This post is in response to Eric Lin’s blog post about No Longer Canadian.
I was quite shocked and disappointed when I discovered that Burger King was strategically acquiring one of my favourite fast food chains, Tim Hortons. Due to Burger King’s low demand in Canada, they thought it would be smart to purchase a company that produced higher revenues and follow their business model.
Applying the PEST analysis, the purchase of Tim Hortons will heavily impact Canadians economically and socially. As Eric has outlined, this will cause 44% of Canadian corporate workers to lose their job, but it also adds a challenge for Canadians to buy the rights of a now foreign-based franchise.
Although there is a heavy economic loss, I believe there is an even larger social issue in this topic. The Canadian government is always encouraging Canadians to create their own content and limit American influence; an American corporation acquiring one of our most famous companies doesn’t exactly corroborate this. Tim Hortons is one of the most common Canadian stereotypes around the world—we have to have our Tim Hortons with our maple syrup. It truly disappoints me when I see Canadian companies drop one by one to American influence or purchases. Tim Horton’s isn’t the only one, but there is an entire list.
Canadians, let’s show some national pride and stop letting Americans buy us out.
