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
The government can stop abuse of temporary foreign workers without buying each company that does it though. That’s not sustainable nor effective, That’s like trying to fix a plumbing leak one bucket at a time.
Redesigning or removing the temporary foreign workers program could be effective, it just requires political will to endure the screaming and retaliation of private business interests who count on abusing it for profit.
Besides, even if the government WAS interested in buying Tim Hortons and there was a solid case for it, they should be financially responsible about it and do what private businesses do, abusing their own position to drive it into near-or-actual-bankruptcy before making their bid of pennies on the dollar to pick up only the parts that have actual value, like the brands and the store locations. If they wanted to try to drive it into bankruptcy, they might start by suddenly getting rid of their ability to abuse the temporary foreign workers program. Just a thought.