Author
Mark Keast has recently covered the sports betting industry in Canada for The Parleh, and is a long-time sportswriter and editor, most notably with the Toronto Sun.
We doubt that the late Tim Horton, an all-star defenceman with the Toronto Maple Leafs and a few other teams from the 1950s through the early 70s, had any idea how big the donut franchise that bears his name would become.
Horton started the business with Ron Joyce in Hamilton in 1964, more than half a century before Ontario sports betting became legal.
That first Tim Hortons donut franchise was at 65 Ottawa St. N., in the east side of downtown Hamilton. It’s still there now.
Horton, a Hall of Famer who spent 24 seasons in the National Hockey League, was still active with the Buffalo Sabres when he died in a car wreck near St. Catharines, Ontario, in February 1974. He was 44.
But the donut shop bearing his name continued to expand and is still doing so today. Now it’s a billion-dollar company with thousands of franchises across Canada. The success of the chain is seen every day with the long queues at its drive-thrus and in its restaurants.
Tim Hortons used to be known just for coffee and donuts, but the chain has evolved and added other food products — chili, sandwiches, salads, soups.
Millions of Canadians make a Tims run for breakfast, lunch or dinner every day. But which province in Canada enjoys a trip to Tim Hortons the most?
OntarioBets, where we review the best Ontario sportsbook apps, used Tim Hortons’ website to get the number of store locations per province. We then used World Population Review’s population figures in each province to figure out the number of residents per Tim Hortons location. Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon were not included.
No. 1 is Nova Scotia — 169 Tim Hortons locations, a ratio of one Tims location per 6,100 residents. That province is followed by New Brunswick (one location per 7,015 residents), the Newfoundland & Labrador (one in 7,345)
Ontario has by far the most Tim Hortons locations with 2,043, but it also has the largest population in the most recent estimate. So the home of Toronto online casinos came in at the No. 4 spot, with one location per 7,471 residents.
Prince Edward Island (one in 7,509 residents) rounded out the Top 5.
Then the provinces to the west come into play — Alberta comes in at No. 6 (one location per 9,917 residents) followed by Manitoba (one in 11,453), Saskatchewan (one in 11,477) and British Columbia (one in 13,420).
Finally, Quebec, the home of the Maple Leafs’ eternal rival, the Montreal Canadiens, was in last place with one Tims per 13,738 residents. With both of those teams, and every other Canadian team, out of the NHL playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights entered Monday as the Stanley Cup favorite with BetMGM Ontario Sportsbook at +125 odds.
Tim Hortons as a food franchise inspires debate about the quality of its food and service, especially since the company came under new ownership, Restaurant Brands International. But the bottom line is, Tims ranks as one of Canada’s most recognizable brands.
The company has also taken steps into other markets — 13 countries according to RBI (including the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain, China, and across the Middle East).
But its home base will always be Canada. The country has a deeply rooted coffee culture, with “double-double” (two creams and two sugars) part of the nation’s lexicon.
It’s deeply intertwined with the Canadian experience.
For information on a newer part of the Canadian experience, namely Ontario online casinos, stay with us at OntarioBets for reviews, news and more.
Author
Mark Keast has recently covered the sports betting industry in Canada for The Parleh, and is a long-time sportswriter and editor, most notably with the Toronto Sun.
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