Taken from a daily investment newsletter I receive from Canaccord Capital …
For those who don’t know, the doughnut chain founded by the late Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman naturally started out its existence as Tim Horton’s. But the apostrophe was lost to the language legislation in the Province of Quebec: See, unless a business name is simply a personal name, in Quebec the signage has to be translated into French. Well, Tim Horton’s Doughnuts would have to become Les doughnuts de Tim Horton. Rather than producing entirely new signage for the Quebec market, Tim Horton’s became Tim Hortons from coast to coast. Note that exceptions to Quebec’s sign laws
have been granted. McDonald’s, for example, was able to keep the apostrophe on their signs because the apostrophe is a part of their trademark. McDonald’s was thus able to let the Anglicism stand. De McDonald, anyone?
An online petition to return Tim Hortons’ apostrophe can be found at: www.petitionspot.com/petitions/timhorton
