Canadian Tire is one of Canada’s 35 largest publicly traded companies and operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing, financial services and petroleum. It operates Canadian Tire Retail, Canada’s largest and most-shopped general merchandise retailer best known for its unique selection of home products, hardware, automotive, sports, camping, lawn and garden products. It also operates Canada’s largest independent gasoline station network, a chartered bank in Canadian Tire Bank, and owns Mark’s Work Wearhouse, a leading specialty apparel retailer of work and casual clothing, and PartSource, dealing exclusively with auto parts.
Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey in Canada and the United States, is a team sport played on ice. It is a speedy and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover, though with the advent of indoor artificial ice rinks it has become a year-round pastime at the amateur level in major metropolitan areas such as cities that host an NHL or other professional-league team.