By Richard Schenker
Canadian Tire’s Triangle Rewards program has quietly evolved into one of the most ambitious loyalty platforms in Canada. With almost 12 million members, Triangle is no longer just about “Canadian Tire Money.” It is steadily building a partner ecosystem designed to increase customer engagement in the everyday spend category, and its newest planned partnership with Tim Hortons in 2026 marks a significant step forward using linked partnerships.
The Tim Hortons Connection
The announcement that Triangle Rewards and Tim Hortons Tims Rewards will be linked offers enormous potential. While full details have not yet been disclosed, here is what has been shared:
“Linked members will earn Canadian Tire Money (CTM) on eligible Tim Hortons purchases and enjoy exclusive offers through Triangle Rewards and Tims Rewards. Triangle Mastercard holders who link accounts will enjoy even richer opportunities to earn CTM when shopping at Tim Hortons locations.”
The opportunity is clear: by allowing customers to earn and redeem across Canada’s most iconic coffee brand and one of the country’s most trusted retailers, the programs create reciprocal loyalty loops. A Tims customer could engage with Triangle, and vice versa, without either program losing its independent identity. This model differs from traditional coalition programs like Scene+, Air Miles, or Aeroplan, which often merge customer identities under a single coalition umbrella. Instead, Canadian Tire has chosen a more flexible “linked partnership” strategy, maintaining the integrity of each partner program while rewarding customers who interact across multiple brands.
Expanding the Sphere of Influence with Petro-Canada and WestJet
Canadian Tire has already proven this model works through its partnership with Petro-Canada, allowing members to earn and redeem rewards on fuel and convenience purchases. More recently, Canadian Tire announced that in 2026 it will launch a partnership with WestJet, enabling Triangle Rewards and WestJet Rewards members to link accounts and receive benefits across both programs. According to the announcement, linked members will enjoy stacked rewards, earning both Canadian Tire Money and WestJet Points, whether booking a WestJet flight or vacation package, or shopping at Canadian Tire, SportChek, or Mark’s. In addition, members who pay with their Triangle Mastercard or WestJet RBC Mastercard will earn accelerated reward rates when transacting with participating Canadian Tire and WestJet businesses. WestJet Rewards members will also gain the new flexibility to convert WestJet Rewards into Canadian Tire Money.
By weaving together high-frequency everyday spending with the aspirational category of travel, Triangle Rewards is positioning itself to rival the scale and relevance of Canada’s largest loyalty coalitions.
The goal is clear: create a broad sphere of influence where customers are consistently reminded of Triangle Rewards in the rhythm of their daily lives.
Why It Matters
Canadian Tire is building something that feels less like a traditional loyalty program and more like a federated loyalty network. By keeping each brand’s program operational while linking them through reciprocal benefits, each partner can maintain its own customer relationship while giving members compelling new reasons to stay engaged across the federation.
For consumers, the message is simple: their loyalty stretches further. For brands, the benefit is clear: they can tap into a larger, highly engaged base without ceding control.
Looking Ahead
As Triangle’s partnership model scales, it has the potential to become one of the most flexible and customer-centric loyalty ecosystems in Canada. The addition of Tim Hortons, layered on top of Petro-Canada, WestJet, suggests we are witnessing the early stages of a new kind of loyalty federation, one that operates on reciprocity rather than replacement. There are also significant new promotional possibilities that we can expect to come to life. It will be interesting to see how Tim Hortons might leverage this new loyalty federation with their next iconic Roll Up to Win contest.
As we get closer to the WestJet and Tim Hortons integrations in 2026, Canadian Tire is poised for continued program member growth, engagement and value. One can surmise that there are likely more linked partnerships on the horizon for Triangle Rewards.
Richard Schenker has consulted to WestJet, Tim Horton’s and Canadian Tire during his professional career but has not been involved with the subject of this article. Richard is a highly accomplished customer engagement thought leader, loyalty practitioner and partnership curator who has designed, renovated, and managed some of the world’s leading customer loyalty programs. He has an impeccable track record of success at enriching transactional and emotional relationships between iconic brands and their customers, across multiple business sectors. Richard has spent the first half of his career in senior loyalty roles with the Hudson’s Bay Company and Shoppers Drug Mart and the remainder of his career in leadership roles with leading loyalty agencies, Air Miles and Bond Brand Loyalty. Currently he is the Founder & Chief Customer Engagement Officer of Loyal Strategy Consulting, a consulting firm focused on enriching customer loyalty for leading brands. Richard can be reached at: rschenker@loyalstrategyconsulting.com or visit: https://loyalstrategyconsulting.com
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