Should Tim Hortons repay all Canadians promised a boat? This Ottawa man thinks so
The Ottawa man says he visits two or three times a day for his large double-double, and he always participates in "Roll Up the Rim to Win" — the annual promotion that gives customers the opportunity to win prizes ranging from a doughnut to an all-inclusive vacation.
So when Leveillee became one of thousands of Canadians across the country last year who were told in an email they'd won a 2024 Targa 18 WT boat and trailer, he couldn't believe it.
"[There were] tears of joy," he said. "And after that came the tears of deception."
The wins had been a mistake. Tim Hortons reached out to its customers by email, blaming "technical errors."
Montreal-based law firm LPC Avocats then launched a class-action lawsuit, arguing the thousands of affected customers deserve to be awarded the boat and trailer or the prize's value — about $64,000, the firm estimates.
They had intended to represent all Canadians. In June 2025, a judge ruled that the lawsuit could go forward – but only for Quebec residents, because that province has stronger consumer protection laws.
Leveillee said he'll be happy for any customers who can get justice, but Tim Hortons should be held responsible for everyone who got the notifications.
"If buy a coffee on the Quebec side [of the Ottawa River], and then you play Roll Up the Rim and win in Ontario, you're a winner no matter what," he said, noting he often stops for coffee in Gatineau, Que.
Leveillee and his wife want to fight the case outside of Quebec, but the differences in consumer protection laws may make it a risky endeavour for lawyers to take on.
LPC Avocats' legal argument was that Tim Hortons and its customers enter into a contract through the Roll Up the Rim promotion. The customer buys something, and Tim Hortons gives them a chance to win, explained Joey Zukran, who owns the firm.
Under the Quebec Consumer Protection Act, a company cannot claim something was a "mistake" as their defence to get out of the contract, Zukran said.
"It's not the consumer that's going to bear the responsibility of that error," Zukran said. "It's the merchant. And that is the message that the court is sending loud and clear by way of this judgement."
Because their argument was based on Quebec's law, the judge ruled it cannot be applied nationally, Zukran explained. Based on his team's research, Zukran said he believes the "question of error" is not as clear in the rest of Canada as it is in Quebec.
Quebec has the best consumer legislation in Canada because it's updated regularly, according to University of Ottawa law professor Gilles LeVasseur.
"The legislation in Ontario is not as robust [because] the way we do things is, if there's a crisis, we'll add to it," he said.
Consumer protection laws should be standard across the country, LeVasseur argued, noting it will become increasingly important as trade barriers are lifted between provinces.
"The sad part [about] the way we do things in Ontario [is that] consumers would want to see more of these actual measures of protection," he said.
Leveillee agrees that the same rules should apply across Canada.
For him, the case is about holding a large corporation to its word, on behalf of the customers who went through an emotional roller coaster after learning they might have won life-changing money.
He's reached out to some other customers, hoping to work together, including one woman in Cornwall, Ont., who said the money from the boat could have paid off her house.
"These big boys don't care about good old Canadians that get up in the morning [and] go to work," he said. "We're just regular citizens, we're not lawyers ... but we're on a roll. We're going to do something about it."
Leveillee and his wife have also been contacting lawyers in Ontario, but they've only heard back from one who's interested in the case.
Zukran said he's heard from some people who've told him other lawyers aren't willing to take on the risk that LPC Avocats is shouldering — namely, to spend time and resources on a class action suit which will only pay the lawyers if they win.
Still, any customers outside Quebec who feel they have a case should try to find a lawyer, he recommended — noting $64,000 per person is "not a small claim."
"One of the things I love about my job is that we get to hold big, strong, large, rich corporations accountable versus the little guy," Zukran said.
"And what did Tim Hortons do in this situation? They didn't even offer their customers a free coffee."
CBC reached out to Tim Hortons for comment, but they declined because the matter is still in court.
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