Canadian Tire, a major Canadian retail chain, has been fined nearly $1.3 million by a Quebec court for violating 74 provisions of the Consumer Protection Act by inflating prices and misleading consumers in its discount advertising.
This case stems from a six-month investigation launched by the Quebec Office of Consumer Protection (OPC) in 2021. The investigation found that between April and October 2021, Canadian Tire artificially inflated the original price in its promotional materials, company website, and three stores in the Montreal area, misleading consumers into believing that the product was on sale with a significant discount—the price consumers actually paid was almost the “normal price” of the product.
OPC sampled seven products, and Canadian Tire only admitted responsibility for five of them, including: Knife sets from Henckels and Cuisinart Cookware from the brands Lagostina and Heritage DEWALT brand cordless drill The court-approved settlement agreement shows that the fines and court costs for each charge range from CAD 15,625 to CAD 18,150.
Prosecutor Jérôme Dussault stated that Canadian Tire initially refused to plead guilty but ultimately agreed to a settlement with the prosecution. This settlement has been formally approved by Judge Simon Ruel. In a written statement, Canadian Tire responded that the OPC’s allegations concerned five products from five years ago, over a six-month period, and emphasized that “no customers were overcharged as a result.”
The company will pay the fine within the next 12 months as required.