Peak Performance store at 813 Burrard Street in Vancouver. Photo: Olli Dickerson
Peak Performance began its latest chapter in Vancouver with a spectacle that transformed one of the city’s most recognizable public spaces into a temporary ski arena. On December 7, the Swedish outdoor brand staged The Vancouver Drop In on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery, a rail jam event designed to celebrate the opening of the Peak Performance Burrard flagship. The activation drew professional athletes, students, and thousands of onlookers who crowded the edges of Robson Square to watch a rare downtown competition unfold.
The scale of the production was immediately visible. Set-up began at dawn during heavy rain, with Arena Snowparks installing three custom features while volunteers with the UBC Ski and Snowboard Club transported more than two thousand cubic feet of snow to the site. By early afternoon the skies had cleared and the mood shifted as athletes began warming up on a course that overtook the entire staircase.
Peak Performance Rail Jam event in Vancouver, December 7, 2025. Photo: Olli Dickerson
Red Bull Canada supported the event with a DJ and beverages for a VIP viewing area, building an animated festival atmosphere that intensified as the day progressed. The rail jam opened with practice runs at 1 p.m., followed by a qualifying round and finals under evening lights. The roster featured confirmed athletes Alex Thucydides, Jarl Whist, Will Penrose, Jacob Belanger, Chase Ujeski, Anders Ujeski, Mark Hendrickson, Sage M, Mili Hofman, and Shonny Charbonneau. Additional professionals joined on arrival, including ON3P’s Rudy Lepine and Red Bull athlete Max Moffat. Hendrickson and Moffat are Olympic hopefuls, and Lepine recently appeared in the Level 1 film “Fingers Crossed,” which contributed to the strength of the lineup.
The finals delivered strong performances across all three features, with crowds gathering shoulder to shoulder along both sides of the staircase. A prize purse of six thousand dollars was split among winners. In the women’s category, Shonny Charbonneau placed first, followed by Makenna Griffiths and Mili Hofmann. The men’s podium was led by Mark Hendrickson in first place, Max Moffat in second, and Rudy Lepine in third. For spectators, the event offered an unusual convergence of downtown culture and mountain sport, and it created a celebratory moment to anchor the arrival of the Peak Performance Burrard flagship.
Peak Performance Rail Jam event in Vancouver, December 7, 2025. Photo: Olli Dickerson
The Burrard Store Opens as Peak Performance Grows in Canada
While the rail jam commanded attention on opening weekend, the new store itself represents the core of the brand’s long-term strategy in Canada. Located at 813 Burrard Street, just steps from Robson Street’s high foot traffic corridor, the store opened quietly to the public on November 29 and began drawing consistent shopper interest in the days leading to the launch celebration.
The Peak Performance Burrard flagship occupies a prominent site formerly held by Arc’teryx before that company relocated across the street to a much larger space. The new store places Peak Performance in the centre of Vancouver’s outdoor retail cluster, an area frequented by visitors and residents who are deeply engaged in mountain sports. The location provides strong co-tenancy, significant tourist volumes, and visibility near cultural landmarks including the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The Burrard store is positioned as a larger and more immersive expression than the approximate 1,900 square foot Kitsilano concept store that opened in 2023. The expanded footprint supports a broader product offering that includes ski apparel, hiking gear, mountain biking collections, and urban technical wear. The interior embraces Scandinavian design principles that reflect the brand’s origins in the mountain village of Åre in Sweden, with bright spaces, light woods, and clean visual displays that guide customers through the technical stories behind each category.
Staff and ambassadors provide technical guidance and product knowledge, while the store’s programming is designed to build community connections through workshops and activations. Complimentary repair services also highlight the brand’s sustainability commitments by extending the life of key products. With its scale and assortment, the Peak Performance Burrard flagship is intended to anchor the company’s North American expansion and serve as a model for future stores.
Peak Performance Rail Jam event in Vancouver, December 7, 2025. Photo: Olli Dickerson
A Brand Built on Ski Culture and Scandinavian Design
Peak Performance was founded in 1986 by three skiers in Åre who wanted technical apparel that balanced function and simplicity in a way they felt the market lacked. Their early collections were embraced quickly across Scandinavia and later attracted broader European interest as the company moved beyond skiwear into general outdoor and urban apparel. The business was later acquired by IC Group, a move that supported international expansion. In 2018 the company was sold to Amer Sports, a global sporting goods group now controlled by a consortium led by Anta Sports. The acquisition has provided resources and distribution pathways that have strengthened the brand’s global presence, including in North America.
The brand’s collections now span multi-season outdoor categories that combine performance materials with the minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic that has defined Peak Performance since its earliest days. Partnerships with athletes and sponsorships such as the Freeride World Tour reinforce the brand’s connection to advanced mountain environments and high-performance testing grounds.
“I’m incredibly proud of our teams and their relentless pursuit of excellence resulting in another outstanding quarter with adjusted EBITDA margin reaching a record 40.2%, up 650 basis points year over a year. Comparable store sales increased 31.6%, an acceleration from Q2’s exceptional 28.6%. With most of our tariff volatility behind us we are pleased to report best-in-class gross margin of 66.1%, our highest level in more than three years. While these results continue to exceed expectations, the initiatives driving brand heat are incredibly intentional. Building on this momentum, we are raising our fiscal 2025 guidance on both comparable sales and adjusted EBITDA margin,” said Andrew Lutfy, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board.
Stacie Beaver
“Our teams once again demonstrated the strength of our values-led culture. What we delivered this quarter across product, stores, and digital reflects the intention, discipline, and agility that continue to set us apart. We’re well into our journey to elevate and premiumize both brands, and the customer response remains strong. Operationally, our real estate strategy continues to be a core pillar, with 17 gross openings year-to-date positioning us for sustained, high-quality traffic. On digital, we’re encouraged by the 40 basis points increase in e-commerce penetration in Q3 2025, as we enhance our platforms to support richer storytelling and more seamless experiences. With a solid foundation, real momentum, and teams who move fast and stay aligned, we enter Q4 confident in our ability to raise performance, strengthen brand experiences, and deepen our community connections,” added Stacie Beaver, President and Chief Operating Officer.
“Our profitability and cash flow have exceeded expectations, underscoring the strength of our luxury-inspired operating model and our disciplined execution which mitigates fashion risk,” said Jean-Philippe D. Lachance, Chief Financial Officer of Groupe Dynamite. “At this point, we view a $2.30 per share one-time special dividend as an effective way to return capital to shareholders, consistent with our commitment to enhancing long-term shareholder value. Following this distribution, pro forma leverage will be approximately 1.05x, with total pro forma available liquidity of roughly $316.0 million from cash and credit facilities, leaving us in an excellent financial position to support future growth.”
Source: Groupe Dynamite website
Fiscal 2025 Third Quarter Highlights
Revenue increased by 40.3% to $363.0 million in Q3 2025, compared to $258.8 million in Q3 2024.
Comparable store sales growth of 31.6% (28.6% on a constant currency basis) in Q3 2025, over and above comparable store sales growth of 10.1% in Q3 2024.
Retail sales per square foot increased by 24.7% compared to Q3 2024, reaching $889 in Q3 2025.
SG&A increased to $95.8 million in Q3 2025, compared to $80.0 million in Q3 2024, and adjusted SG&A as a percentage of sales decreased by 340 basis points to 25.9% from 29.3% over the same period in Q3 2024.
Operating income increased by 90.3% to $120.1 million in Q3 2025, compared to $63.1 million in Q3 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 67.5% to $146.1 million in Q3 2025, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 40.2%, compared to 33.7% for the same period in Q3 2024.
Diluted net earnings per share increased to $0.71 in Q3 2025, compared to $0.38 in Q3 2024 and adjusted diluted net earnings per share increased by 75.6% to $0.72 in Q3 2025, compared to $0.41 in Q3 2024.
Real estate activity for Q3 2025 includes:
Opening of 8 gross new stores in the United States under the Garage banner
No store closures
Renovation or relocation of 4 stores: 1 in the United States under the Garage banner and 3 in Canada under both banners.
Groupe Dynamite Inc. operates retail stores and digital experiences under two complementary banners.
Canadian retailers are steadily moving from curiosity about artificial intelligence to real implementation, although in a measured way that reflects broader economic conditions and long standing growth patterns. Rather than pursuing bold bets that could lead to sharp booms and busts, most banners are piloting focused AI tools behind the scenes and looking for clear productivity gains before exposing more AI directly to shoppers.
“The difference between Canada and the United States has always been that Canadian retailers are more cautious,” said Natalija Pavic, Senior Director of Product Marketing for KIBO Commerce, in a recent interview with Retail Insider. “You can see it when you compare a business like Sleep Country Canada to Mattress Firm. Sleep Country has tended to expand slowly and steadily, while Mattress Firm went through a pronounced boom and bust cycle.”
That same temperament, she argued, now shapes AI adoption in Canadian retail, influencing choices across merchandising, supply chain and customer experience.
Pilots take hold as Canadian retailers test AI in the field
Natalija Pavic, Senior Director of Product Marketing for KIBO Commerce
The current phase is characterized less by headline grabbing AI front ends and more by quiet pilots inside larger enterprises. Pavic described a cohort of Canadian retail leaders that skew toward the enterprise side rather than mid market and are now testing AI in targeted use cases instead of trying to transform the entire business at once.
“We have several Canadian retailers in pilot right now,” she said. “We are seeing particular momentum in home goods, liquor and wine, and pharmacy. In those categories, AI is being used to support product recommendations, category guidance and more complex customer questions.”
In one example, she pointed to a large format retailer that combines pharmacy, seasonal, outdoor and electronics assortments and is experimenting with AI agents that can guide shoppers across very different departments. “They need AI agents that can handle complex product questions, help with item selection and provide high quality recommendations at scale,” she noted.
At the same time, she said that fully fledged AI personal shoppers are still rare in this market. “I have not yet seen strong adoption of the vision of a true personal shopper assistant in Canada,” she said. “It is discussed often, but I have not personally interacted with an implementation that feels mature and truly impressive in this market.”
The unseen work: merchandising, content and supply chain
If consumer facing experimentation is still limited, the back office is moving faster. Pavic expects the most immediate impact of AI adoption in Canadian retail to appear in what she calls the “unseen work” of merchandising, content creation and planning, where teams have been under pressure for years.
“The biggest gains in the near term are in productivity for merchandisers, marketers and planners,” she said. “There is a perception that AI will eliminate roles, but the reality inside most organizations is that teams are already stretched. I have never led a marketing team where I felt we had more capacity than we needed.”
In that context, she sees AI as a way to extend the function rather than shrink it. “AI can help marketers and merchandisers do things they simply did not have time to do before,” she explained. That can mean auto generating promotions and campaign variants, drafting product descriptions and category copy, or helping teams test more scenarios when they build assortments and planograms.
Operationally, Pavic pointed to order management, inventory visibility and delivery promise dates as key frontiers for practical deployment. “We are very focused on helping retailers optimize how they provide and deliver product,” she said. “That ranges from setting the right safety stock in the right distribution center to routing orders so that delivery commitments can be met, especially in critical periods like the holiday season.”
AI infused logic is now underpinning promise date estimation and fulfillment decisions, she added. In a market where identical branded products are available from multiple channels, she believes the network itself becomes a primary differentiator. “It is less a question of whether a shopper can find a product and more a question of who has the most reliable and efficient delivery network,” she said.
Budget pressure, vendor fatigue and the AI business case
Economic realities are also pushing executives to look at AI with fresh urgency. Pavic said it is common for conversations with Canadian retailers to begin with a clear statement that there is no budget available for major projects, only to evolve after a deeper discussion of total cost of ownership and technical debt.
“I often start meetings with retailers who say there is no budget for the year,” she said. “After we walk through where costs are sitting today and what AI can actually change, we sometimes end the conversation with the realization that doing nothing is more expensive than moving ahead with a focused AI initiative.”
She said rising license costs from large legacy software providers, combined with the complexity of older platforms, are pushing retailers to look for point solutions that can sit beside existing systems. In her view, this is one reason modular tools that enable AI adoption in Canadian retail are gaining traction.
“Many organizations invested in large scale digital transformation projects that took a year or more to complete and carried significant risk,” she said. “Some of those efforts have delivered value, but others have left leadership feeling cautious about signing up for another big bang project.”
KIBO’s response has been to emphasize modular offerings that can coexist with current platforms. “We have worked hard to make our products truly modular so that retailers can adopt specific capabilities without replacing everything they already have,” she said. “It gives chief information officers a way to fill gaps, start seeing benefit quickly and then migrate other pieces gradually as it makes sense.”
Rethinking data: from perfect unification to workable reality
Unifying data across channels, banners and back end systems has long been presented as a prerequisite for modern commerce. Pavic takes a more pragmatic approach, especially in light of advances in AI that can work with messy inputs.
“There is a narrative that unified data is the single most important foundation, and that often comes from vendors selling database technology and extensive professional services,” she said. “In practice, there are now AI tools that can operate on unstructured data and extract value without requiring you to fully normalize every field first.”
Rather than spending six months harmonizing data models, she encourages retailers to look at platforms that can automatically map sources and create workable linkages. “We partner closely with Google, and our agentic commerce capabilities are built on Google’s technology,” she said. “Their data lake style solutions can map disparate data sets automatically, which means you do not necessarily need a new team of data scientists just to get started.”
She believes that mindset shift is essential if retailers want to see benefits sooner. “There is a tendency to delay programs because the foundational work feels overwhelming,” she said. “The better question is often whether there are tools that can handle the reality of the data as it exists today so that you can begin to move the needle.”
From SEO to answer engines and agentic commerce
Pavic also spends her time thinking about how AI changes product discovery. Traditional search engine optimization remains relevant, particularly in Canada, where everyday consumer use of tools like ChatGPT and Gemini is still catching up to the United States. At the same time, she said the industry is already grappling with a future where answers, rather than blue links, become the default result.
“People are starting to talk about answer engine optimization as a complement to SEO,” she said. “Large language models can synthesize content from many sources to respond to a shopper’s question without always showing where each idea came from.”
That complicates some of the old playbook. Long form educational content still matters, but the benefit can be more diffuse when a model blends insights from many brands into a single answer. For Pavic, that puts renewed emphasis on fundamentals. “We are going back to core brand building,” she said. “It is about being recognized as a trusted source of information and having strong third party signals like reviews and independent rankings that models can see and interpret.”
She also urged retailers to think carefully about what happens when shoppers use AI tools as the primary interface for shopping. In her view, agentic commerce, where software agents interact on behalf of both shopper and retailer, will grow in importance.
“There are new protocols that allow retailers to expose inventory and checkout capabilities into AI environments,” she said. “If your products are recommended within a chat interface, you want to be the brand that can present a clear path to purchase rather than leaving that traffic to generic aggregators.”
Physical experiences as a Canadian advantage
Despite her focus on software, Pavic is clear that physical experience remains one of the most important differentiators for domestic retailers. With Canadian consumers spending a significant portion of the year indoors, she sees a real opportunity for more creative third spaces that combine retail, food, community and entertainment.
“For at least half the year, Canadians are looking for indoor spaces where they can spend time,” she said. “We do not have as many third spaces as we could, and that is an area where retailers can innovate in ways that are very difficult for purely digital competitors to replicate.”
She pointed to large format American concepts that integrate activities, dining and immersive environments under one roof as examples of what is possible. Closer to home, she highlighted small neighbourhood businesses that blend cafés with children’s play spaces as an illustration of how modest footprints can still create meaningful experiences.
“These concepts are simple in one sense, but they address a real need,” she said. “Parents need somewhere warm, comfortable and engaging to spend time with their children. Retailers and landlords who design around those needs can build resilience that is not subject to the same supply chain and price volatility as product alone.”
That matters even more as Chinese platforms and fast fashion brands deepen their reach into Canada. “China was once primarily the source of manufacturing,” she said. “Today, Chinese retailers are building direct relationships with Canadian consumers. If local banners do not differentiate through experience, service and brand, there is a risk that more heritage names will disappear.”
Marketplaces, dropship and nurturing smaller brands
Pavic believes one of the most promising responses is for Canadian retailers to position themselves as curated platforms for smaller and boutique brands, both online and in store. With tariffs, policy changes and global disruptions affecting supply, third party supply, dropship and marketplaces are becoming central themes in AI adoption in Canadian retail.
“At KIBO we are investing heavily in dropship and marketplace capabilities because we see them as critical to the future assortment strategy,” she said. “The current landscape often forces retailers to choose between very expensive enterprise marketplace platforms and extremely limited entry level tools. There is not enough in the middle.”
She sees an opportunity for Canadian banners to onboard local makers and small businesses that might currently sell primarily through marketplaces or craft platforms. “Retailers can create environments where those brands can be discovered and can benefit from the traffic and trust that established banners already have,” she said. “That can happen in physical spaces as well as through curated online marketplaces.”
The key, in her view, is to offer technology that makes onboarding and operations straightforward without demanding enterprise level budgets or multi year projects.
Smarter search as a practical AI entry point
Search is another area where Pavic sees clear and accessible use cases for AI that do not require a full scale transformation. “On many retail sites, search still does not work the way shoppers expect it to,” she said. “That is often because it is based purely on keyword matching or, at the other extreme, on heavy personalization without enough context.”
She advocates for approaches that combine vector search and semantic understanding to deliver more relevant results. “Instead of only looking for exact keyword matches, vector search represents products and queries in a multi dimensional space,” she explained. “That allows the engine to understand that a shopper searching for a red dress should see dresses first, with related but less relevant items appearing further down the results instead of being mixed together.”
Layered with natural language understanding, she said, this type of search can significantly improve the customer experience while remaining relatively modular and cost effective to implement. “It is often possible to gain a meaningful uplift in search performance without replacing the entire site or waiting for a broader digital overhaul,” she said.
For retailers still watching from the sidelines, Pavic’s core message is pragmatic rather than promotional. Begin where the pain is greatest, look for modular tools that integrate with current systems, and recognize that AI adoption in Canadian retail does not need to arrive as a single sweeping program.
The accommodation services subsector reached a record-high operating revenue of $35.9 billion in 2024, representing a 2.9% increase from 2023. This marks the first year since 2019 that the subsector experienced single-digit growth, signalling a return to more typical market conditions following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent Statistics Canada report.
Ontario (30.2%) accounted for the largest share of operating revenue among the provinces and territories in 2024, followed by British Columbia (22.2%), Quebec (17.0%) and Alberta (16.7%), said the federal agency.
“Operating expenses rose by 3.3% to $29.5 billion in 2024. The largest contributor to these expenses was salaries, wages, commissions and benefits, which represented 27.3% of total expenses. This share increased from 25.5% in 2021 but remained lower than that recorded in 2019 (29.2%),” it said.
“The profit margin was 18.0% in 2024, down slightly from 18.3% in 2023 but noticeably higher than the pre-pandemic level of 14.2% in 2019. Recent record-high profit margins likely reflect sustained price pressures and the pandemic-induced exit of less resilient establishments, resulting in the continued operation of only the more profitable businesses.”
The subsector includes two industry groupings: hotels, motor hotels and motels—which include private short-term rentals—and other accommodation industries.
Photo: Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada said operating revenue for hotels, motor hotels and motels increased by 4.1% to reach $30.0 billion in 2024. The majority of sales revenue came from room or unit accommodation for travellers (75.8%), followed by meals and non-alcoholic beverages (9.0%).
Individuals accounted for the largest share of sales, at 47.3%. This proportion has been trending downward, as the return of international tourists boosted sales to customers outside Canada from 6.8% in 2021 to 16.6% in 2024, it said.
The federal agency said operating expenses rose by 5.0% to $24.2 billion in 2024, resulting in a profit margin of 19.1%, down from 19.8% in 2023.
Salaries, wages, com missions and benefits represented 27.4% of total expenses in 2024.
Statistics Canada said operating revenue for other accommodation industries declined by 2.5% to $6.0 billion in 2024, driven by the rooming and boarding houses industry, which includes workforce lodging.
Alberta (28.8%) accounted for the largest share of revenue, followed by Ontario (25.5%), British Columbia (16.7%) and Quebec (16.2%). Alberta’s leading position is driven by workforce lodging firms that accommodate employees at remote sites, a common practice in resource extraction operations, such as those in northern Alberta.
Operating expenses fell by 3.7% to $5.2 billion in 2024, with salaries, wages, commissions and benefits representing 26.9% of total expenses. The profit margin was 12.5% in 2024, it noted.
“Recent political tensions between Canada and the United States could influence the performance of the accommodation services subsector in 2025. While the full extent of these impacts remains uncertain, recent data on international travel to and from Canada indicate a 0.4% decrease in foreign visitors and a 16.0% decline in Canadians returning from abroad during the first eight months of 2025,” said Statistics Canada.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is inviting interested parties to apply to participate in a new CSA initiative to facilitate access to consolidated real-time market data (RTMD) by retail investors and retail investment advisers.
The newly-created Retail Committee will focus on evaluating how investors and investment advisers access consolidated RTMD and identifying any barriers to accessing this data, said the CSA.
“The Committee’s goal is to develop actionable recommendations that improve access to consolidated RTMD products for retail investors and retail investment advisers,” it said.
Who should apply?
The CSA said it welcomes applications from:
Retail-focused investment firms and platforms.
Investor advocacy groups.
Data vendors and technology providers.
Academics and researchers with market data expertise.
Other stakeholders with relevant experience or interest in how retail investors and retail investment advisers’ access and use RTMD.
How to apply
Interested parties are invited to submit:
A brief expression of interest.
A summary of relevant experience or perspective.
Contact information.
Interested parties are invited to send submissions to marketdata_committees@osc.gov.on.ca with the subject line: “Retail Industry Committee – Expression of Interest” by January 9, 2026.
“We anticipate that the Committee’s work will begin mid-January 2026, and the work will take six to nine months to complete. Further details on committee timelines and structure will be shared with selected participants.
The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, coordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets,” said the CSA.
Staples Canada, The Working and Learning Company, is redefining its retail experience with the opening of a new, brand-defining store in Burlington, Ontario that brings the company’s EASY promise to life through innovative merchandising, expanded product categories, and new shopping experiences. (CNW Group/Staples Canada ULC)
Bullfrog Power has launched a pilot program for Bullfrog Environmental Tokens, a unique digital record that provides businesses with long-term traceability and enhanced reporting of their environmental impacts.
Staples Canada, a Bullfrog Power customer for over a decade, is participating in the pilot as the first company to adopt Bullfrog Environmental Tokens.They will be available to additional Bullfrog Power customers in 2026.
“Bullfrog Power continues to drive innovation in the clean energy space, and the launch of Bullfrog Environmental Tokens is the next breakthrough in our 20-year evolution of providing clean energy solutions to our customers,” said Suha Jethalal, President of Bullfrog Power. “These Tokens are a game-changer in how our customers can digitally verify and report their environmental purchases with enhanced confidence and transparency.”
Suha Jethalal
The company said Bullfrog Environmental Tokens build on Bullfrog Power’s existing chain of custody tools — such as Emissions Reduction Reports and Annual Green Energy Audits — by introducing a secure, permanent, and publicly accessible digital certificate. These tokens represent Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) and offer a traceable record to report clean energy purchases. Each Bullfrog Environmental Token is uniquely linked to a verified set of environmental attributes, which is embedded in the token and remains accessible in perpetuity, ensuring full traceability and auditability.
This pilot marks a significant advancement in clean energy verification and reporting. Staples Canada, a long-standing Bullfrog Power partner, is the first to adopt Bullfrog Environmental Tokens, reinforcing its lasting commitment to sustainability, it added.
Brian McDougall
“Sustainability is at the core of everything we do. As one of Canada’s leading retailers, with close to 300 store locations from coast-to-coast, we’re proud to partner with Bullfrog Power in raising the bar for clean energy verification,” said Brian McDougall, Chief Retail Officer, Staples Canada. “Bullfrog Environmental Tokens will enhance our ability to trace, verify, and communicate our environmental impact at the store level – helping us make a meaningful environmental contribution to the communities we serve.”
The launch aligns with the opening of Staples’ newest store in Burlington, Ontario. All items printed in Staples production centres across Canada are bullfrogpowered with 100 per cent renewable energy. Staples’ customers will have real-time access to see the company’s localized renewable energy usage. This community impact will be on display at the new Burlington store through in-store signage featuring QR codes that link to detailed information about the store’s clean energy footprint. The Bullfrog Power partnership is part of Staples’ nationalStaples for Community program, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to giving back to Canada, explained Staples.
Bullfrog Power, an Envest Corp. company, offers innovative and sustainable energy solutions that help thousands of businesses and individuals meet their climate goals. Since 2005, Bullfrog Power has transformed Canada’s energy landscape by providing the country’s first green energy option for businesses and individual consumers.
Pet Valu, the leading Canadian specialty retailer of pet food and pet-related supplies, says its philanthropic program, Companions for Change, has received more than $4.3 million in monetary and product donations so far in 2025 for Canadian animal organizations.
“We’re very grateful to our devoted pet lovers, franchisees, corporate store teams and vendors whose generosity helped us surpass last year’s record-breaking results. Thanks to their ongoing support, the Companions for Change program has collected almost $37 million since 2010, one hundred per cent of which is distributed to Canadian animal rescues, shelters and charities,” said Tanbir Grover, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Pet Valu. “We’re very proud that we’re able to make a meaningful difference to hundreds of Canadian animal rescues, shelters and charities.”
Tanbir Grover
As wildfires and floods displaced thousands of Canadians and their pets this year, Pet Valu said the Companions for Change program stepped in to donate much needed pet essentials such as food, litter, bowls, collars, leashes and crates to animal organizations that were providing on-the-ground assistance to evacuated animals and their devoted pet lovers. Animal Food Bank, Canadian Disaster Animal Response Team (CDART), Steinbach Animal Rescue and the Ontario SPCA each received emergency donations. The Niagara SPCA received an emergency product donation to assist with an unexpected, larger than usual, cat intake.
“With the goal of leveraging its scale to make meaningful impact, since 2018, Companions for Change sponsorships have been helping worthy Canadian animal organizations fund larger capital projects. In 2025, Pet Valu committed more than $450,000 to sponsorships, including three mobile units: a mobile vet clinic for Coastal Animal Rescue & Education Network Society on Vancouver Island, a transport bus for Just Four Paws Rescue Society in lower mainland British Columbia, and a transport van for Restigouche County SPCA in New Brunswick,” it said.
Pet Valu said it is a longtime supporter and sponsor of Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. In May, it sponsored the Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides, Dog Guides’ annual fundraising walk which helps the organization continue to raise, train and place Dog Guides for Canadians living with disabilities at no cost to them. The Companions for Changeprogram also continued to sponsor Dog Guides Feeding Program, providing Performatrin Ultra® and Performatrin Prime® food and treats to approximately 200 puppies and dogs in training. Additionally, this year, the Companions for Change program is sponsoring over 20 additional Dog Guides teams.
“As a proudly Canadian, proudly local pet retailer with stores in hundreds of communities across Canada, we’ve seen firsthand how vital local animal organizations are for giving homeless pets a second chance,” said Grover. “In addition to providing donations, our stores work closely with animal rescues in their communities to help find forever homes for pets through in-store adoption events. Since 2010, we’ve helped find fur-ever homes for more than 53,000 homeless pets including over 1,500 this year.”
Donations raised through the Companions for Change program originate from multiple fundraising initiatives hosted by Pet Valu and its franchisees. These include Pet Appreciation Month in June and Companions for Change month in October, during which devoted pet lovers contribute by purchasing PAWS, making custom donations and rounding up their purchases at checkout.
This year, Pet Appreciation Month raised over $2.3 million in monetary and product donations, its highest donations to date. Pet Valu and its franchisees also provide additional support by donating $1 per item on the sale of select Performatrin® and Fresh 4 Life® products in October.
Devoted pet lovers who are looking for ways to help pets in need during the holiday season can pick up the annual Companions for Change “give-what-you-can” calendar from all Pet Valu stores, outside of Quebec, for a “give-what-you-can” donation. All proceeds go towards the Companions for Change program.
Pet Valu is Canada’s leading retailer of pet food and pet-related supplies with over 800 corporate-owned or franchised locations across the country.
RONA inc., one of Canada’s leading home improvement retailers operating and servicing over 425 corporate and affiliated stores, is partnering with Chagall, a nationally recognized design, and manufacturing company, to better support housing development across Canada.
Thanks to this new partnership, RONA said it now provides a complete, turnkey solution for the design, manufacturing, and installation of kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities in multi-unit buildings across Canada.
“This partnership with Chagall significantly strengthens RONA’s national Pro service ecosystem, allowing us to offer a more comprehensive and integrated solution to professional builders. By adding kitchen and bathroom cabinetry for multi-unit projects, we can now support Pro customers from the earliest planning stages through to project completion, reinforcing RONA’s position as a one-stop shop for construction professionals across Canada,” said Jamal Hamad, Senior Vice-President, Professional Services at RONA inc.
Jamal Hamad
From the planning stage, customers benefit from expert guidance, rigorous quality control, and support throughout the project, ensuring a seamless experience and results that meet expectations. To see if a project qualifies, interested builders can contact their Outside Sales Representative from RONA or visit their local store’s PRO desk for full program details. Personalized support is offered at every step for qualified projects, said the home improvement retailer.
Philippe McAllister
“Chagall is a reputable design, and manufacturing company with national reach and proven expertise in multi-unit projects. We’re pleased to collaborate with RONA to meet the growing needs of the construction and home improvement market and support developers in the success of their projects. Like RONA, we are committed to delivering tailored customer service to support industry growth and respond to the high expectations of professionals,” said Philippe McAllister, Vice President Business Development at Chagall.
Founded in 1992, Chagall is a Canadian leader in design, millwork manufacturing. The company specializes in food retail, commercial spaces, and multi-residential projects, delivering turnkey solutions that span from concept development to fabrication and installation.
Canada’s chocolatier since 1907 – Purdys Chocolatier – has released what it describes as “a festive and delectable line of holiday chocolates” to meet domestic demand.
New survey findings about Canadian shopping trends, conducted by Angus Reid Group, confirms that 67% of Canadians feel pride, responsibility, or nostalgia when choosing Canadian-made gifts, a connection that inspires 60% of Canadians to actively seek out Canadian-made options this holiday season, said the chocolatier.
The new Holiday collection from the company is an ideal option for shoppers prioritizing quality, craftsmanship and supporting local products. Its chocolates, known for their delicious, decadent taste, are made with premium sustainable cocoa and crafted in Vancouver, B.C., it noted.
Kriston Dean
“Many Canadians have grown up with Purdys Chocolatier. It’s our heritage, quality, and irresistible chocolate experience that make them proud to choose us for these special gifting moments. We look forward to helping Canadians find the perfect gift this holiday that reflects their appetite for premium and delicious Canadian gifts,” said Kriston Dean, VP of Sales and Marketing, Purdys Chocolatier.
Purdys Chocolatier consumer survey revealed that:
60% of Canadians are planning to opt for gifts made in Canada this holiday season.
67% of Canadians feel proud, responsible, or nostalgic when supporting Canadian-made gifts.
1 in 3 Canadians say that supporting local or Canadian businesses is what matters most to them.
Purdys Chocolatier has operated since 1907.
The Purdys Chocolatier 2025 Christmas Collection is available to shop now online at https://www.purdys.com and in over 90 Purdys Chocolate shops and pop-up shops across Canada.
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