Whatever happened to ... the Irwin Toy Company.

• Author: Bowal, Peter
• Position: Follow-up on Famous Canadian Cases

This is the story of how Canada's oldest toy company famously challenged advertizing restrictions in the courts shortly even before the arrival of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ultimately, in a Charter case, several new and enduring legal principles on corporate expression rights emerged, and Saturday morning children's television ads were changed forever in Quebec. But this well-known Canadian independent, family-owned toy distributor and manufacturer would not itself survive.

Corporate History

Irwin Toy began in 1926 as an importer and distributor of dry goods and clothing--effectively a wholesale souvenir shop--operating out of Samuel and Beatrice Irwin's home. The business eventually moved to a warehouse in the west end of Toronto. When Samuel's two sons, Arnold and Mac, took over, they added wholesale toy sales. By the 1950s, Irwin Toy sold many traditional toys and sporting goods. The business was incorporated in 1954, and remained a completely family-owned business until 1969, when it went public.

Irwin's profits were mostly generated from licensing and distributing other companies' toys, which meant Irwin was the distributor of most of the popular toys in Canada until the 1990s. American toy companies like Kenner and Parker had wanted their toys sold in Canada, but the size of the size of the market and tariffs could not justify setting up their own plants or sales offices here.

The company expanded quickly through the 1970s and early 1980s, reaching annual gross revenues of C$120 million by 1983. Irwin Toy was responsible for Canadian distribution of many well-known toys, including the Hula Hoop, the Atari Video computer, Care Bears, Slinky, Easy Bake Ovens, Frisbee, Sega video games, and Star Wars action figures. Throughout this period of growth and success, the Irwin family retained a majority stake in the company, as share ownership was passed down through three generations. Some 350 employees worked at their downtown Toronto factory.

Irwin Toy Limited was known for its "junior shareholders", since many parents bought shares of the company for their children. As a result, some shareholder meetings had a large contingent of children in attendance.

Quebec's Consumer Protection Act

The Quebec legislature considered children's TV as a particularly dangerous thing because children cannot resist the persuasive forces of television advertizing. The concern addressed by the legislation was really the pressure the children might...