Billes family

Walk into almost any town in this country and you’ll find a Canadian Tire. It’s the place you go when the snow falls early, when the barbecue gives out, when the car won’t start. Season after season, it’s been there for the things Canadians need. It feels so familiar we often take it for granted. But behind it is a story most people don’t know, of how the Billes family built and protected one of the country’s most Canadian companies.

It began in 1922 when brothers J.W. (John William) and A.J. (Alfred Jackson) Billes scraped together $1,800 to buy Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd., a small shop in Toronto. Both trained engineers, they weren’t interested in just repairing cars. They could see that car ownership was about to take off and that Canadians would need more than mechanics to keep them on the road. They wanted to be the place people turned to for tires, parts, and practical advice as the country started driving. Within a year they renamed the business Canadian Tire, chosen because it “sounded big.” 

In 1934, Canadian Tire opened its first Associate Store. Most retailers at the time expanded by borrowing heavily and keeping every outlet under head office control. The Billes brothers couldn’t afford that. Instead, A.J. came up with a model that shifted the risk and reward to independent dealers. Dealers bought their own inventory and equipment, while Canadian Tire supplied the brand, products, and national advertising. Dealers had skin in the game, and the freedom to run their stores in ways that fit local customers.

It was a bold idea, and it worked because of the brothers’ partnership. A.J. was the architect, pushing for growth, while J.W. made sure the business stayed steady and trustworthy so new dealers felt confident signing on.

In 1944, with 110 stores, the Billes brothers took Canadian Tire Corporation public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The move gave them the capital to scale their dealer model nationwide, laying the groundwork for postwar expansion into every province and establishing it as one of the few retailers with a coast to coast presence.

When J.W. died unexpectedly in 1956, he left about 41% of the company’s voting shares to 23 Canadian charities. The decision bypassed his own family and led to years of legal disputes, but it tied Canadian Tire directly to the public good. For decades, its dividends funded classrooms, hospital wings, and community programs.

With J.W. gone, A.J. became president and carried the company into its next era. Canadian Tire “Money” was introduced in 1958 at its first gas bar in Toronto. With gasoline prices tightly controlled by the oil giants, they needed another way to compete. Their solution was coupons for cash customers, designed to look and feel like real money at the suggestion of Muriel Billes, A.J.’s wife. She believed people would value them more than stamps or small giveaways. What began as a simple loyalty program quickly grew into a kind of cultural currency and one of the most recognizable symbols of Canadian life.

By the 1990s, Canadian Tire was under pressure. The charitable ownership structure J.W. had set up decades earlier was fraying as universities and hospitals looked to sell their shares. At the same time the Billes family was divided. When A.J. died in 1995, his estate split shares among his children Fred, David, and Martha. Two wanted to sell. Martha refused. What followed was years of lawsuits and bitter disagreements over the company’s future.

For Martha, it wasn’t the role anyone expected. Her brothers had been groomed for leadership while she was often left out. But when the moment came, she was the one willing to fight for it.

In 1997, a court-approved settlement ended the feud and gave her control of the family’s shares. That same year, she pulled off a $1.2 billion deal to buy back the charities’ voting stock. Together those moves gave Martha Billes 61% of the vote and turned her into one of the most powerful leaders in Canadian business. More than that, she secured what mattered most to her: Canadian Tire would stay Canadian.

Today Canadian Tire has over 500 stores and tens of thousands of employees, many of whom share in its success through profit-sharing. Its Associate Dealer model has created hundreds of millionaires, keeping prosperity rooted locally. Dealers and their families are more than store operators. They are community anchors, sponsoring hockey teams and supporting Jumpstart, which has helped over 4 million kids overcome barriers to sport and play.

While other retailers have vanished or been sold off, Canadian Tire has doubled down on Canada, growing into a group that includes other household names like Mark’s, SportChek, PartSource, and Party City. In 2025, it even purchased the trademarks and branding rights to the Hudson’s Bay Company. It was a small acquisition, but a symbolic one, with Canadian Tire taking on the role of steward of a piece of Canadian history.

For a century, Canadian Tire has done more than sell goods. Thanks to the vision of the Billes brothers and the resolve of Martha Billes, it has become part of our national identity – something we can say is ours.

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Sources

This story draws on research from Canadian Tire’s corporate archives and investor relations materials; coverage in The Globe and Mail, Financial Post, and Toronto Star on Martha Billes, Canadian Tire’s governance, and the 1997 charitable share repurchase; CBC and CTV reporting on Canadian Tire acquisitions; the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities website; cultural sources including the Canadian Museum of History on Canadian Tire Money; and published histories such as Ian Brown’s Free Wheeling, Rod McQueen’s Can’t Buy Me Love, and Hugh McBride’s Our Store: 75 Years of Canadians and Canadian Tire.