It is common for large retailers to close and open locations from time to time as they restructure and assess the profitability of each store. A supermarket that thrives in a high-traffic hub might struggle in a saturated market, leading it to quietly close underperforming stores.
Today, Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores and clubs across 19 countries, according to its official website. Because of this massive scale, an occasional store closure typically doesn’t warrant special attention. However, Walmart sometimes makes unexpected decisions that signal a shift in strategy.
Earlier this year, I covered the retailer’s plan to close specific stores in Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana to test a new, faster way of remodeling its Neighborhood Market stores. This April, instead of keeping stores open during months of construction, Walmart plans to close the main shopping floor for just four weeks to speed up the process.
In more recent news, the retailer closed two stores in a key market where it had previously vowed to invest a significant amount of capital.
Walmart closes two Montreal stores to “meet evolving customer needs“
Walmart Canada will close two of its Montreal, Québec, locations while reviewing its store strategy, the company confirmed to CBC News. The retailer said these closures are part of its ongoing effort to assess its footprint and answer customers’ shifting demands.
“We’re always focused on how to best serve our customers, including evaluating our store footprint and formats across the country,” Walmart said in an emailed statement to CBC.
“Although these decisions are never easy, they are part of our ongoing efforts to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of our customers and positioning our business for continued growth in Québec,” Steeve Azoulay, Walmart’s senior director of public affairs, told CTV News.
Walmart’s two stores closing in Montreal, Québec:
- The Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, location is scheduled to close on June 19, 2026.
- The Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montreal, location is set to close on June 26, 2026.
The retailer said all associates affected by the closures will be offered the opportunity to continue working at nearby locations.
Walmart plans to invest $150M in the Québec market
Walmart previously shared a $150 million provincial investment that would include opening a relocated store in Sherbrooke, Québec. Moreover, the retailer plans to renovate 18 stores across the province.
These investments are part of Walmart Canada’s broader expansion and growth acceleration. On Jan. 30, 2025, the retailer confirmed its landmark $6.5 billion investment over the next five years.
The investment will include building dozens of new stores across the country, starting with five Supercenters in Ontario and Alberta by 2027, according to its official press release.
“Walmart Canada is on an ambitious growth journey to serve even more Canadians — better and differently than ever before. This $6.5 billion investment is the largest we’ve made in Canada towards expanding our footprint since we first arrived here 30 years ago,” Gui Loureiro, regional CEO, Walmart Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Central America, stated at the time.
Despite the two Montreal closures, Québec remains one of the key markets for Walmart, as the retailer still holds a massive presence in the area. Walmart currently employs more than 12,000 associates across more than 70 stores in the province.
Over the years, Walmart invested in the market and is relying on local producers in the area to stock shelves across the country. In 2021, it purchased approximately $3.2 billion in products from over 500 Québec-based suppliers.
In 2022, it unveiled a plan to build its first-ever fulfillment center in Québec as part of a $1 billion major infrastructure investment this year.
“This important investment is the latest example of Walmart’s commitment to Québec,” Cyrille Ballereau, Walmart Canada regional vice president for Québec, said at the time. “We are investing for growth in Québec and creating jobs for Québecers to better serve our customers. Québecers will see refreshed stores, quicker service, and more options available in-store and online. When Québecers choose Walmart, they are choosing to support a retailer that supports Québecers.”
Québec market key facts:
- Strong household spending: Household spending in Québec grew by 5.7% in 2024 and continued to accelerate with a 6% increase in the first quarter of 2025, according to a 2025 report by Gouvernement du Québec.
- Economic resilience: The Québec economy showed significant resilience in 2025 with real GDP growth of 0.8%, despite a challenging global trade environment, reveals a 2026 report from Gouvernement du Québec.
- Vast business infrastructure: Québec has more than 32,000 retail establishments, ranging from small local shops to large international centers, according to data from Conseil Québécois du Commerce de Detail.
Tada Images/Shutterstock.com
Montreal customers are disappointed as Walmart was “the least expensive”
Shoppers frequently visited the Montreal stores because they offered the most affordable prices in the area, Michaela Ival, a local customer at the Pointe-aux-Trembles location, told CBC.
“It’s the least expensive. Wherever you go, it’s very expensive [if] you don’t have money.”
Another customer who frequents the same location, Farugh Hagezadeh, seconded Walmart’s affordability, but also highlighted that the store welcomed local immigrants.
More retail:
- 26-year-old sporting goods retailer suddenly closing
- Target rolls out two major changes to prove its value to customers
- Walmart quietly changes how it prices items
“They are looking to buy more products in Walmart because it’s more cheap, more economical for them,” Hagezadeh said.
The news of the two Montreal store closures quickly spread across the internet, and local customers shared their feelings. Many residents, especially in the Côte-des-Neiges area, viewed the closure as a significant loss.
“Nooo. The CDN store is vital to the area,” user HourReplacement0 wrote on Reddit.
On the other hand, many customers weren’t surprised to hear about the closure, arguing that these specific locations were poorly managed, or that this is just part of the retailer’s shift away from malls towards standalone Supercenters, which they own rather than lease.
“CDN is probably the worst Walmart in Québec. Stolen empty packages all over the place, dirty, returned used merchandise put back on the floor for sale (ask me how I know), useless employees,” wrote Reddit user Funny_Bullfrog_7041.
A number of users, both on Reddit and Facebook, shared concerns about how Walmart’s closure will affect other stores in the mall and in the area.
Why is Walmart closing some Québecstores while investing heavily in others?
While Walmart hasn’t disclosed a specific reason for the Montreal store closures, other than positioning the business for continued growth, several possibilities exist.
Walmart has increasingly invested in buying retail centers to better control operations and reduce reliance on leased space.
“Walmart Inc. has spent $118 million this year to buy three shopping centers, joining a trend of retailers becoming landlords rather than just tenants,” reported Arkansas Business in December 2025.
Why Walmart is closing stores in Montreal while investing elsewhere in Québec:
- Shifting to owning locations instead of leasing them
- Expanding on e-commerce
- Optimizing its margins
More retailers want to own spaces instead of renting, Quinnipiac University Marketing Department Chair Charles Brooks told TheHour.
“It provides retailers with greater flexibility to redevelop properties and manage the mix of stores within the shopping center,” Brooks said.
With its own space, Walmart can expand and redesign store layout or add fulfillment centers for online orders as e-commerce further grows.
Walmart’s recent moves and milestones
- CEO leadership transition: John Furner officially took over as president and CEO of Walmart Inc. on Feb. 1, 2026, succeeding longtime leader Doug McMillon, reported Walmart.
- Open AI partnership: In October 2025, Walmart confirmed a partnership with Open AI to allow customers and members to shop Walmart through ChatGPT using Instant Checkout.
- Digital shelf label rollout: Aggressively expanding digital shelf labels to 2,300 stores by the end of 2026 to enable real-time pricing and faster stocking, reported What Now.
- Agentic AI launch: In June 2025, the retailer debuted “Sparky,” an AI shopping assistant that can take actual actions, such as ordering refills, on behalf of customers.
- Ingredient clean-up: Committed to removing 30+ synthetic ingredients (including high-fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes) from private brands like Great Value and Marketside, starting in 2026, according to the official press release.
- Marketplace expansion: In January 2026, Walmart confirmed the launch of a new digital storefront for premium musical instruments as part of a 2026 plan to diversify the Walmart Marketplace.
- Digital label backlash: A 2026 rollout of digital shelf labels to 2,300 stores sparked customer outrage over fears of “surge pricing,” despite Walmart’s denials.
- Build-A-Bear partnership: In March 2026, Walmart launched a major wholesale collaboration with Build-A-Bear Workshop, introducing an exclusive “Bluey” collection to 1,500 locations to capture specialty toy market share, reported TheStreet.
- OpenAI exit: In March 2026, Walmart ended its OpenAI partnership, dropping “Instant Checkout” in favor of its in-house “Sparky” AI to ensure better inventory accuracy.
- Inventory solution: In March 2026, Walmart launched Scintilla In-Store, an AI tool designed to solve “out-of-stock” frustrations by giving suppliers real-time shelf data, according to TheStreet.
- La Roche-Posay partnership: In April 2026, Walmart brought the iconic French skin care brand La Roche-Posay to 1,460 stores nationwide, according to prior reporting by TheStreet.
Related: Walmart’s Sam’s Club raising membership prices