Are Costco and other big box stores beefing up ahead of the next COVID-like lockdown?
A new Costco in Newmarket, Ont., has supersized the super store! Could it be that these big box chains like Costco and a few select others are preparing for the next lockdown?
Last week, a new 166,000 sq. ft Costco opened in Newmarket, Ont.
It’s quite the spectacular big box store, featuring all the items you’d normally expect to find at a Costco.
But there’s also a large sushi restaurant, an on-site bakery, fresh meat and produce, a rotisserie chicken section. And thanks to legislative changes in the province of Ontario, there’s beer and wine for sale here, too!
Newmarket’s mayor and city councillors showed up for a press conference heralding the arrival of the store — at 6:30 a.m. no less.
Full disclosure: despite the inherent crowds, we like Costco. It is a value powerhouse. And Costco’s house brand, Kirkland, is superb.
So, what’s not to love?
Well, we ponder: with the likes of Costco beefing up size-wise and bolstering its foodservice offerings and now serving booze, is this all in preparation for the next lockdown? Is there a “COVID-26” on the horizon? How about a climate lockdown to stymie global warning and forest fires? Would you believe avian flu?
We harken back to the dark old days of the COVID-19 closures.
It was quite something to see that the big guys — Costco, Walmart, and of course the government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores — all being exempt from the lockdown rules. Of course, it helps that the likes of Walmart and so on have powerful lobbyists to “advise” the government…
And yet, when one thinks about it, isn’t a small ma and pa store better equipped to handle hygiene and sanitation and crowd control than stores that resemble aircraft hangars in size? But no.
And surely the worst example of hypocrisy occurred back in November 2020 when Adam Skelley opened the doors of his eatery, Adamson Barbecue in Toronto’s west-end. Oh, the authorities were not amused!
And so it was that after a three-day standoff, Toronto’s then-mayor John Tory literally sent in all the king’s horses and all the king’s men (a.k.a., the mounted unit of the Toronto Police Service) to violently shutdown the restaurant.
It was disgusting overreach. But get this: some 400 metres away from Adamson Barbecue, a Costco superstore was open for business — and yes, its foodservice facilities were open as well.
What gives? Why the double standard? Alas, this has never been logically explained.
But we think we know the reason. As the late great George Carlin used to say about corporate America (or, in this case, corporate Canada) and their political enablers: “It's a BIG club — and YOU ain't in it.”
Perhaps there will be no lockdowns occurring in the immediate future. But if there are, it will undoubtedly be business as usual for the likes of Costco.
As for the rest of us? Well, not so much…
David Menzies
Journalist and 'Mission Specialist'
David “The Menzoid” Menzies is the Rebel News "Mission Specialist." The Menzoid is equal parts outrageous and irreverent as he dares to ask the type of questions those in the Media Party would rather not ponder.
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COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-08-25 20:44:41 -0400Did Justin Trudeau blather about his socks? -
Bruce Atchison commented 2025-08-25 19:54:33 -0400I hope David is wrong and Costco is just expanding their stores. We can’t survive another lockdown.
