Walmart rolls out $6.5B expansion plan, including three new stores for Alberta

Walmart Canada says it will spend $6.5 billion over the next five years as it opens dozens of new stores.

The retailer says the investment is the largest it has made since it entered Canada 30 years ago, but wouldn't say exactly how many locations it will span.

It says new stores in Port Credit and Oakville, Ont., will open later this year, while a distribution centre in Vaughan, Ont., is also expected to launch in 2025. Three new stores — Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Calgary — are due to open by 2027.

Retail analyst Lisa Hutcheson told CBC Radio's Bizdigest she thinks the investment in Canadian operations is interesting for Walmart, coming a few years after an even larger investment announced in 2020.

"This seems like the next step; they're seeing so much success from [the previous investment] that they're now going even bigger and more robust," said Hutcheson, managing partner of retail strategy at J. C. Williams Group in Toronto.

The news came as Walmart Canada also said Canada Cartage would purchase the retail giant's fleet service, which was responsible for getting products from suppliers and distribution centres to stores.

Walmart Canada spokeswoman Sarah Kennedy wouldn't say what the value of the deal is, its structure or expected closing date.

She said third-party carriers already handle about half of the retailer's transactions involving fleet services.

The company contracting out its fleet of trucks isn't a concern, Hutcheson said.

"Sometimes it's better to outsource than try and do everything in house," Hutcheson said. 

Kennedy said no staff employed by the company's fleet service would be laid off as part of the sale because Canada Cartage will take on the workers when the deal closes.