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SENIORS MOMENTS
– By Don Crossley
Bill Line and the new Canadian Tire Store
In the spring of 1974, I was the newly elected President of
the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. In that capacity, I
received a phone call from the Mayor of Burlington, George
Harrington. George asked if I could join him for lunch;
he was meeting with a businessman who was interested in
making a significant retailing investment and happened to
be in town for the day.
It was at that lunch that I met G. W. (Bill) Line. Bill and
his wife Hilda were very interested in purchasing a Canadian
Tire franchise, and he had learned that the store in central
Burlington might be available. Bill had apparently already
looked at several store locations across Canada. Burlington
was a smaller community in those days, but Bill could sense
its future potential. At the time, that store was in an older,
smaller building, on the south-west corner of New Street, at
Guelph Line.
He wanted to hear from us, as community leaders, about
our own growth projections – population, infrastructure,
mass transit, and general quality of life.
Over lunch, Mayor Harrington and I and laid out our vision
for the future of our community. We used this opportunity to
encourage Mr. Line to give the Burlington store top priority.
We both offered to assist in any way that we could.
He thanked us for taking the time to meet with him, and
assured us both that the Burlington store would receive serious
consideration. He also promised to keep us posted regarding
his final decision.
Some time later, we were both delighted to hear from Mr.
Line. After careful analysis, he had decided to put in an offer
to purchase the Burlington store. He also informed us that
Canadian Tire Corporation was determined to relocate the
existing location on New Street, building a brand-new store
in an area adjacent to the Burlington Mall. The Mall had
become Burlington’s de facto central business district, having
opened just 7 years earlier.
Mayor Harrington and I both attended the grand opening of
the new store. So began an almost 40-year history of the Line
family operating the Canadian Tire store in our community.
The store was a huge success under their ownership and
continues to be very successful today.
Mr. & Mrs. Line retired in January, 2013. Over the years,
there were a number of occasions when I approached Mr.
Line concerning community projects I was working on. He
was always very happy to help. As an example, when my late
wife, Joan and I started the fundraising campaign to build the
Burlington Seniors’ Centre, one of the first business leaders I
approached was Mr. Line. He immediately agreed to provide
financial assistance, and further suggested I make up signs
showing the proposed project, while encouraging people to
donate. Of course, I was welcomed to place a sign at both
the entrance and exit to his store.
I am very grateful that the Line family agreed to make
Burlington their home. There are Canadian Tire stores in every
city and town in Canada, and they truly have contributed to
our community in ways that go above and beyond. We wish
them all the very best in their retirement.•
In 1922, Toronto brothers John and Alfred Billes buy “Hamilton Tire and
Garage Ltd.” at the corner of Gerrard and Hamilton Streets in Toronto,
with a combined savings of $1800 dollars.
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In 1927, Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd. was
officially incorporated and named “Canadian Tire” because
co-founder A.J. Billes thought it “sounded big”.