I’m sitting at one of the large desks on the first floor of the Scott library. Midterms and assignments are coming up. I’m frustrated and tired. What do I need right now? Coffee. So I go to Tim Hortons right next to the library and order my usual large double double. I go outside, get some fresh air and come back. What do I notice? There are four of us sitting at this desk and there are four Tim Hortons cups on the desk. The girl right across me is blonde, the guy next to her is a Chinese guy, and the one next to me is black. Well, there is nothing special about the four of us drinking Tim Hortons. We are in Canada and in Canada, everyone drinks Tim Hortons! But why? How come I automatically relate Tim Hortons to as something Canadian? How was this strong link developed?
Photo taken without consent
As an international student, there are three things I noticed about Canada. First, Canada is so culturally diverse that it lacks a common culture that all Canadians share. Second, Canadians love hockey. Third, Canadians want to be distinguished from Americans. I realized these during a class discussion because it seemed like other students found it easier to define Canada by comparing it to the US rather than just describing the nation itself. In terms of theories, Canada is closer to civic nationalism than ethnic nationalism. Ethnic nationalism is “characterized by shared cultural royalties”[i] whereas civic nationalism is about “shared political principles and institutions.”[ii] The government created the national identity of Canada as culturally tolerant nation where all of the members preserve their own cultures under the roof of Canada. Tim Hortons took benefit of two distinct Canadian traits, love for hockey and the need to be distinguished from Americans, extremely well that Canadians accepted it as a national icon: one thing that all Canadians share.
Can you imagine the PM with a Starbucks cup?
Let’s talk about hockey first. The franchise is founded by a Canadian hockey player, Tim Horton, a Maple Leaf’s player for 17 full seasons. [i] It seems logical that when Tim Horton first opened his doughnut shop, people automatically associated it with hockey and glorious days of the Maple Leafs. Moreover, through the Timbits Minor Sports Program, Tim Hortons sponsors over 200,000 children who play sports including hockey.[ii] The company also sponsors 10 of the NHL teams. As a part of the sponsorships, these teams often provide “coaches clinic for volunteer coaches at all levels of minor hockey across the country”[iii] and “provide a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to play hockey during the intermissions of selected NHL regular and playoff games.”[iv] Timmies also has Timbits Hockey Timeline. If you upload a picture and some comments about your interaction with Timbits Hockey, you could win a $100 gift card. Associating the dominant sports of the country with the brand played a key role for the Tim Hortons becoming the Canadian icon.
Tim Horton on the opening day of his coffee shop
Canadians have strong desire to be differentiated with Americans. Looking at the history, the Canadian government tried hard to create national identity and differentiate with the United States ever since Confederation. For example, through the Canada First Movement, Canada wanted to be the Britain of the North comprised of only white people whereas the US was racially more diverse.[ix] Therefore, Canada has the tendency to be drawn to something Canadian and Tim Hortons is the only home-grown fast-food franchise that can compete against American franchises. Tim Hortons took advantage of this natural tendency and adopted right strategies such as opening up a store at a Canadian military base in Afghanistan to “bring a taste of home to troops in Kandahar.”[x] Also, Tim Hortons’ commercials such as the one with Sidney Crosby playing hockey and the other one where a husband welcomes his immigrating family with Tim Hortons’ coffee are all part of the strategy of strengthening the link between the company and the nation. As a home grown franchise with customer traffic share “larger than the next 15 chains in Canada combined”[xi], Tim Hortons have become almost a synonym to Canada and it provides Canadians with a sense of distinctiveness from Americans.
Bringing taste of home to Canadian troops in Afghanistan
I automatically think of Tim Hortons when I think of Canada. It’s probably because I visited Tim Hortons at least once a day throughout my years at York. Tim Hortons is everywhere, it’s cheap, and its products taste good. However, not many successful companies around the globe has the iconic status of Tim Hortons. As a culturally diverse nation, Canada lacks a common culture that all Canadians share. Therefore, Canadians adopted Tim Hortons as their national icon. In this process, Tim Hortons successfully incorporated hockey and inherent need to be differentiated with the US into its marketing strategies to position itself as being synonymous to Canada. Now that I think of it, it is weird that out of all the great things I enjoyed in Canada such as snowboarding at Whistler, traveling through the Rocky’s, and gambling at the Niagara Falls, what I will miss the most is coffee and doughnuts.
[i] Agnew, John. "Nationalism." Companion to Cultural Geography. Wiley-Blackwell. 136. Print.
[ii] Agnew, John. "Nationalism." Companion to Cultural Geography. Wiley-Blackwell. 136. Print.
[iii] Tim Horton Biography (1930-1974)." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[iv] Tim Horton Biography (1930-1974)." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[v][v] "Local Programs." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[vi] "National Sponsorships." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[vii] "National Sponsorships." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[viii] "Timbits Hockey." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[ix] Mackey, Eva. "Settling Differences." The House of Difference: Cultural Politics and National Identity in Canada. London: Routledge, 1999. 30. Print.
[x] "Tim Hortons Brings a Taste of Home to Troops in Kandahar." Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons. Web.
[xi] Shaw, Mollie. "Tim Hortons Inc to Open 500 New Stores in Canada, 300 in U.S." Financial Post. 25 Feb. 2014. Web.
honestly, what a good artifact, what Canadian doesn't know Tim Hortons? or even enjoy something from their, some people are even addicted to the coffee and spend thousands of dollars a year on coffee, it is a place people can go to sit and converse or somewhere go and read a quite book all in all Tim Hortons is canada!
I agree with the comment above - great choice of a Canadian artifact. It was interesting to read about how Timmies acts like most Canadians do in trying to distinguish itself as distinct from America.
You mentioned that a Canadian athlete opened Tim Hortons. It does seem a bit unexpected so I'm curious as to what his reasons behind it were.
Their is absolutely no question in saying that Tim Hortons is Canada, great artifact. In comparing Tim's to Starbucks we can truly see this distinctiveness that you are talking about between Canada and the States. We can see this as Starbucks mainly promotes exclusivity, whereas Tim's promotes community, a value that we as Canadians love.
Tim Hortons is definitely an artifact that I thought was a great representation of our nation. I often go to watch my brother's hockey games and as everyone watches, we always have a cup of coffee with us. It gives a feeling of relaxation, and just feeling at home. Great post!
What a clever and witty title (double double as in hockey and Tim Hortons). I most definitely agree with your pointers. I can also attest to going to a 'Timmies' a few days a week at York, if not everyday. It really has become a common culture for us Canadians as you pointed out, and I am glad you made that connection.