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I have to admit something I never thought I'd say. Good for Tim Hortons.

Not because of a new coffee. Not because they finally figured out how to make a decent breakfast sandwich again. And certainly not because they've earned back the loyalty of millions of Canadians they've spent years alienating by unemploying their children in favour of cheap foreign labour.

No, this time they deserve credit because they refused to cave to the outrage mob. But I am suspicious of the motives. And I'll explain why in a minute. But first. The controversy. 

Tim Hortons is launching a Harry Potter promotion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first film. It's exactly the kind of harmless, nostalgic marketing campaign that any normal company would dream up. Collectible merchandise. Special menu items. Trivia nights. A chance to win a trip to London.

Sounds fun, right? Cute.

Apparently not if you're a professional activist.

Within hours, the online outrage machine was in full swing. Calls to boycott Tim Hortons. Social media branding the company "TERF-Hortons." Activists insisting that selling Harry Potter merchandise somehow amounts to endorsing hate.

Because, of course, everything has to be political.

The taxpayer-funded advocacy group Egale Canada even weighed in, scolding Tim Hortons for partnering with a franchise created by J.K. Rowling. According to them, Canada's self-appointed coffee chain isn't sufficiently reflecting the country's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Translation?

You must submit to the approved ideology or face public shaming. Sorry crybabies, but some things are just about fun books and donuts.

Then came the predictable parade of complaints.

CBC highlighted employees who said they felt hurt by the promotion. I'm shocked they could find a Canadian one, so good for them. Trudeau-appointed Senator Kris Wells demanded Tim Hortons make Pride Timbits instead, calling the Harry Potter campaign "tone-deaf."

Imagine being offended by a fictional wizard in a book. Here's the thing. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has never said transgender people shouldn't have rights.

She has consistently argued something much simpler: biological sex exists, women deserve sex-based protections, and people shouldn't lose their jobs or reputations for saying so.

You may agree with her or disagree with her. That's your right. But pretending Harry Potter is now forbidden literature because its author refuses to embrace gender ideology is absurd. Millions of Canadians grew up with these books. They just like Harry Potter. And for once, Tim Hortons seems to understand that.

The company politely thanked everyone for their opinions and essentially said, "We're celebrating one of the world's most beloved franchises."

End of story.

That's exactly how corporations should respond. Not with another grovelling apology. Not with another diversity consultant.

Not by firing up the corporate confession machine every time a few hundred people on X get angry. Just say, "No thanks," and "settle down, you online hysterics."

It's refreshing. But here's where my applause ends. Because let's not pretend Tim Hortons suddenly became the good guys.

This company spent years becoming the poster child for Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker program. While Canadian teenagers struggled to find summer jobs... While young adults sent out résumé after résumé...

Tim Hortons locations across the country were repeatedly accused of relying on temporary foreign workers instead.

That wasn't a made-up controversy. It was real. Conservatives weren't imagining it.

Many Canadians felt betrayed watching the country's most iconic coffee chain prioritize access to foreign labour and lobbying for changes to temporary foreign work requirements while local workers were looking for opportunities.

That did real damage to Tim Hortons' reputation. Deserved damage. Which makes me wonder if this culture-war fight isn't just a little convenient.

Maybe someone in the marketing department realized they needed a win with conservative Canadians.

Maybe they figured standing up to the woke mob would rebuild some goodwill. If that's what they're doing, it probably will work for some people.

And to those people I say, fair enough. I can't believe I am saying this, but I genuinely applaud Tim Hortons for refusing to surrender to ideological crybullying.

Corporate Canada desperately needs more backbone.

We have spent years watching companies race to apologize for imaginary offences and then pay a shakedown to activist groups as an indulgence for their sins.

Maybe this is the beginning of that ending.

I hope so. But as for me? One good decision doesn't erase years of bad ones.

Standing up to the gender activists doesn't undo the damage done through the abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker program. You don't rebuild trust overnight.

So yes, good on Tim Hortons for telling the tone police to take a hike.

Good on them for refusing to let taxpayer-funded activists dictate what's acceptable to enjoy.

But if they're hoping this Harry Potter promotion is enough to bring conservatives flooding back through the drive-thru...

They're going to need more than a little magic.