Oct 15, 2026
Winner! Gagnant! Okay, your inbox won’t say that out loud, but imagine opening an email from Tim Hortons that says you’ve won a fishing boat and trailer worth nearly $70,000. Now imagine being told, before the excitement wears off, to disregard that message.
That’s what happened to Jonathan Deschâtelets, and to nearly half a million other Canadians in April 2024. Deschâtelets took the iconic coffee chain to court, arguing the company should be held to its word. More than two years later, Quebec’s highest court delivered its answer: no boat.
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The ruling draws a clear line between being told you won and actually winning — a distinction worth knowing whether the next prize notice comes from a brand you trust or a stranger fishing for your banking details.
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What happened with the Tim Hortons boat email?
Deschâtelets played Tim Hortons’ Roll Up To Win contest in spring 2024 and collected a handful of instant prizes, including three coffees, a three-month subscription to The Athletic and 160 Tims points, according to CTV News.
On April 17, 2024, he received a recap email from the company saying he had also won a Tracker Targa 18 WT boat and trailer. While he was on hold with Tim Hortons to claim his prize, a second email arrived saying the first contained errors and should be ignored. The list of recipients of this faux-pas was so long that they eventually formed a Facebook group.
At the time, a Tim Hortons spokesperson told Global News the recap email was meant to give players a “fun overview of their 2024 play history.” The company added that real prizes were revealed instantly during play, and that large prizes would have gone through further verification.
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Why did Quebec’s top court side with Tim Hortons?
Deschâtelets launched a class action against Tim Hortons arguing that, under Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act, the cafe chain was bound by what its email said. He sought compensatory damages equal to the boat’s value for the excitement, stress and disappointment resulting from Tim Hortons’ carelessness, plus $10,000 in punitive damages.
In June 2025, Superior Court Justice Donald Bisson authorized the class action for Quebec residents only, finding that under the province’s consumer law, a company’s error or system glitch doesn’t automatically release it from liability.
The Quebec Court of Appeal disagreed. In its Oct. 9 ruling, the court set aside that judgment and denied authorization. The deciding factor: Deschâtelets never uncovered a winning boat tab in the course of playing Roll Up To Win.
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Deschâtelets’ lawyer, Joey Zukran of LPC Avocats, told CTV that he is still reviewing the ruling, adding that Tim Hortons “once again erroneously announced to their customers that they won prizes.”
Is a ‘you’ve won’ email legally binding?
Not automatically. The appeal court focused on what happened under the contest itself — what players actually uncovered while playing — rather than on what a follow-up marketing message said.
That said, this was a Quebec decision about whether a class action could proceed. It doesn’t settle every scenario in every province. In some cases, particularly where a company’s statement forms part of an actual offer, the outcome could be different. Specific facts and provincial consumer law come into play.
How can you tell a real prize from a mistake — or a scam?
Mistaken emails from real brands are rare. Fake prize notices, however, are not. The Competition Bureau warns that you can’t win a sweepstake you never entered, and that legitimate contests don’t require a fee to collect a prize.
Taxes are another tell. In Canada, lottery winnings generally aren’t taxed unless they count as income from employment, a business or property, or a prize for achievement. A message claiming you owe “prize tax” before your winnings can be released is a red flag.
What to do now
Before you celebrate — or call a lawyer — follow these steps:
- Save any prize notice along with screenshots of your in-app game history
- Read the official contest rules for how winners will be notified and verified
- Contact the company through its official app or website, not through links or numbers in the message
- Never pay a fee, share banking information or buy gift cards in order to claim a prize
- Report suspicious prize messages to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) at 1-888-495-8501
- If you feel you’ve been misled by a legitimate business, file a complaint with your provincial consumer protection office
A prize only counts once it’s confirmed under the contest’s own rules. Until then, treat any message saying you’ve won something as good news pending verification — not money in the bank, or, in this case, a boat on the water.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
