeavour that involves our entire group of companies. From providing first jobs to newcomers to Canada to pitching in at a girls’ hockey game, we are committed to making a difference to help secure Canada’s – and CTC’s – future prosperity.

We Are Here to Make Life in Canada Better by strengthening communities through the provision of economic opportunities, national- and local-level giving, and meaningful engagement.

Our Approach

1

We help strengthen local economies across Canada

Together with our Dealers, we support communities in Canada by providing good jobs, catalyzing an extensive supply chain of small businesses and supporting families in their day-to-day lives.

Our roots in Canadian communities run deep. During the last century, we have forged meaningful and long-lasting relationships from coast to coast with our customers, our employees, our suppliers and the communities we serve. Based on a recent economic impact assessment, it is estimated that CTC1 and our Dealers have contributed approximately $150 billion to the Canadian economy over the last decade. The assessment also found that CTC and our Dealers generated an estimated $18 billion in gross value added – equivalent to supporting 160,000 Canadian jobs or 1% of the Canadian economy – in 2021 alone.

Maple leaf fixture hanging above store in Edmonton, AB.

Canadian Tire Corporation’s Economic Impact

For more information about how CTC supports Canadians and contributes to the national economy, visit the Canadian Tire Corporation Economic Impact Report.

View our Economic Impact Report

We are proud of our economic investment in communities across the country. In March 2022, we announced a major $3.4 billion investment over a four-year period as part of our Better Connected strategy, including a significant $1.2 billion investment in our Canadian Tire store network. This will not only drive growth for CTC but will also create jobs in communities across Canada.

We also look for ways to support communities through investment in local manufacturing, where possible. For example, in 2021, we moved the manufacturing of our Sherwood wood hockey sticks and pucks back to Canada. This resulted in 70 new Canadian jobs in small towns as well as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to decreased transportation distances.

Spotlight on Paderno

For over 40 years, Paderno has been making quality cookware to help fuel Canadians’ passion for cooking. The first Canadian Paderno factory was opened on Prince Edward Island (PEI) in 1979, making it part of the cultural and industrial landscape of the island.

Learn more about Paderno
Lighthouse in PEI
2

We provide kids with access to sport through Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities

Since 2005, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities has been helping kids overcome financial and accessibility barriers to sport and recreation to provide inclusive play for kids of all abilities. As an independent registered charity, Jumpstart receives donations and sponsorships from various sources. CTC is proud to be Jumpstart’s biggest supporter, providing funding for general administrative expenses to ensure that 100% of donations go directly towards supporting kids in need. In addition, our customers, employees, vendors and other CTC business partners also contribute their individual time and resources to support Jumpstart’s work.

Children in front of soccer net wearing Jumpstart jerseys

Over $6.4 million raised for Jumpstart during Jumpstart Month

Every year, CTC hosts Jumpstart Month, an all-hands-on-deck effort to raise funds so that every kid in Canada can have a chance to benefit from the power of sport. Our TV and digital fundraising campaign reaches people nationwide. Our customers show their generosity with donations made at our stores, and many of our business partners and vendors contribute as well. At the corporate level, our Employees for Jumpstart campaign sees our employees rally together to raise funds for the charity. In 2021, Employees for Jumpstart raised over $660,000, which unlocked an additional $500,000 corporate donation from CTC. In total, over $6.4 million was raised during Jumpstart Month in 2021.

Jumpstart works with thousands of community sport and recreation organizations, providing financial and resource support for children, funding programs and events, and championing inclusive sport, such as gender equality initiatives. As a result of COVID-19 lockdowns and public health mandates, sport clubs, associations, teams and facilities faced an uncertain future due to lack of funding and activity. In late 2020, CTC provided a one-time $12 million donation to Jumpstart to support sport relief. Thanks in part to this generous gift, in 2021, Jumpstart disbursed over $32 million in funding2, provided financial support to over 1,600 community organizations, and helped over 240,000 kids take part in sport and play. Learn more about Jumpstart's work here.

Our values in action: we are innovators and entrepreneurs at our core

The COVID-19 pandemic required creativity to deliver sport and play programs to Canadian kids in a safe way. In 2021, Jumpstart launched Play From Home March Break Camp, a virtual event that showed kids and families how they could stay active, even during a lockdown. Complete with special Jumpstart Ambassador guests, live and uploaded online videos and activities, and social media–based engagement, more than 5,000 households and 9,000 children took part. The Play from Home: Girls in Sport program took a similar virtual approach, providing a supportive space for girls to try new sports.

Benoit Huot, 9-time Paralympic Gold medalist and longtime Jumpstart Ambassador, showcasing the Bear Crawl with his daughter Mila, as part of our Play from Home: Play Resources.
Pictured: Benoît Huot, 9-time Paralympic Gold medalist and longtime Jumpstart Ambassador, showcasing the Bear Crawl with his daughter Mila, as part of our Play from Home: Play Resources.

Jumpstart also works with municipalities to build inclusive play spaces for kids across Canada. In 2021, the charity, with contributions from local Dealers, built six new Jumpstart Inclusive Playgrounds and Jumpstart Inclusive Multi Sport Courts in Vernon, British Columbia; Whitehorse, Yukon; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Montreal, Quebec; Uxbridge, Ontario; and Thompson, Manitoba. Jumpstart designed these accessible play spaces to consider the needs of kids and families with different physical abilities and sensory issues. To date, Jumpstart has helped over 2.7 million children gain access to sport and play. More information on Jumpstart’s impact on Canadian kids can be found in its Annual Report.

3

We support Canadians during emergencies and disasters and are there to lend a hand in recovery

When the unexpected happens, we call upon our enterprise-wide strengths and abilities to bring immediate assistance to impacted and vulnerable people. Through our vast network of stores, our superior supply chain processes and our engaged management team, we leap to the service of Canadians when they need us most.

We believe the best way to help during an emergency is to ensure the experts and first responders have the resources they need to save lives, which is why CTC has a long-standing relationship with the Canadian Red Cross to support the execution of their invaluable work in Canadian communities when needs arise.

In 2021, parts of British Columbia experienced devastating flooding and fires. We leveraged our relationship with the Canadian Red Cross to collect customer donations at registers in our stores. Thanks to the generosity of Canadians, we were able to provide Canadian Red Cross with an additional $233,000 to support response efforts in British Columbia. We also partnered with various trucking associations to donate toys to families who experienced significant losses in the floods, partnered with Trucks For Change to deliver items in time for the holidays, and provided gift cards to residents and First Nations people in Lytton, British Columbia, after their homes were damaged or destroyed by wildfires.

Since the outset of COVID-19, we have helped our employees, customers and communities navigate the challenges of the pandemic. In 2020, we established a $5 million COVID-19 Response Fund, giving $1 million to both the Canadian Red Cross and United Way Centraide Canada, as well as donating $3 million dollars of product, including sanitizer, masks, shields and scrubs, to frontline workers and vulnerable communities. In 2021, we assisted with the rollout of vaccines by turning our Laval, Quebec event facility and Brampton, Ontario distribution centre into vaccine clinics for our distribution centre employees, their families and the wider public.

Did you know?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when personal finances were a challenge for many Canadians, Canadian Tire Bank made over 71,000 offers to customers to help them remain current on their monthly credit card bills. This included options such as allowing customers to skip one payment, matching a customer payment (up to a maximum of $150) and temporarily lowering their annual percentage rate.

Typing information

Maple Leaf

Our values in action: we are stronger together

We are committed to helping those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. In addition to protecting the safety and well-being of our employees in the region and facilitating over $1 million of funding to the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal (through both in-store fundraising and a corporate donation), we are supporting Ukrainian refugees to Canada through our $500,000 commitment to help provide essentials for the arrival of Ukrainian newcomers.

Learn more about our response to the Russia–Ukraine conflict here

Our 2021 humanitarian efforts also included support for Afghan newcomers. CTC donated more than $260,000 in essential products, with Jumpstart providing sports equipment and toys for families with young children. In addition, Mark's donated gift cards totaling more than $17,000, added a 25% discount on purchases, and facilitated bulk purchases of winter garments.

4

We provide support to local causes and organizations

All social issues require multi-sectoral support to move the needle. We are proud to support communities across Canada through donations of products, services and resources. Much of our work is done with the aim of “levelling the playing field” – both through sport and beyond. We supported many worthy events over the past year, including the University of Northern British Columbia Legacy Breakfast to raise funds for scholarships and bursaries for student athletes, WickFest, the annual Female World Hockey Festival hosted by Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser, and the SportChek Mother’s Day Run, Walk and Ride, which raised more than $34,000 in support of the Calgary Health Foundation.

We also contributed to important community work through our partnerships with organizations like Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, whose Active Together After School program developed a first-of-its-kind gamified exercise bike for kids with cystic fibrosis. We continue to partner with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, providing $450,000 over three years to support the creation of a Canadian guide dog breeding program as well as ongoing support for Canadian National Institute for the Blind Lake Joe, an accessible camp for children with sight loss. We also support the Canadian military community through partnerships with Together We Stand (TWS) and Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS), a branch of the Canadian Armed Forces that provides mental, physical and financial services to military members and their families. CFMWS received an $80,000 commitment from CTC to fund their 2021 activities, and through TWS, we donated $300,000 towards Operation Care Package, helping to send gift cards and good wishes to families whose military members were on active duty away from home during the holidays.

Did you know?

In 2021, 142 SportChek stores donated to 427 different community organizations across the country!

Three ladies walking in park,two carrying SportChek branded bags
Three employees standing with holding contsruction tools

Local Community Support

CTC is supported by a passionate Dealer network that is always looking to support their communities across the country in meaningful ways. Every Canadian Tire and Party City location is operated by a Dealer living in the community they serve. When we give at the retail level, we’re able to make a real difference in the lives of Canadians.

Above and beyond the Dealers’ significant involvement in Jumpstart, our stores invest heavily in local programs that help Canadian communities thrive, encouraging participation in physical activity, sports, and outdoor recreation.

To submit a request for sponsorship or donation, click the ‘apply’ button below. Please note that as a proud Canadian company, we focus our funding on programs that are offered within Canada.

APPLY
5

We work with our Dealers to strengthen communities coast to coast

No one understands Canadian communities quite like our Dealers. They are independent entrepreneurs in their communities and are finely tuned into what matters most to the people they serve. Through their generous donations, sponsorships and fundraising events, our Dealers invest in the local communities in which they live and work.

Annually, Dealers support their communities through hundreds of activities, donations and sponsorships. Here is a small snapshot of the types of impact our Dealers are making in local communities every day:


  • Belleville, Ontario: Dealers presented a $100,000 cheque to Quinte Health Care to be put towards the Belleville General Hospital Foundation’s “Be Well” campaign, supporting the 191,000 patients who receive care at the hospital each year.
  • Chilliwack, British Columbia: Our Canadian Tire store in Chilliwack has led the charge for Project Warm for eight years. Project Warm distributes coats and boots to hundreds of young people in the area. Since the store became involved, Project Warm has raised more than $700,000 and received $400,000 in donated goods.
  • Winnipeg, Manitoba: Dealers participated in the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation’s “Around the World in 80 Days” fundraiser, which supports fun and fitness for seniors. Canadian Tire stores in Winnipeg matched donations up to $40,000.
  • Prince Albert, Saskatchewan: In 2016, a Canadian Tire Dealer in Prince Albert made a significant commitment to donate $500,000 by 2022 toward the creation of the Rose Garden Hospice, a non-profit hospice that will provide compassionate, holistic care to people with terminal illnesses. In 2021, $135,000 was donated, and in 2022 the store exceeded its commitment, reaching a total of $535,000.

Our values in action: we are stronger together

At CTC, we are proud of the generosity and leadership of our Dealers. In 2021, countless stores from coast to coast stepped up to support their neighbours and communities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For example:


  • A Dealer in Winnipeg, Manitoba, helped the University of Winnipeg donate sports equipment and other items to families to help them stay active and healthy during lockdowns.
  • A Dealer in Fredericton, New Brunswick, handed out $25 gift cards to frontline workers from local hospitals. Over the course of three weeks, the store handed out more than 500 gift cards.
  • Two Dealers in Peterborough, Ontario, came together to help lift spirits, raising more than $24,500 so the town’s annual Winterfest could be safely enjoyed virtually.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE STORIES ABOUT HOW CTC AND DEALERS ARE INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES
Canadian Tire retail Dealer sorting through donations in Canadian Tire retail branded boxes

1 CTC’s Economic Impact Report did not include CT REIT, as it was not included in the scope of the third party assessment.

2 Note that this disbursement figure excludes Jumpstart staff salaries.

Unless otherwise indicated, information in this ESG Report is provided for the 2021 fiscal year. For further information on our approach to ESG reporting, including our Glossary, which sets out definitions of capitalized terms and acronyms that are not otherwise defined in this page, and our forward-looking information disclaimer, please click here.