Iqaluit Tim Hortons guard Roll up the Rim cups

Even the great Canadian coffee contest works a bit differently in Iqaluit.

In the three years since three self-serve Tim Hortons kiosks opened in Nunavut's capital in December 2010, "Roll Up The Rim to Win" mania has taken hold.

Now clerks guard contest cups safely behind the counter. Customer Leetia Nowdluk said it's no secret why security is tight this year.

"I don't really blame them because last year they were having a lot of people taking two, three extra cups," she said. "I even heard of someone running in and grabbing a whole roll that wasn't even opened yet and running out."

Sarah-Ann Shaimaiyuk played by the rules and won a $100 gift card — one of the 4,000 available in the North and Prairie region — but those Tim's cards don't work at Iqaluit locations.

"I've won coffee, doughnuts," she said. "I'm trying to win a car but it won't work."

If a Nunavut resident wins a big-ticket item like, say, one of the Toyota Corollas, would Tim Hortons pay the cargo to have it shipped north?

"If somebody wins a car, then we would make every effort to ship it to their home," said Tim Hortons spokesperson Michelle Robichaud. "We would work with the closest Toyota dealership and they would make those arrangements."

Tim Hortons produced more than 280 million contest cups for the annual contest.