An open letter to Santa from the convenience industry
Dear Santa,
Canada’s convenience retailers have been on the “nice” list all year, supporting communities from coast to coast. We’re not just retailers of gas, milk and lottery tickets; we like to call ourselves the living rooms of Canadian neighbourhoods.
Not surprisingly, our customers have come to expect that we keep our doors open year-round. That means early morning, late nights and holidays. We serve commuters their 6 a.m. coffee and $50 on Pump 1, all while working hard to collect more than $24 billion in taxes for governments.
As a result, Canada’s 21,256 stores are asking you to stop the Policy Grinch’s threat to our future viability, as well as that of Canadian communities.
Here’s our 2025 wish list:
Wish #1: Replace Over-Regulation with Trust in Local Retailers
From downtown Toronto to rural Yukon, Canada’s convenience stores are drowning in red tape and over regulation. Just because Canada is made up of 10 provinces and three territories, doesn’t mean we need 13 different sets of regulations to sell the same product in stores across the country. The lack of harmonization on these punitive regulations means that store operators spend more time complying with regulations than retailing. Imagine if your elves had to meet 13 different toy-safety standards and you spent all of December filling out paperwork proving that you comply to these standards. That’s our daily reality.
We need governments across the country to lighten the regulatory load by working together to harmonize rules nationally, accept digital records and trust the retailers who are proud of our stellar track record selling age-restricted products.
Santa, strong stores equal strong communities.
Wish # 2: Crush Contraband Nicotine Before It Crushes Communities
Santa, imagine that there is a very organized group of delinquents that is profiting from the sale of toys to those who are on your naughty list. You know it’s wrong, but you can’t do anything about it.
That’s the situation with the exploding contraband nicotine market. Convenience stores are the largest retailers of nicotine products which are highly regulated. Governments have blindly adopted the premise of layering tax upon tax to increase the price of these products to dissuade people from using them without any thought on potential consequences.
One consequence is a skyrocketing, lucrative illicit market that is managed by organized crime.
As law-abiding and responsible retailers, we are being forced to sell legal products that are often 70% more expensive than the contraband products.
We can’t compete.
This is a problem bigger than convenience stores, Santa. Governments are losing hundreds of millions in tax revenues, while contraband is jeopardizing the safety of the very communities and their residents we serve from coast to coast.
It’s not just tobacco and cigarettes anymore either. There are new nicotine products like vapes and oral pouches whose sales are lining the pockets of those bad actors on your naughty list.
We are asking for a national strategy complete with dedicated financial resources and a focus on real enforcement, dedicated task forces, supply-chain traceability and meaningful fines to help thwart the illegal trade.
Santa, safe products in safe stores make safe neighbourhoods.
Wish #3: A Simple Rebate for Being Canada’s Biggest Unpaid Tax Collectors
I’m sure you are surprised to learn that 47% of every dollar that rings through our tills is tax: fuel excise, tobacco and sales tax. That means Canada’s convenience stores collect $24.9 billion in taxes annually, so you would think we would be on governments “nice” list.
Despite being a major tax collector, the government continues to ignore our cry for fairness concerning taxes collected via credit card purchases.
Like convenience stores, I’m sure the North Pole has seen a major increase in the use of credit cards since the pandemic, which now accounts for almost 70% of all purchases.
As a result, credit card fees are now the second-highest cost of doing business and collecting taxes on credit card purchases is costing our retailers $70 million per year.
What we are asking for is to correct this wrong and ensure that our stores are not out of pocket when collecting taxes. We need governments to develop a mechanism in the form of a rebate to compensate our retailers for being major partners of government.
We’re not asking for bailouts or special treatment. We’re asking to be treated as the community partners we are and not as regulatory punching bags. Ease the rules that strangle us, crack down on the criminals undercutting us, stop making us subsidize tax collection. Most importantly, we need governments to trust us to do the right thing. As an industry, we’ve worked hard to become the most responsible retail channel in the country, and we are proud of that honour.
Santa, these aren’t luxuries. They’re necessary fixes to challenges that are quietly hollowing out neighbourhood stores that hold communities together. Because in this country, convenience and community have always been synonymous. When corner stores thrive, Canada thrives—one Main Street, one small town, one big city block at a time.
We’ve been very good this year supporting Canadians. Hopefully you can convince governments to listen and support us.
With warm regards and holiday cheer,
Canada’s 21,256 convenience retailers.
