Canadians Are Turning Away From STARBUCKS — and Tim Hortons Is Taking Notice

If you've looked at a Starbucks menu board lately, done the math on your usual order and walked back out, you're not alone. In September 2025, about 60 Starbucks stores across Canada closed in a single weekend, including the company's original Vancouver Island location. Meanwhile, Tim Hortons has been rolling out matcha, cold drinks and flavoured sodas that look a lot like the Starbucks menu. In this video, we go inside what changed at Starbucks, the company that opened its first store outside the U.S. in Vancouver in 1987. From the "third place" golden era to mobile orders, drive-thrus and $7 customized drinks, the pricing tricks that make add-ons feel small, the menu that got too complicated, and the "Back to Starbucks" turnaround plan. Then we look at how Tim Hortons is studying the Starbucks playbook, and what it means for your wallet. Watch until the end for the one question to ask before you tap your card at any coffee chain. Chapters: 0:00 Why Canadians are walking back out 0:46 The Starbucks golden era 3:22 Then the growth machine took over 5:59 What changed inside the store 8:36 The premium price game 11:32 The quality question 13:05 Why Canadians walked away 15:44 What Starbucks is doing about it 17:26 And Tim Hortons is taking notice 20:22 What smart Canadians are drinking instead 23:03 The bottom line Figures come from Starbucks and Restaurant Brands International financial results and published reporting as of October 2026. Starbucks does not report Canadian results separately. Annual coffee cost examples are illustrations, not actual bills. This video is for information and entertainment only and is not sponsored by any coffee company. Sources: Starbucks, Q3 fiscal 2026 results, July 2026 Nation's Restaurant News, Starbucks sixth straight quarter of declining same-store sales, July 2025 Boundary Creek Times, Starbucks closes about 60 locations across Canada, September 2025 Starbucks Canada, company facts Retail Insider, Tim Hortons Canadian growth plan, August 2026 Restaurant Brands International, Q2 2026 results Narration uses a synthetic voice. Research, script and fact-checking are done by people. Subscribe to Maple Margin for new investigations into the brands Canadians spend their money on every day.