Canadian Tire ending Hockey Canada ‘partnership,’ sponsorship boycott grows

Canadian Tire says it is ending its relationship with Hockey Canada, going a step further than several other corporate sponsors over the past 24 hours that have withdrawn support for Hockey Canada’s men’s programs for this season — amid the sporting organization’s handling of alleged sexual assaults.

“After careful consideration, Canadian Tire Corporation has made the decision to end its partnership with Hockey Canada. In our view, Hockey Canada continues to resist meaningful change and we can no longer confidently move forward together,” Jane Shaw, the company’s senior vice-president of communications, said in a statement to CityNews on Thursday.

“CTC is proud of our commitment to sport and will continue to invest in our beloved national game by re-directing support to hockey-related organizations that better align with our values.”

Skip the Dishes has also ended its partnership with Hockey Canada, citing the recent scandal.

“Like many Canadians, we have been deeply troubled by recent allegations,” a company spokesperson said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday it is clear Hockey Canada has lost the confidence of Canadians and it is inconceivable at this point that the organization would refuse to change.

“It is nonsensical that they would be digging in their heels on this one, there needs to be wholesale change. They need to do it, they need to realize that if we have to create an organization, get rid of Hockey Canada and create an organization called Canada Hockey instead, we’ll look at doing that,” he said.

Corporate boycott of Hockey Canada continues to grow

Earlier in the day, telecommunications company Telus Corp. and automaker Chevrolet Canada announced they will no longer fund Hockey Canada’s men’s hockey programs for the 2022-23 season.

“It is deeply disheartened by the lack of action and commitment from Hockey Canada to drive necessary cultural change,” Telus said in a statement released on Thursday.

“We can confirm that Chevrolet Canada has stepped back from its sponsorship activities with Hockey Canada as we seek more clarity on what specific steps the organization has and will take following the alleged incidents of abuse,” GM Canada spokesperson Jennifer Wright said in a statement to Sportsnet.

Chevrolet joins Telus, Tim Horton’s and Scotiabank in pulling sponsorship of Hockey Canada. Statement sent to my colleagues at @Sportsnet
Listen to @CityNewsTO for latest #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/gXYEojExzI

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) October 6, 2022

Esso said it would be pulling its support for men’s programs in the 2022-2023 season, including the World Junior Championship tournament until “we see meaningful accountability, transparency and change.”

In a statement, Keri Scobie, a spokesperson for Imperial Oil, said Esso will continue to support women’s and youth programs.

“We will continue to support local and regional grassroots programs that focus on diversity, safety and education, and that make positive impacts to the culture surrounding Canada,” Scobie said.

Sobeys said it let its contract with Hockey Canada expire in June because it was “disgusted by all of the allegations” and “Hockey Canada’s unwillingness to make meaningful change to earn back the trust of Canadians and ensure everyone feels welcome and safe when playing the sport.”

In a statement, spokesperson Paul Wyke said Sobeys will continue to support the Women’s National Hockey team and are looking into how to do that without any connection to Hockey Canada.

They were the latest companies to withdraw their sponsorship, following similar announcements by Tim Hortons and Scotiabank on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Tim Hortons said it won’t be sponsoring the men’s programs this season, including the world juniors, saying it is “deeply disappointed in the lack of progress that Hockey Canada has made to date.”

“We’ve communicated to Hockey Canada on many occasions that the organization needs to take strong and definitive action before it can regain the faith and trust of Canadians,” said Tim Hortons spokesperson Michael Oliveira.

Scotiabank also said it would pause sponsorship of Hockey Canada, which it first announced in June, for the entire 2022-2023 season until the financial institution is confident the proper steps are taken to improve the culture within the sport.

Retail giant Canadian Tire and Telus followed suit later in the day, withdrawing support from the upcoming World Juniors tournament. The next day, Canadian Tire said it would be ending its partnership with Hockey Canada, while Telus withdrew its sponsorship from the men’s programs for this season.

The 2022-23 World Junior Championship will be played in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton.

The move comes as Hockey Canada continues to defend its leadership amid criticism over the handling of alleged sexual assaults and the way money was paid out in lawsuits.

Two recent allegations involve players from the 2018 and 2003 Canadian junior men’s teams. Those allegations have not been tested in court.

In an appearance Wednesday before a House of Commons committee investigating Hockey Canada’s handling of alleged sexual assaults, interim chair Andrea Skinner defended the organization and said hockey shouldn’t be made a “scapegoat” for a toxic culture that exists elsewhere in society.

On Wednesday, Hockey Quebec said it had lost confidence in Hockey Canada and would not transfer funds to the national organization.

The Ontario Hockey Federation (OHL), the largest of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial hockey federations, re-sent a formal request to Hockey Canada not to collect the $3 participant assessment fee from its members for the 2022-23 season.

With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews and The Canadian Press