Canadian Tire Corporation, one of Canada’s largest retailers, has used a triangular logo mark since 1940. The current identity centers on a red triangle with a green maple leaf, a design that has remained remarkably consistent for decades.
Design and History
The Canadian Tire logo traces its origins to 1940, when the company unveiled the original version of its current logo featuring a bold orange triangle and a green maple leaf inscribed with “CTC.” This early mark closely resembled the logo used for the company’s Mor-Power batteries. In 1967, the logo was revamped with a widened triangle, now red instead of orange, and the maple leaf was simplified. This 1967 version was designed in-house by Bernie Freedman, who was also responsible for the once-familiar “Scotsman” character that appeared on Canadian Tire Money. [1]
Freedman’s design stripped away ornament and focused on essential form, achieving a simplicity that allowed it to scale from towering storefront signage to the smallest printed coupon. The bold red triangle topped with a green maple leaf distilled the brand’s identity into a clear, geometric form described as modern, functional, and unmistakably Canadian. [1]
This version of the logo remained unchanged for nearly five decades. In 2014, the typographic elements were removed, leaving the red triangle alone to represent the entire brand, a move that relied on the mark’s strong recognition. [1]
In 2021, Canadian Tire’s in-house creative team (T3) refined the iconic triangle logo as part of a comprehensive brand design system. The project aimed to address visual inconsistency across the company’s multi-channel retail ecosystem. The team refreshed and streamlined the brandmark, which had been in use since 1967, and extended the triangle motif into a flexible visual language used to frame photography, design, and messaging across static and moving images. [2] [3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The triangle shape was reportedly chosen by founders John and Alfred Billes because they wanted a recognizable symbol for their petroleum products. In 1934, the maple leaf was added to the triangle, reinforcing the brand’s Canadian identity. [4]
Typography and Design
As part of the 2021 brand design system, Canadian Tire created a customized version of the Zetafonts typeface Eastman, with customized characters that echo the iconic triangle shape for use in retail. The new typographic voice was designed with humanist aesthetics and functional versatility. [2] [3]
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