BMR Group has announced the appointment of Adam Vatcher as business development manager for Ontario, as part of its strategy to expand west of Quebec.

Vatcher brings over 20 years of experience as a building centre manager and six years as a sales representative at IKO Industries.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome someone with Adam’s skills into my team,” Simon Gouin, VP of business development, said in a release.

A cross-section of Quebec’s retail home improvement industry gathered Friday night for an awards gala that honoured retailers, suppliers, and individuals alike. The 12th annual Gala Reconnaissance drew some 440 people to a black tie event at the Fairmont Château Frontenac in Quebec City. The gala was mounted, with a medieval-theme, by the Quebec industry association AQMAT. Hosted by AQMAT president Richard Darveau, the event included the presentation of awards to everyone from owners and managers of top-performing stores and select suppliers to sales reps and industry veterans.

(For the full list of AQMAT Gala award winners, click here!)

The Fraser Institute is reporting that the annual number of new homes being built in Canada in recent years is virtually the same as it was in the 1970s, despite annual population growth now being three times higher.

“Despite unprecedented levels of immigration-driven population growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has failed to ramp up homebuilding sufficiently to meet housing demand,” said Steven Globerman, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of The Crisis in Housing Affordability: Population Growth and Housing Starts 1972–2024.

Between 2021 and 2024, Canada’s population grew by an average of 859,473 people per year, while only 254,670 new housing units were started annually. From 1972 to 1979, 239,458 new housing units were built despite the population only growing by 279,975 people a year.

A Quebec manufacturer has launched a cri de cœur to the leaders of the main federal political parties, claiming his larger competitors have obtained exemptions from a federal regulation on volatile organic compounds. Sébastien Plourde, president of Super Décapant (Super Remover) says he’s complying with the rules, which were adopted in 2021.

In a letter written to the leaders of the five parliamentary parties and obtained by Le Soleil, Plourde laments that cheaper and more toxic alternatives remain on store shelves with impunity while his inventory stays put. “On my products, there’s no skull and crossbones on the packaging. Our input stocks have built up, and our sales and market position are directly affected by the government’s inaction. I have hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory.”

Hudson’s Bay Co.’s hopes of preserving six bricks-and-mortar stores will not come to fruition, with liquidation beginning at the six Toronto- and Montreal-area stores previously spared.

Items are now marked down at those locations by up to 70 percent. One shopper at the Bay’s Toronto flagship (pictured) told CBC News that he was “very happy” with his haul but also wistful about what he called “the death of the department store in Canada.”

IKEA Canada has announced that its newest Plan and order point will open in Vaudreuil, Que., on May 2, 2025. This will be the fifth location following the recently opened store in Sherbrooke, Que., in April.

Located in Faubourg de la Gare Vaudreuil, the new Plan and order point will offer about 100 IKEA products (excluding food) for immediate purchase and takeaway, as well as a customer collection point located in the same building, the company stated in a release. Vaudreuil is the first IKEA Plan and order point in Canada to feature these extra benefits for customers.

Customers can get design support for the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room. When their designs are complete, they can be ordered for home delivery or picked up at Vaudreuil or any other local pick-up point location nearby.

The Canadian economy is expected to see muted growth in Q1 2025 followed by significant contraction in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest Main Street Quarterly report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

CFIB reports the Canadian economy grew by 0.8 percent in Q1 but is expected to significantly contract in Q2. The total Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose to 2.4 percent in Q1 2025 and is expected to further increase to 2.7 percent in Q2 on a yearly basis.

The CFIB reports that manufacturing and wholesale firms are the hardest hit by low demand due to their trade exposure. Additionally, one-third of wholesale firms have already increased their prices. Moreover, two-thirds of firms in hospitality and construction plan to increase their prices once supplier costs stabilize.

The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and its Board of Directors have inducted Diane J. Brisebois, president and CEO of Retail Council of Canada (RCC), into the ranks of the Canadian Retail Hall of Fame.

The RCC said in a statement that this recognition honours more than three decades of leadership that has shaped the future of retail in Canada. Brisebois has been at the helm of RCC since 1995.

“As Canada’s retail community celebrates this extraordinary milestone, we do so with deep gratitude,” said Anne Martin-Vachon, chair of the board of directors at RCC. “Diane has not only helped define the voice of retail in Canada but has ensured that it echoes with purpose, inclusion, and progress. The Canadian Retail Hall of Fame Award is a testament to a career defined by meaningful impact to Canada’s ever evolving retail sector.”

RONA inc. has launched a new private label, Laflamme & Co, featuring a wide selection of outdoor cooking products.

The private label will be sold exclusively at RONA+ and RONA stores as well as online.

“It is possible to find good quality outdoor cooking items at great value with our new private label,” said Doug Young, chief merchandising officer at RONA inc. “This is a great addition to our outdoor cooking assortment because it allows us to deliver great value when Canadians need it the most.”

Throwback Thursday is a weekly feature in which we dip into the archives of the Hardlines Weekly Report.

On April 17, 2000, we reported that Calgary-based GSD Winroc Corp. had bought up another pro distributor in Salt Lake City, Wasatch Building Materials. It was Winroc’s sixth acquisition in the U.S. It also had 19 GSDs in Canada at that time. In 2004, it was sold to Superior Plus LP, a chemical company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company, founded by Wayne Jack in Winnipeg in 1971, is now American-owned. Foundation Building Materials of Santa Ana, California, acquired it in 2016.