I just sent this email to my MP and you should too.
Dear Mrs. Elizabeth May,
I’m writing to propose something that might sound crazy at first—but I believe it’s an idea worth serious national conversation: the Government of Canada should buy Tim Hortons and nationalize it.
Tim Hortons is undeniably a Canadian symbol. It’s been part of our shared national experience for decades. But the reality is, it’s not a Canadian company anymore. Since being sold to a foreign parent company, it’s felt less and less like the Tim Hortons we all grew up with.
It’s not just about ownership. It doesn’t employ Canadians like it used to—especially seniors, who often worked there part-time and genuinely loved the social connection and dignity that came with that work. Now, many of those jobs have disappeared or changed beyond recognition.
Visitors from around the world still come here excited to try “Tims,” thinking they’re about to experience something uniquely Canadian. What they often get instead is low-quality food and a disorganized, underpaid workforce. It reflects badly—not just on the company, but on Canada itself.
Nationalizing Tim Hortons could restore pride in something we all grew up with. It could mean better jobs, higher standards, and a stronger connection to Canadian communities and culture.
I hope you’ll consider raising this idea with your colleagues. At the very least, it’s time we started talking seriously about what we want our national institutions—including cultural icons like Tim Hortons—to look like.
Sincerely,
My name Address Phone number
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Yeah let’s save a failing brand that’s been awful for decades instead of doing something useful!
Let’s start with nationalizing Canada Post and stop treating that essential service like it was a company.
Canada Post is a crown corporation and is owned by the Canadian government, created to ensure it’s financial security and independence. This is just the rich trying to convince the public it is insolvent and should be sold to the private sector for pennies on the dollar to fuck over Canadians and provide shittier service for exponentially more money.
It’s already a crown corp, meaning it’s already nationalized.
An American-owned, bottom of the barrel fast food chain serving frozen donuts and mediocre sandwiches. Their coffee turned to shit 10 years ago because they mismanaged their vendors and lost their supplier to McDonald’s.
They hire practically no Canadians and exploit the Temporary Foreign Worker program like no other restaurant business.
There’s nothing left there that’s worth buying or saving. We’re at least 15 years too late for that.
I was actually in one a few weeks ago and had a “flatbread pizza”. It was worse than the equivalent pizza I ordered on an Air Canada flight. But at least it was a couple bucks cheaper.
Those downvoting, please tell me why you think this idea is bad. When I present this idea to people irl they say wow why is nobody really pushing for this.
Tim hortons going downhill is such an obvious stain on our country and people seem to just let it slide.
The only valid critique i’ve heard is “that’s dumb”
We should be nationalizing infrastructure where having a single vendor (ie. monopoly) makes sense.
Cafés are a great example where many small businesses are ideal.
Let Tim Horton’s fail and let small independent cafés flood the space.
What if the workers at these shops made $30+/hr like other gov positions?
The “tim hortons infrastructure” already exists
Making your national identity a shitty coffee shop is stupid. Labatts Blue is a better cultural icon, let’s nationalize that and purchase it from InBev.
It is dumb. It’s a shitty american donut and coffee shop and you want to spend public money on it to… Save face?
It’s not american though, it’s owned by brazil, and it’s only shitty since it was bought by them
It’s owned by Restaurant Brands International, which is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
It wasn’t ever good. You suffer from false nostalgia.
What happens to nationalized locations overseas, do these now function as quasi-embassies? How is pay organized for foreign citizens working at international locations, Canadian tax dollars? Will menu changes be televised on CSPAN from the Canadian House of Commons?
I don’t have a plan for the first questions but yes menu changes will be televised on CSPAN. And yes we will waste time on it in the house like we do with name calling etc. The poutine made at tims will be free of all poutine crimes.
This is why you are being down voted. Stop wasting peoples time with your nonsense.
