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Toys “R” Us Canada is closing locations, while also opening new ones.
Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star file photo
Retailer shrinks to 40 stores amid new PlayLab strategy.
ByMetroland StaffInsidehaltoncom
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Toys “R” Us Canada is reported to have quietly and unceremoniously closed dozens of stores across the country this year, with more closures still to come.
According to the Edmonton Journal, the company has closed at least 38 stores this year and has another 12 locations up for sale, bringing the entire operation down to 40 locations.
As of this writing, the company’s website lists 53 Canadian locations, including 24 in Ontario. At one time, there were a little more than 100 Toys “R” Us locations in Canada.
‘Strategic changes’
While Toys “R” Us Canada has not confirmed the Edmonton Journal’s reporting, it acknowledged it is making changes to how it operates, including opening new stores.
“Toys ‘R’ Us Canada is making strategic changes to better meet the needs of Canadian families and reimagine the toy experience. This includes expanding PlayLab, our free-with-purchase indoor playground and birthday party experience, across many stores nationally,” a company spokesperson said via email.
“We also continue to invest in new locations, at various sizes, including our latest store at the Pen Centre in St. Catharines, which opened on Nov. 15.”
The new store at the mall in St. Catharines is smaller than the company’s standalone St. Catharines store, which is up for sale, as reported by the St. Catharines Standard.
Where are stores closing?
Ontario locations in London’s Argyle Mall, on Steeles Avenue West in Thornhill, on Hurontario Street in Mississauga, on Marcus Drive in Sudbury, and Centennial Parkway North in Stoney Creek have all closed this year.
Stores in Kitchener and St. Catharines remain up for sale.
Several news outlets in Toronto reported on upcoming closures there. Liquidation signs have appeared at Toronto’s Dufferin Mall, Scarborough Town Centre and Victoria Terrace Shopping Centre, according to BlogTO.
Reporting by the Montreal Gazette suggests locations in Quebec City, Laval and Brossard will close as of Jan. 5, leaving a store in St-Bruno-de-Montarville as the sole Toys “R” Us location in Quebec,. The property that houses that store is also up for sale, according to the Gazette.
Who owns Toys “R” Us?
As of 2018, Toys “R” Us Canada is a Canadian company.
The Toys “R” Us parent company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in 2017 and had closed all stores by June 2018.
The Canadian operation, however, remained alive.
Toys “R” Us Canada, which had around 80 stores at the time, was purchased by Fairfax Financial in 2018, and in 2021 by Douglas Putman’s Putman Investments, the company’s current owner. Putman also owns retail chains such as Sunrise Records, Ricki’s and Cleo, as well as the Babies “R” Us and HMV Canada banners that are part of Toys “R” Us Canada.
Toys “R” Us is also making a comeback in the U.S., with the company intending to open more than 30 locations this holiday season.
Toy stores disappearing
Disappearing toy stores are not new.
Back in 2023, Mastermind Toys, another bricks-and-mortar toy retailer, announced the closures of 18 locations as it faced financial troubles.
Shortly after, the company was purchased by Unity Acquisitions Inc., owned by Canadian retail giants Joe Mimran, Frank Rocchetti and David Lui. The 66 other Mastermind Toys locations remained open following this acquisition.
Zellers won’t sell toys
Experts say Walmart and Amazon now dominate the toy market.
The recently revived Zellers, a beloved Canadian department store chain that is no longer part of the now-defunct Hudson’s Bay Company, is not planning to sell toys in its new stores.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Zellers chief operating officer Joey Benitah said toys, as well as pharmaceuticals, are two areas dominated by Walmart and Amazon.
If Zellers can’t be competitive and offer the best value in any category, he would rather not offer it, he said, which is why the new Zellers won’t carry toys or pharmaceuticals.
Original:
https://www.simcoe.com/business/toys-r-us-canada-closing-locations/article_f4484615-ccae-5879-9c99-d8ec76e8178d.html
