Walmart Canada is building a sizeable pipeline of new Supercentres as its $6.5-billion investment program moves into its next phase, with confirmed projects extending through 2028 and further store announcements expected.
The expansion is taking several forms. Walmart is building in growing suburban and regional markets, adding grocery capacity to existing locations and securing large spaces in established shopping centres. The collapse of Hudson’s Bay has created another source of potential locations at a time when Walmart is actively looking for Canadian real estate.
Walmart has already committed to the former Hudson’s Bay space at Place d’Orléans in Ottawa. Retail Insider understands that additional former HBC locations are expected to become Walmart stores, including two properties in the Calgary market that industry sources say are being earmarked for the retailer. Walmart has not formally announced those locations.
The result is a Canadian expansion strategy that extends well beyond opening more stores. Walmart is increasing grocery capacity, gaining access to established mall properties, following population growth and adding physical locations that can support its growing e-commerce business.
Walmart’s $6.5-Billion Expansion Takes Shape
Walmart announced the five-year Canadian investment program in January 2025, describing the $6.5-billion commitment as its largest investment in expanding its Canadian footprint since entering the country in 1994. The company said it would build dozens of new stores while investing in distribution and supply-chain infrastructure.
Less than two years later, the first substantial pipeline is taking shape. Confirmed new Supercentres include Lime Ridge Mall in Hamilton, Taza Park West on Tsuut’ina Nation near Calgary, Desrochers Village in southwest Edmonton, Place d’Orléans in Ottawa, Bramalea City Centre in Brampton, southwest London and Lindsay, Ontario.
Other investments will increase Walmart’s Supercentre footprint without necessarily adding to its net store count. A larger replacement store is being developed in Fort McMurray, the Sherbrooke, Quebec store is relocating to a new Supercentre, and Walmart’s existing Squamish, British Columbia location is being converted to a full Supercentre with fresh grocery.
HBC Real Estate Opens Another Path for Growth
Hudson’s Bay’s collapse has put large blocks of well-located retail space back into the Canadian leasing market just as Walmart is expanding its store network. The connection is already visible at Place d’Orléans, where Walmart will open a roughly 115,500-square-foot, two-level Supercentre in the former Hudson’s Bay space by 2027.
Landlord Primaris REIT has moved quickly to reposition its former HBC portfolio. The company reported this summer that 84 per cent of its former Bay space was either leased or in advanced negotiations, including 58 per cent already covered by long-term leases.
Primaris expects substantially higher rental income from replacement tenants than it received from Hudson’s Bay. The HBC closures have therefore created an opportunity for landlords that can secure stronger tenants and invest the capital required to reposition the space.
Walmart is particularly relevant because relatively few retailers in Canada can absorb more than 100,000 square feet in a single transaction. Its combination of grocery, pharmacy, household essentials and general merchandise can also generate more frequent visits than the department stores these spaces previously housed.
Primaris President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Sullivan has described Walmart as a proven traffic driver and said its Place d’Orléans store is expected to materially increase footfall at the property. That traffic is also expected to benefit other tenants at the shopping centre.
More HBC-related Walmart deals appear likely. Walmart participated in the process surrounding former HBC real estate, and Retail Insider understands that two former Hudson’s Bay locations in the Calgary market are being positioned for Walmart. Those transactions have not been formally announced by the retailer or confirmed with opening dates.
If completed, the Calgary deals would reinforce an emerging strategy in which Walmart can use the restructuring of Canada’s department store sector to secure large spaces in established retail nodes. Former department store boxes need suitable loading, parking, access and physical configurations to accommodate Walmart’s operating requirements, particularly when full grocery departments are involved.
For properties that work, Walmart gives landlords something increasingly difficult to find: a national retailer capable of taking a substantial portion of a department store box while generating frequent visits.
Former Sears Space Also Part of the Strategy
Walmart was pursuing large former department store spaces before the HBC liquidation. At Lime Ridge Mall in Hamilton, an approximately 140,000-square-foot Supercentre is being built in the former Sears space, with an opening now scheduled for fall 2026 after initially being targeted for early 2027.
Bramalea City Centre in Brampton will also add an approximately 140,000-square-foot Walmart Supercentre in 2027, giving the retailer another major enclosed-mall location.
These projects are part of a larger shift in Canadian shopping-centre leasing. Sears and Hudson’s Bay once controlled millions of square feet of anchor space, often under legacy lease structures. Their disappearance gives landlords the ability to redevelop, subdivide or re-lease properties that had been tied up for decades.
Walmart will be one of several retailers absorbing that space, but its scale makes it unusually important. A Supercentre can occupy more than 100,000 square feet while adding grocery and other high-frequency uses, potentially changing both the economics and traffic profile of a former department store anchor.
New Development Follows Population Growth
The other side of Walmart’s expansion is taking place in communities where residential development is creating demand for more retail. A roughly 140,000-square-foot Supercentre is planned for Desrochers Village in southwest Edmonton, with an opening expected in 2027.
Another approximately 140,000-square-foot location will anchor Taza Park West on Tsuut’ina Nation near Calgary. The store is part of the broader Taza development and gives Walmart another position in the Calgary market.
Ontario has two additional projects scheduled for 2028. Walmart plans an approximately 140,000-square-foot store in southwest London, while a roughly 142,000-square-foot Supercentre will anchor a SmartCentres development at Highway 35 and Sylvester Drive in Lindsay.
These projects show Walmart pursuing established and emerging markets at the same time. Former department store properties provide access to mature retail nodes, while new developments allow Walmart to establish large stores where residential growth is increasing the customer base.
Walmart Is Adding Grocery Capacity
The expansion has a direct implication for Canada’s grocery sector. Walmart’s new Supercentres generally include fresh produce, bakery, meat, seafood, dairy and deli departments alongside pharmacy, household products and general merchandise.
The same grocery expansion is occurring at existing locations. In Squamish, Walmart already operates in the community, but conversion to a Supercentre adds a broader fresh-food assortment without requiring the retailer to enter a new market.
Sherbrooke follows a similar pattern. The existing Walmart is being relocated approximately one kilometre away into a full Supercentre, increasing the retailer’s grocery presence while replacing an existing location.
The store count therefore understates Walmart’s competitive impact if measured only by net additions. New Supercentres, relocations and conversions all increase the amount of grocery capacity Walmart can put into the Canadian market.
That matters as Canada’s major grocery companies pursue their own expansion plans. Loblaw and Empire are adding stores, with hard discount among the areas receiving significant investment, while Walmart continues to compete for the same food, household and value-conscious consumer spending.
Canadian Sales Continue to Grow
Walmart is making these investments while its Canadian business continues to expand. Canadian net sales reached approximately US$6.38 billion in the quarter ended July 31, 2026, an increase of about 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
Reported Canadian sales for the first six months reached approximately US$12.1 billion, although currency movements affect year-over-year comparisons. The physical expansion is therefore taking place alongside continued growth in Walmart’s existing Canadian business.
The company is also gaining digital volume. During Walmart’s most recent earnings call, management identified Canada as one of the markets contributing to strong international e-commerce growth, while Canada became the first market outside the United States to receive Walmart+.
Walmart has also been adding Marketplace capabilities while using stores for pickup and delivery. A larger physical network gives the retailer more inventory points close to customers and can support online orders, making store expansion and digital growth increasingly interconnected.
Walmart Adds Distribution Capacity
The retailer has been investing behind the stores as well. Walmart opened a 550,000-square-foot ambient distribution centre in Vaughan, Ontario, with automation and technology capable of handling as many as 70 million cases annually.
A roughly 750,000-square-foot fulfillment centre has also opened in Milton, adding capacity for larger products including furniture, televisions and patio merchandise. Together, the facilities show that Walmart’s $6.5-billion program extends beyond adding consumer-facing retail space.
The retailer is increasing store and grocery capacity while building the distribution and fulfillment infrastructure needed to support a larger physical and digital business.
More Walmart Stores Are Coming
The announced locations are unlikely to represent the full Canadian pipeline. Walmart said from the outset that its five-year investment would include dozens of new stores and has described Lindsay as the fifth new Ontario Supercentre announced under the program “so far.”
Walmart also opened new Supercentres in Port Credit and Oakville in 2025, meaning the current expansion was underway before many of the projects now scheduled for 2027 and 2028 were announced. Former HBC properties could provide another pool of locations as landlords continue to reposition the department store chain’s former real estate.
The pattern is becoming clear. Walmart is using new development to follow population growth, taking advantage of large spaces released by Canada’s shrinking department store sector and increasing grocery capacity through new stores, relocations and conversions.
For shopping-centre owners, Walmart is one of the few retailers with the scale to solve some of Canada’s largest anchor vacancies. For grocery competitors, the same expansion puts more food-selling capacity into local markets.
For Walmart, the stores also provide more than additional selling space. A larger network supports grocery, e-commerce, pickup and delivery as the retailer expands its physical and digital businesses in Canada at the same time.
