Canadian Tire says it has cut prices on more than 5,000 items and is leaning into gifting as shoppers face tighter budgets heading into winter.
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Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. says it has dropped prices on more than 5,000 goods, including gift wrap and ornaments, while expanding its toy department and using Hudson’s Bay stripes to broaden its holiday offerings.
Chief executive Greg Hicks said the retailer’s gifting push is aimed at capturing the holiday market, which he estimated at “more than $5 billion,” and building on that throughout the year. Speaking Thursday on a call with analysts after the company reported results, Hicks said, “That means not just leaning into having the right products to gift but also (looking at) how we get consumers to have us more front of mind when they're looking for gifts for other occasions, like birthdays or Mother's Day.”
Hicks said the push is arriving as consumer conditions weaken, with tariff tensions and the war in Iran contributing to higher household costs such as gas. He said the resulting shift in sentiment is “a negative shock that's shrinking the economy's potential,” while noting shoppers have remained more resilient than some expected and are taking a more cautious approach.
He said Canadians still plan to spend when value is clear, and described what shoppers want: “The bar is higher,” Hicks explained. “They want value, they want relevance, they want convenience, they want price and they want to shop at a place that they trust.” He said those demands could last “for anywhere from another year to 18 months.”
Canadian Tire said warm autumn weather has weighed on sales that typically rise as temperatures drop, with the CFO saying the quarter is still in progress. Darren Myers said, “We’re off to a slower start in October. Clearly, winter has not showed up,” and added, “There’s a lot of the quarter left to play but we do need the weather to turn.”
The retailer reported that it increased its dividend and posted higher profit compared with the same period a year earlier. Canadian Tire will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.825 per share, up from $1.80 per share.
For the quarter, the company said it earned net income attributable to shareholders of $219.6 million, or $4.27 per diluted share, up from $169.1 million, or $3.13 per diluted share a year earlier. It reported revenue of $4.32 billion, up from $4.11 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
Canadian Tire said overall comparable sales rose 3.2 per cent across its banners, including 3.2 per cent at Canadian Tire, 3.2 per cent at SportChek and 3.3 per cent at Mark’s. The company’s share price was up by almost seven per cent, or $14, to about $218 in mid-morning trading on Thursday.
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