{"id":837155,"date":"2026-07-31T01:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/837155\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T01:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:40:09","slug":"tim-hortons-faces-backlash-over-harry-potter-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/837155\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Hortons faces backlash over Harry Potter collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Thunder Bay non-profit says a new partnership between Tim Hortons and the Harry Potter franchise sends an exclusionary message to transgender and gender-diverse people<\/p>\n

THUNDER BAY \u2014 Tim Hortons’ new Harry Potter-themed campaign is hurtful to 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians.<\/p>\n

That’s according to the Rainbow Collective Thunder Bay, a non-profit organization that provides workshops for businesses and other organizations, as well as advocacy and resources for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many members of our community, the Harry Potter franchise has become inseparable from J.K. Rowling\u2019s ongoing public opposition to the rights, dignity, and inclusion of transgender people.<\/p>\n

“As one of the world\u2019s most influential voices opposing trans equality, her continued activism has had a profound impact on a community that is already facing increasing discrimination, hostility, and violence,\u201d the Rainbow Collective said in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n

Rowling, who wrote the seven-book Harry Potter series, has posted what many consider to be anti-trans views on social media.<\/p>\n

“A pantomine horse isn\u2019t a horse. An open secret isn\u2019t a secret. A hot dog isn\u2019t a dog. A shrinking violet isn\u2019t a violet. Crow\u2019s feet aren\u2019t feet. Fair game\u2019s not a game. Trans women aren\u2019t women,” said Rowling in a social media post<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Tim Hortons campaign is called “Back to Hogwarts.”<\/p>\n

The Rainbow Collective said that while Harry Potter represents nostalgia, imagination, and cherished childhood memories for many Canadians, Rowling’s ongoing social media comments about the transgender community cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n

\u201cTim Hortons has long been viewed as an iconic Canadian brand. Canada is at its best when it reflects our shared values of inclusion, diversity, respect, and belonging. At a time when anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate continues to rise across the country, particularly against transgender and gender-diverse people, partnerships like this send a message that many in our community experience as hurtful, exclusionary, and deeply disappointing,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n

The collective continued that\u00a0the issue is not about telling people what they can or cannot enjoy, but about recognizing that corporate partnerships carry meaning and that companies have a responsibility to consider how their marketing decisions affect communities.<\/p>\n

The Rainbow Collective is encouraging Tim Hortons and other Canadian businesses to consider the impact of the brands they choose to promote.<\/p>\n

The statement added that inclusion is not demonstrated only during Pride Month but is reflected in the decisions organizations make every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo our transgender and gender-diverse community: we see you, we value you, and we stand with you. You deserve to feel welcomed, respected, celebrated, and included in every corner of Canadian life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Tim Hortons spokesperson said in an email statement the “collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products is a celebration of\u00a0an iconic story, a way for Tims to sprinkle some magic into guests\u2019 daily routines”\u00a0while\u00a0commemorating\u00a0the 25th anniversary of the first Harry Potter movie with fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Thunder Bay non-profit says a new partnership between Tim Hortons and the Harry Potter franchise sends an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-837155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}