Skip to content
WorldBrand.AI

Tim Hortons controversies

Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.

Back to profile3 entries

  1. 2021

    English-only workplace signs at Winnipeg Tim Hortons location criticized

    Issue disclosure

    Signs at a Winnipeg Tim Hortons location instructed employees to speak English at all times. Filipino community leader Perla Javate called the signs insensitive to multicultural workers. Tim Hortons said the signs ran counter to company values and had been removed.

    Company response

    • Remediation — Tim Hortons

      A spokesperson from Tim Hortons said in an emailed statement that the signs were removed on Sunday and that the owner offers a "sincere apology."

    • Apology — the owner

      A spokesperson from Tim Hortons said in an emailed statement that the signs were removed on Sunday and that the owner offers a "sincere apology."

    Source excerpt

    • Tim Hortons says the signs posted in a Winnipeg location run counter to the company's values and have been taken down.
    • The notices posted in at least two places behind the counter at a location on Henderson Highway said "We are an English-speaking place of work. Please speak English at all times," according to photos taken by a customer and posted to social media.
    • Perla Javate, the president of the Philippine Heritage Council of Manitoba and co-chair of Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba, says she's heard these words many times and they're insensitive to the multicultural workers at Tim Hortons — including the many Filipinos.
    Source

  2. 2020

    Tim Hortons faces backlash over free coffee offer

    Public backlash

    Tim Hortons faced online backlash after offering Prince Harry and Meghan free coffee for life if they moved to Canada. Some Canadians criticized the offer in light of reported labor relations practices at the chain.

    Source excerpt

    • The offer proved hard to swallow for Canadians upset by the chain´s labor relations practises.
    • A Canadian coffee chain that offered British royals Prince Harry and his wife Meghan free coffee for life if they move to Canada has faced an online backlash.
    • Shortly after the restaurant chain’s offer to the royals, netizens called out the company for underpaying its staff.
    Source

  3. 2014

    Consumers threaten boycott over proposed Burger King–Tim Hortons deal

    Public backlash

    Some Burger King customers threatened to boycott the brand over the proposed Tim Hortons deal, which they viewed as a move to avoid U.S. taxes. Some Canadian consumers also condemned Burger King's proposed acquisition of Tim Hortons.

    Source excerpt

    • Some ardent American whopper fans are not impressed with the burger giant’s bid to buy Canadian coffee-and-doughnut darling, Tim Hortons, to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
    • Die-hard patriots have even started using the b-word: boycott.
    • Some Canadians also dipped into the company's comments section, condemning the American burger chain’s reach to acquire Timmies.
    Source