Toys R Us Canada is dramatically reducing its footprint in Quebec, with plans to close nearly all its remaining stores in the province after the holiday season. This move will leave just a single location open and result in significant job losses.
Specific Stores and Layoff Details
According to notices filed with Quebec's labour ministry, the iconic toy retailer will permanently shut its doors at three locations on January 5, 2025. The affected stores are in Quebec City, Laval, and Brossard.
The closures will lead to a total of 68 employees losing their jobs. The breakdown is 26 layoffs in Quebec City, and 21 each in Laval and Brossard. The company submitted these notices on November 11.
A Province-Wide Retreat
This latest round of shutdowns continues a stark retreat for the chain in Quebec. Following the closure of four stores this past summer and another in Gatineau last month, only the St-Bruno-de-Montarville location will remain operational.
This represents a dramatic fall from the 13 stores Toys R Us operated in Quebec at the start of 2025. The future of the sole surviving store is also uncertain, as the building housing the St-Bruno location is currently listed for sale.
The Broader Canadian Context and Market Pressures
The struggles are not confined to Quebec. Toys R Us Canada has been scaling back nationwide, having already closed half of its stores. Remaining locations across the rest of Canada are either slated for closure or are up for sale.
This decline follows years of turbulence. The U.S. parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2017. The Canadian division, which had 82 stores at the time, was subsequently purchased by Fairfax Financial in 2018 and then by Putman Investments in 2021.
Retail consultant David Gray of DIG360 told Postmedia News that the closures are not surprising. He cited a perfect storm of challenges that have eroded the chain's dominance:
- The massive growth of digital games and entertainment.
- The rise of e-commerce, particularly the dominance of Amazon in the toy category.
- Increased competition from discount retailers like Walmart.
"From a supply point of view, choice became pretty commoditized, except where you had really special kinds of brands like Lego," Gray explained. "There are more ways to get toys in the hands of consumers now, directly, than there would have been when Toys R Us was in its ascendancy."
The impending January closures mark a significant moment for the retail landscape in Quebec, signaling the continued challenges facing traditional brick-and-mortar stores in the face of evolving consumer habits and intense market competition.
