Canadian Tire President Michael Medline Joins Michelle Valberg, President And Co-Founder of Project North, Brock Friesen, President and CEO of First Air, And Canadian Olympians Hayley Wickenheiser, Kaillie Humphries And Charles Hamelin In Iqaluit To Mark Special Occasion With Community

IQALUIT, Aug. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire Corporation today joined Project North, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and improving the lives of children in Canada's North, and First Air, official airline of Project North, in giving aspiring young hockey players in Iqaluit 100 bags of hockey equipment to help get them onto the ice.

"Canadian Tire believes that sport helps build strong communities and we are proud to partner with Project North to donate hockey equipment to help get more kids in the game," said Michael Medline, President, Canadian Tire Corporation. "We're honoured to be in Iqaluit with Johnny Issaluk, who is passionate about sport and its benefits, and Project North, which makes it easier for youth to play hockey – a sport that we believe helps develop the physical and social skills that are so important to children's development regardless of where they play."

This marks the first time Canadian Tire is partnering with Project North.  Both organizations have a common goal of getting kids active and it was a natural fit to partner together on this initiative.  In addition to this donation, Project North has become an official member of ACTIVE AT SCHOOL, a multi-year movement led by Canadian Tire and a group of over 80 influential Canadian sport, wellness and health organizations with a mandate of curbing the crisis of inactive children and youth in Canada.

Canadian Tire and Project North celebrated the occasion alongside official airline of Project North, First Air. 

"First Air is proud to provide ongoing support to Project North and to play a role in contributing to youth initiatives," says Brock Friesen, President and CEO, First Air. "First Air is committed to giving back to the communities we serve and we know this donation of equipment will assist in getting our youth active and engaged in sport."

"We have chosen to bring sports equipment because of the strong agreement across the country that community sport is one of the most positive forces in the lives of young people today.  We want to thank Canadian Tire for donating 100 bags of hockey equipment to Iqaluit and also want to thank First Air for their commitment to ensuring donations, including this one, arrive on time, every time," said Michelle Valberg, President and Co-founder, Project North.

ACTIVE AT SCHOOL, Project North and First Air marked the occasion through a community celebration of games with the elite Olympian athletes along with notable members of the Iqaluit community.

About Canadian Tire Corporation

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX:CTC.A) (TSX:CTC) or "CTC," is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment also includes Mark's, a leading source for casual and industrial wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which offers the best active wear brands. The nearly 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

About Project North  

Project North's community-based and national funding initiatives will generate opportunities to provide education and fitness programs that benefit the Inuit youth of today and of the future.

About ACTIVE AT SCHOOL

ACTIVE AT SCHOOL is a multi-year movement by more than 80 influential private, public and not-for-profit organizations committed to ensuring that one hour a day of quality physical activity and education is brought back to schools across Canada. With a goal of helping to reverse the trend of inactivity in Canadian kids and youth, ACTIVE AT SCHOOL is focused on using its varied voices to keep the issue top of mind with federal, provincial and municipal government as well as school boards across Canada.

SOURCE CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED

Image with caption: "Today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mrs. Laureen Harper joined Canadian Tire, Project North, and First Air as well as Olympic gold medalists Hayley Wickenheiser, Kaillie Humphries and Charles Hamelin to give Iqaluit kids 100 bags of hockey equipment to help get them onto the ice. (CNW Group/CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140825_C2351_PHOTO_EN_5093.jpg