A Walmart store in Newmarket, Ont., is set to close at the end of January despite a petition signed by hundreds of residents urging the retailer to reconsider.
Newmarket Coun. Jane Twinney launched the petition last week calling on Walmart to halt plans to shutter its store in the 404 Town Centre plaza, located at the northeast corner of Davis Drive and Leslie Street. As of the morning of Oct. 16, 575 residents had signed on.
Officials Lobby Walmart Directly
On Oct. 15, Twinney and Newmarket Mayor John Taylor held a virtual meeting with Alex Gray, Walmart Canada‘s senior manager of public and government affairs, to press the company to keep the store open. Twinney said the pair shared residents’ stories about how the closure would affect them, including the loss of the store’s pharmacy.
Twinney said Gray told them Walmart’s business strategy is focused on larger locations capable of selling groceries.
In a statement to The Newmarket Era and yorkregion.com on Oct. 16, Walmart’s senior manager of communications, Stephanie Fusco, said the company is “always focused on how to best serve our customers, including evaluating our store footprint and formats across the country.” She said the company made “the difficult decision to close our Newmarket East store, located at 1111 Davis Dr., on Jan. 29, 2027.”
Fusco said employees affected by the closure will be offered the chance to continue working at nearby Walmart locations, and that the company looks forward to welcoming customers to its Newmarket Supercentre on Yonge Street and its Aurora Supercentre.
Residents Cite Accessibility Concerns
The petition describes the store as “an important and valued part of our community, particularly for residents living on the east side of Newmarket,” noting that many seniors rely on the location for everyday shopping. It states that travelling across town to the Yonge Street Walmart is not always practical or accessible for residents who do not drive or have mobility challenges.
Twinney said she conveyed to Gray how much residents depend on and value the store, adding there is no comparable retail option in the area that serves the same role.
Twinney said she still hopes the petition could persuade Walmart to reverse course and said it is important for the company to hear directly from residents, though she acknowledged there is only a slim chance of that happening. She said that while business decisions are often based on numbers, the human impact of the closure should also be taken into account.
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