Data plans on cellular phones can get pricey, so when we travel we look for free Wi-Fi. During our 10,485-kilometre road trip to the Canadian Rockies and home again, we looked for free Wi-Fi in campgrounds, visitor centres, fast food establishments and coffee shops.
Hands down, ubiquitous Tim Hortons was the best: Two clicks on the laptop or iPad and we were online—without any sign-up hassles—for relatively fast Wi-Fi service.
There are 3,564 Tim Hortons stores in Canada as of February 27, 2023, so you’re never too far from a Timmies.
Bonus is Hortons serves excellent dark-roast coffee. Its tasty egg and sausage croissants are hard to beat for a quick breakfast on the go. Washrooms are always clean. The ambiance is pleasant providing a comfortable way to have a coffee, a bite to eat, catch up on emails with family and friends, grab the latest news and review travel information.
In our case, Tim Hortons was a lifesaver when we learned at one such stop that our week-long stay at Wapiti campground in Jasper National Park was cancelled due to wildfires.
Panic set in, it being the day before our arrival at Wapiti. Our six-week camping trip was booked months in advance and now what are we going to do? Where are we sleeping? What to do next? How bad were the wild forest fires? So many questions needed to be answered. We hunkered down and divided the job between the two of us. Three long hours and copious amounts of coffees later, all questions were answered and the lost vacation week was rebooked (near Lake Louise farther from wildfires). What a relief!
Who was Tim Horton?
Miles Gilbert Horton—professionally known was Tim—was the archetypal hockey strongman and a bona fide star for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over 20 seasons with the team, Horton lifted the Stanley Cup four times and was an All-Star three times.
Born in Cochrane in Northern Ontario in 1930, he died in a car crash near St. Catharines in 1974 at age 44.
In 1964, Horton opened his first Tim Horton Doughnut Shop in Hamilton. He added a few of his culinary creations to the initial menu. By 1968, Tim Horton had become a multi-million dollar franchise operation. Horton's previous business ventures included both a hamburger restaurant and Studebaker auto dealership in Toronto.
Upon Horton's death in 1974, his business partner Ron Joyce bought out the Horton family's shares for $1 million and took over as sole owner of the existing chain, which had 40 stores at the time. Today, Tim Hortons is a flagship of Restaurant Brands International, a conglomerate that includes Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Restaurant Brands International is majority-owned by Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital.