Imperial Tobacco Canada


Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited is a cigarette manufacturing company operating in Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco. It was created in 1908 and bought out the Canadian interests of the American Tobacco Company, which was a monopoly in the United States until it was reorganized in 1911. Imperial Tobacco Canada has had no relationship to Imperial Tobacco Group plc since 1980, though British American Tobacco was established as a joint venture between Imperial Tobacco Group and American Tobacco. Imasco sold their stake to BAT in 2000.

History

American Tobacco, which had acquired the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, makers of the then-popular cigarette brand Sweet Caporal, had entered the Canadian market by acquiring the Montreal-based American Cigarette Company and D. Ritchie and Company, forming the American Tobacco Company of Canada, Ltd.
Imperial Tobacco was the first Canadian cigarette manufacturer to be successfully sued by a governmental entity in Canada. The province of British Columbia's lawsuit against Imperial was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in the landmark case British Columbia v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, 2 S.C.R. 473, 2005 SCC 49. The Supreme Court ruled that the provincial Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, which allowed the government to sue tobacco companies, was constitutionally valid.

On June 1, 2015, the Quebec Superior Court ruled against Imperial Tobacco Canada, JTI-Macdonald, and RBH in two Quebec class action suits. The judgment against Imperial Tobacco was in excess of $10 billion – the highest tobacco judgement in Canadian history. The court found that Imperial failed in its duty of care to Quebec consumers prior to 1998. The court required a $1 billion payment to the plaintiffs within 60 days, regardless of appeal.

Brands and products

Imperial Tobacco Canada is a Canadian market leader in tobacco products, with approximately 50% market share of total tobacco products. Brands that BAT Canada markets include Du Maurier, John Player Special, Marlboro, Matinée, Medallion, Pall Mall, Viceroy, and Vogue.
BAT Canada recently started marketing a vaping product called Vype, an alternative to combustible tobacco.