Castle Building Centres Group has welcomed a new member in the Calgary area. Sky Vision Lumber Inc. has two locations, in Calgary and Crossfield, Alta. Founder and owner Rajesh Goyal and GM Mandeep Singh were looking to maintain their independence while benefiting from the stability of a buying group affiliation.

Federated Co-operatives Ltd. has announced that 14 community projects will receive funding through the Co-op Community Spaces program. In its eleventh year, Co-op Community Spaces will invest a total of $1 million in local projects in communities across Western Canada. They include accessibility upgrades to a theatre in Vernon, B.C.; an outdoor rec hub in Rocky Mountain House, Alta.; and a walking and healing path in Okanese First Nation, Sask.

Saint-Gobain’s CertainTeed Canada has announced the Canadian launch of Lanaé, what it calls a “ground-breaking sustainable glass fibre insulation.”

The insulation is manufactured at CertainTeed’s insulation facilities in Redcliffe, Alta., and Ottawa, Ont. “It is formulated with a bio-based binder that is formaldehyde-free, significantly reducing environmental impact while maintaining superior thermal performance and acoustic comfort,” Saint-Gobain said in a release.

Castle Building Centres Group and its community donated $47,134.00 to the IWK Health Centre on June 1, via a telethon in Atlantic Canada held on CTV. The IWK Health Centre is a major children’s and women’s hospital in Halifax, N.S. “Castle members from the Maritimes region were proud to be part of this historic fundraising event,” the group said in a release. In total, more than $8.3 million was raised for the cause by the 41st annual IWK Telethon. (Shown with Castle’s cheque to IWK is Terry Mulock, Castle business development manager for the Maritimes, and Steve Foran, the Castle member/dealer at Chester Building Supplies.)

IKEA Canada has transformed its IKEA Family rewards program to offer members a more personalized experience tailored to their unique home furnishing needs.

With the rewards from IKEA Family, members can now collect points, symbolized by the iconic Allen key, whenever they interact and shop with IKEA. These points can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, including product discounts, delivery, and assembly services, and even free food in its restaurant.

“Why didn’t Hertz invent Uber? Why didn’t Hilton invent Airbnb? Why didn’t Domino’s Pizza invent DoorDash? Because they were focused on their assets and not on what their customers wanted.”

Ken Hughes, internationally renowned retail expert, challenged his audience with these notions at the Global DIY Summit, being held this week in Lisbon, Portugal.

Creating a meaningful relationship with your customers is paramount, he added. “Connecting with your customer is the key to your success.”

Watch for more coverage of this important international event in upcoming additions of our sister publication, Hardlines Weekly Report. Not getting your own copy of HWR? Click here to subscribe.

EvoX, the industry’s newest buying group, has announced the addition of Pilon Ltd. as a new member. Based in the Gatineau region, the pro-focused business has been in operation for over 125 years, since 2023 under the ownership of Groupe Dumont. It boasts over 56,000 square feet of sales space and over 225,000 square feet of outdoor storage, along with a fleet of 17 trucks. Carl Dumont is CEO and president.

Hardlines is in Lisbon, Portugal, for the 11th annual Global DIY Summit. The day before the conference, delegates were treated to a day of store tours. One stop presented a pro-focused dealer that knows how to stack and push high volumes of building materials out of a relatively small space. Another location, more DIY-oriented, owes as its layout and merchandising as much to IKEA as it does to Home Depot.

(We’ll have more coverage of the best European home improvement retail, and coverage of the Global DIY Summit, in the pages of our sister publication, Hardlines Weekly Report. Not getting HWR each Monday morning? Click here to subscribe)

More than 500 AD Canada members, industry leaders, and partners took part in the 2025 AD Canada Annual Meeting in May at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto. The event featured 2,600 strategic booth sessions, where members and suppliers engaged in focused, one-on-one discussions to align on key initiatives and drive relationships. Special guest Clara Hughes, Canadian Olympic medallist and mental health advocate, shared her insights on building resilience and the importance of breaking down stigmas around mental health.

“The 2025 AD Canada annual meeting was an extraordinary opportunity to unite our closely connected divisions for another outstanding event,” said Rob Dewar, president of AD Canada.

The next annual meeting will be held May 25 to 28, 2026, in Vancouver.

Canadian Tire Corp.’s midtown Toronto head office building will undergo a $200 million retrofit. The project is a cooperative venture between CTC, its Real Estate Investment Trust, and OMERS, the pension fund for Ontario’s municipal employees. Construction is slated to begin later this year.