N.W.T. garages may see silver lining from snow tire shortage

Drivers across Canada are dealing with a shortage of winter tires this season, thanks to a new snow-tire law in Quebec, but garages in the Northwest Territories say the early winters up north could give them an advantage.

Garages across the North have not been immune to the tire shortage, as Quebec motorists scramble to put winter radial tires on their vehicles before Dec. 15, when new provincial legislation will make winter tires mandatory.

In Yellowknife, the annual rush for winter tires got off to an early start this year, thanks to icy road conditions and heavy snowfall earlier this month.

"Normally, it would probably happen maybe in the end of December, January — you know, when the onslaught of all the initial tires get all processed. This year, it's happened really early," Jim Bolt, the service manager at Canadian Tire in Yellowknife, told CBC News on Wednesday.

"I don't think the tire manufacturers expected anything like this," he added.

Bolt said he's running out of certain types of tires, especially low-profile tires and other rarer models.

Automotive garages and tire stores across Canada usually put in their winter tire orders in the spring, then wait for manufacturers to ship them out in the fall.

Westown Tire in Yellowknife did not receive as many winter tires as it had ordered, but owner Ken Pich said he's in a good position to buy up any leftover stock.

"Because we have an early winter and I got rid of most of my bookings already, that gives me a chance to get whatever's left over," Pich said.

"Edmonton and Calgary, all those guys, they still have their booking tires, so they're not after the overflow."

Quebec is the first Canadian province to enact a snow-tire law. It will run from mid-December until mid-March, and motorists whose vehicles don't have winter tires can face fines of up to $300.

The Automotive Protection Association estimates that 350,000 more Quebecers will have to buy new snow tires this year, due to the new legislation.