In July 1, 1939, Lincoln Kennedy opened a sub-dealership for Canadian Tire (along with his Purina Feed operation) and eventually he was also selling Kaiser cars once Kaiser Motors was established in the US in 1945. The location was on Kent St. where the National Bank is located now.
By 1949 Allison MacRae and Milton C. Stewart opened a full-fledged franchise on Great George Street with the partners being the only full time employees. A 2,000 sq. ft. operation it promised "the very latest design for the utmost in pleasant shopping and modern service for the automobile driver."
It appears that the partners had both family and business connections as the Guardian reported the marriage of Milton's daughter Helen Stewart to his business partner Allison MacRae in Oct. 1947.
By 1953 Stewart and MacRae were advertising their Canadian Tire store as being located at 96 Queen St. On Saturday April 27, 1957 with large congratulatory ads from Charlottetown building contractors on their completely renovated store at this location.
In the Oct. 4, 1960 edition of the Guardian it was reported that the Monaghan Building (96 Queen Street) in which they were operating was sold to the Canadian Tire Corporation. A list of locations compiled in 2005 by Canadian Tire indicates that in 1961 the store moved to this 3,200 sq. ft. location, although it appear that a dealership had been operating there since the early 1950's and that this later date may indicate the transfer of ownership of the building.
On Jan 27, 1966 history was made when a new 12,000 sq. ft. location at Royalty Mall opened. It was the first in the country to be located in a mall and the largest Canadian Tire store in Atlantic Canada at the time according to the same 2005 write up by Canadian Tire.
In 1985 Canadian Tire moved to a new site at 202 Buchanan Drive location across the road from the Charlottetown Mall. In 1997 the store underwent a major expansion raising the size to 94,000 sq. ft. with more than 150 full and part time employees. In 2005 the owners published a statement indicating that their store was "the #1 Canadian Tire store in Atlantic Canada."
On Thursday October 29, 2014 The Guardian noted in an article that Canadian Tire will officially open its new Charlottetown store Thursday morning [Nov 6, 2014] on Spencer Drive.
The new store . . . features 64,000 square feet of retail space, approximately 50 per cent more retail space than the previous store. The auto centre will have 14 service bays and will now service cars seven days a week. Customers will also find an ‘in store pickup’ area for products purchased online, allowing customers to pay in advance and avoid checkout lines and shipping costs. To staff the company’s larger retail space they’ve added upwards of 35 new employees, bringing the total to 186 full- and part-time staff.
The street address is 20 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown, PE C1A 0G1
An article on Cameron Beach, the 52 year old owner of the Charlottetown store was featured in The Guardian on November 7, 2015 outlining his career in retail across Canada and his commitment to Canadian Tire.
References:
- The Guardian - online version http://islandnewspapers.ca/
- Celebrating 66 Years, Advertisement by Canadian Tire, pg. 12 A City's Journey, The Guardian, Charlottetown PEI, April 2005
- October 29, 2014, Canadian Tire rolls out new store in Charlottetown Thursday, The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Business/2014-10-29/article-3921079/Canadian-Tire-rolls-out-new-store-in-Charlottetown-Thursday/1
- Day, Jim, November 07, 2015, Canadian Tire store owner Cameron Beach driven by pressure to succeed, The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Business/2015-11-07/article-4335612/Canadian-Tire-store-owner-Cameron-Beach-driven-by-pressure-to-succeed/1
