Tim Horton’s is a Canadian restaurant chain with about 3,800 locations in Canada and another 800 in the United States. Yesterday the company announced that it was partnering with Harry Potter for some new donuts tied to the house colors in the novels.
Apparently this is timed to some annual event for fans of the books.
This Tim Hortons collaboration celebrates the annual Back to Hogwarts event, in which Harry Potter fans celebrate the new year at the magic school, and the 25th anniversary of the first Harry Potter film, with each Hogwarts House having its own themed doughnut…
Hope Bagozzi, the chief marketing officer for Tim Hortons, had this to say about the Harry Potter crossover:
“Harry Potter has been a beloved part of so many of our guests’ lives for decades and we couldn’t be more excited for Canadians to discover the Wizarding World at Tims restaurants.”
But of course we can’t have nice things in 2026, not even nice donuts. This promotion for this very popular series of books and movies is being attacked by the usual suspects. A group called Egale Canada put out a statement today claiming the donuts are making people sad.
While many Canadians have a deep connection to the Harry Potter franchise, many others cannot separate the franchise from J.K. Rowling, one of the world’s most prominent voices opposing trans rights and inclusion, who has used her influence and financial resources to support efforts that are harmful to trans and gender diverse communities.
As a brand that is synonymous with Canada, Tim Hortons and their partnerships should reflect Canada – a country that is inclusive and proud of its diversity. Tim Hortons’ partnership with the Harry Potter franchise contributes to the continued visibility and commercial success of a brand associated with a person whose public advocacy has contributed to anti-trans narratives and the rollback of trans rights around the world.
As anti-2SLGBTQI hate continues to rise in Canada, especially for trans and gender diverse communities, campaigns that celebrate the Harry Potter brand can be deeply disappointing, infuriating, and saddening for those who are directly affected by that harm as well as their allies.
Egale urges companies to consider the impact their partnerships and marketing decisions can have on communities – particularly communities that are already facing heightened levels of discrimination, violence, and hostility. Everyone deserves to feel seen, respected, and included, and marketing promotions such as this only further exclusion and harm.
There’s already a mob of angry people onboard with this and demanding a boycott.
On social media, some people called for a Tim Hortons boycott, many expressed dismay, and others gave the company a new nickname: “TERF-Hortons,” a reference to an ideology that rejects the existence of transgender identities.
“I’m an employee of Tim Hortons. I’m also transgender. You are actively hurting many of your employees including myself,” one person wrote on Threads.
Said another: “Choosing donuts over the safety of trans people is certainly a choice. What a terrible f—ing thing to do.”
Another person wrote they were “heartbroken,” adding: “This really hurt more than most. How can one person’s hateful voice carry this far?”
This boycott won’t catch on in America. I have no idea whether it will work in Canada. In any case, the problem isn’t that “one person’s hateful voice” has carried this far. The problem is that the truth has undermined the nonsense being spread by trans activists. Most people don’t think boys should compete on girls’ sports teams. Most people don’t think men should housed in women’s prisons. And most people don’t think women who’ve been sexually assaulted should have to spend time with men in dresses in a space meant for recovery. And so on.
Anyway, my guess is that this boycott won’t go anywhere because the number of people who are this outraged about Harry Potter donuts is blessedly small. Still, I think we’re getting a preview of things to come. HBO’s Harry Potter TV series will be released in December. No doubt there will be all kinds of promotion for that and it’s going to drive these people crazy. In the end, lots of people will watch the show initially and, if it’s terrible, they’ll tune out. But if it’s good, it will be a huge hit. It’s that simple.
Finally, I have to give the last word to J.K. Rowling both because she’s the target of all of this and because she’s still a lot more sensible (and well-spoken) than any of her critics. Recently she looked back on her 2020 essay about gender identity.
I’ve just seen a post from yet another man who thinks my position has shifted since I wrote my 2020 essay about gender identity ideology and the consequent clash of rights https://t.co/YjTfVmfKiA
For the avoidance of doubt, I stand by every word I wrote then. For instance:…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 26, 2026
I’ve just seen a post from yet another man who thinks my position has shifted since I wrote my 2020 essay about gender identity ideology and the consequent clash of rights https://jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/
For the avoidance of doubt, I stand by every word I wrote then. For instance: ‘woman isn’t a costume.’ If it surprises you that I say men don’t become women by wearing make up and dresses, you didn’t understand the essay. I’ve been crystal clear all along that I believe people are free to live and present themselves as the opposite sex if that’s what feels comfortable and authentic TO THEM. This appears to have been interpreted (most often, tellingly, by men) as ‘and it naturally follows that I, as a woman, will validate a man’s belief that he is now, to all intents and purposes, the same sex as me, and I will use only the speech he deems appropriate and will be very careful to protect his sensitive ego, no matter the cost to myself in pretending to believe a falsehood, or the loss of my own rights due to this pretence.’
Dress as you like within normal bounds of situational decency, wear lipstick, sequins and a beard if you want, call yourself whatever you like, have sex with any consenting adult you please: I wish you health, happiness and safety. What you don’t get is the power to compel my speech and belief.
When I call a man a man, I am speaking verifiable truth. It is essential to be able to accurately name sex when discussing fair sport, facilities and services for women and girls and the right of gay people not to be demonised for their same-sex attraction. In years to come, a lot of useful idiots are going to awake to the fact that they’ve been complicit in enormous harm done to women, girls, gay people who stood against the insanity, and some extremely vulnerable young people. I don’t doubt we’ll hear a lot of, ‘I thought I was just being kind.’ Such individuals, especially those in positions of power, should be asked why they never had anything to say about the loud, public, widespread unkindness directed against those who refused to adopt their fashionable, elitist beliefs, eg, the detransitioners being bullied and vilified by former ‘allies’, the whistleblowers who tried to stop an unregulated experiment on troubled children, the women who lost their careers and livelihoods by standing up for all women’s rights.
Some people appear to believe it a worse crime for a woman to call a man a man than for trans activists to call loudly and publicly for the assault and assassination of all women who refuse to bend the knee. I have never wished violence or any other kind of harm on a trans-identified person, but, like many other people who’ve defended women’s and girls’ rights over the past few years, I have received thousands of threats of death, rape and torture. The wilful blindness of those who bleat ‘both sides’ will rightly be judged harshly in times to come.
TL;DR Trans women aren’t women, and if that hurts your feelings, be grateful you live in a society where you are just as free to espouse gender ideology as I am to speak the truth. As Orwell said: ‘Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.’
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