Canadians surprised by Tim Hortons boycott, say they never go there anyway
With hundreds of citizens across the province refusing to visit Tim Hortons franchises across Ontario to boycott the company’s response to new the minimum wage hike, many people are left asking “Well, what’s so different?”
It appears the Canadian stereotype of Tim Hortons chugging, polar bear riding, igloo dwelling folk, is now only partially accurate in Ontario. It is an honoured tradition of Ontarians—nay, Canadians of all stripes—to walk past any and all Timmies on their morning commute in order to find the nearest Starbucks, independent coffee store, even a Second Cup if there happens to be one within easy walking distance.
“I haven’t been near a Tim Hortons since my last road trip to northern Quebec,” said Ottawa local Joel Lamoureux, who prefers frequenting Bridgehead Coffee. “Nothing about my day-to-day life is any different. Except I have to dodge even more people on Rideau Street now.”
Of course, some people are saying this is a classic case of millennials—as per usual—only thinking of themselves, refusing to think of how their indifference to the boycott is affecting others in the community. The senior citizen crew is now running dangerously short on breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night meeting places.
“Do these millennials expect me to go to Starbucks? Lord love a duck, how do I even pronounce frap?” exclaimed one elderly woman, who chooses only to go by Gran. Her geriatric comrades nodded in support, or in their sleep (Tomato reporters had difficulty identifying the reason for the nodding). “I didn’t make it to 65 by trying new things and broadening my mind!” said Gran.
This drastic change in meeting places isn’t just inconvenient, but may even be cause for alarm. “Drastic changes at that age are hard to deal with,” said Davidoff Champion, a professor of sociology at the University of Ottawa. “While the younger generation can adapt, a disruption to routine, especially such an integral routine, will be very hard for our elderly community.”
With the focus on urban areas like Toronto and Ottawa, rural Ontario has—as per usual—been left out the debate. However it seems that just this once, they’re on the same page as everyone else—that is, equally undisturbed about the boycott.
“Who is Tim Horton again?” asked Anna Savant, a Mount Albert local. “I’m not sure I’d buy coffee from somewhere named after a person I didn’t know.”
So while Canadians may be up in arms online around Tim Hortons’ response to the minimum wage hike, their response in person has been less than caffeinated.
