Canadian Tire fined nearly $1.3 million for false advertising in Montreal stores
Posted February 6, 2026 1:50 pm.
Last Updated February 6, 2026 2:15 pm.
Canadian Tire is ordered to pay just under $1.3 million in fines and other costs after pleading guilty to violating the Consumer Protection Act 74 times in relation to false advertising.
Crown prosecutor Jérôme Dussault explained that the Canadian retail giant’s initial plea of not guilty had paved the way for a settlement. “Their legitimate right is to plead not guilty. The case goes to court. There are negotiations, as in any case. And then a settlement is filed today.”
Judge Simon Lavoie of the Court of Quebec ratified the agreement Friday at the Montreal courthouse, an agreement under which the fine and costs vary from $15,625 to $18,150 per charge for a total of $1,287,550.
Regular price inflated
The criminal proceedings followed a six-month investigation by the Office of Consumer Protection (OPC), conducted in 2021. “We demonstrated that in the flyers, on the website and in the price displays in stores, there were reference prices, that is to say the advertised current price, which were artificially inflated and which therefore gave the impression of a better discount than the real discount,” explained OPC spokesperson Charles Tanguay in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Analysis of sales data showed that the targeted products were rarely sold at the alleged “regular price” displayed online and that in store, the products were practically never displayed at this false regular price during the investigation.
Three stores had been included in the investigation, but they were removed from the case during negotiations “for confidential reasons,” we were told at the Consumer Protection Office.
In other words, the discount compared to the “regular price” was illusory because this supposed price, in fact, did not exist. This practice contravenes section 225(b) of the Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits a merchant from falsely indicating a regular price or other reference price for the sale of goods.
Seven products
As part of this investigation, the OPC targeted seven products and checked their prices between April and October 2021 in Canadian Tire flyers, on its website and in three branches in the greater Montreal area.
Under the agreement reached between the parties, Canadian Tire admitted its guilt for five of the products under investigation, namely Henckels and Cuisinart knife sets, Lagostina and Heritage cookware sets and a Dewalt cordless drill.
Canadian Tire will have to pay the amount claimed within 12 months.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
