Walmart is coming to Guelph—again. In early May of 2015, it was announced and published through the Guelph Mercury that Walmart had chosen to purchase the space occupied by the former Guelph Target.
“It’s good for jobs, it’s good for choice,” said Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, in an interview with The Ontarion. “No city wants to have empty buildings. [Walmart] is a like retailer [to Target]. With Walmart taking it over it doesn’t surprise me.” For many it may seem ideal to go local and support small business but this is not so easy for all.
“We want to be supporting small businesses, but with the current state of things and students having to pay higher tuition, there are a whole lot of top-down issues that are affecting students, which is why they might have to shop at places like Walmart,” said Asia Barclay, the external affairs commissioner at the University of Guelph Central Student Association. “In some ways it is more convenient for [students] that one is opening up closer to the university hub because it makes it more accessible.
Regardless of the benefits, some remain resolute in their opposition to a second Walmart entering Guelph.
“I don’t like Walmart as a company, they’re not particularly charitable and they already have a location here so I don’t find it particularly necessary,” said Andrew Muszynski, a bachelor of commerce student at the University of Guelph. “I don’t think the building necessarily requires one location to replace it, so a couple of local places would be better.”
The anonymous users of Guelph Yik Yak have also weighed in on the topic. “It would be awesome”, “Cheap Stuff,” and “Yassss” were the top three answers in response to the question: What do you think about Walmart filing the Target space?
“We have already been down the Walmart road once before; it was eight to 10 years of oppositions and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight them coming in,” said Mayor Guthrie. “Now Walmart has been here for close to 10 years and I still see new stores coming in, new entrepreneurs coming up. The culture of government is one of being open for business.”
Guthrie stated his belief that Walmart isn’t a sign of anti-Guelph culture.
“To me government should be welcoming business into the city and this is another one that is going to be coming,” explained Guthrie.
Many have pointed out that another Walmart coming to Guelph is bittersweet when measured against the reason why it will succeed in the community.
“It’s a systemic issue,’ said Barclay. “Students ideally would not have to resort to shopping at a place like Walmart and Walmart shouldn’t have to treat their workers in such a way to get those lower prices.
“The reality is for now students are just doing the best they can to support local businesses, but they will have to shop there [Walmart] every so often because they don’t have the money to shop elsewhere.
Walmart was unavailable for comment.
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The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.