Hilroy has apologized for leaving Newfoundland and Cape Breton off the Canadian map on its glossy notebooks, after the mistake led to backlash online.
Hilroy’s pastel-coloured paper exercise books are well known across the country for the map of Canada on their covers. But the map on Hilroy’s glossy covered notebooks are missing a few parts of the country.
In a post to its Facebook page Tuesday, the company said its team has always been proud of the map, “which is exactly why getting it wrong stings.”
The inaccurate map was the result of a production error, the post said. The company has stopped distributing the books and is fixing the cover artwork.
“That’s our mistake, and we’re sorry,” it said. “To everyone who spotted it: you’re right and thank you for telling us.”
Hilroy’s parent company, ACCO Brands, said Wednesday that the faulty books have been on shelves since last year. However, it seems customers only recently noticed the errors. The mishap has generated discussion on social media, prompting posts from Newfoundlanders and Nova Scotians expressing their dismay.
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Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham posted a brief but blunt response on Facebook.
“You can leave Newfoundland off an exercise book, but you can’t erase us,” he wrote Wednesday. “Hilroy will never take away our identity, our history, or our place on the map.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the incomplete map was “unacceptable.”
“I’ve asked the minister of education to send the makers of Hilroy scribblers a map of Nova Scotia that includes Cape Breton and Newfoundland,” Houston said, also in Facebook post.
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The mistaken map also appears to be missing Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the coast of British Columbia. An ACCO Brands spokesperson said the company is aware and addressing the omission is part of its “correction plan.”
Sean Cadigan, a history professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L., said Newfoundland did not join Canada until 1949, and it has been left out of maps and descriptions of the country before. It can be a sensitive issue on the island, he said.
“When there are big tours and people say they’re touring Canada, Canada often stops somewhere in Nova Scotia,” Cadigan said in an interview Wednesday.
“I think that’s just probably an old habit that often predates Newfoundland’s joining Confederation,” he added. “Obviously, people here want to emphasize, of course, since 1949, we’re part of Canada.”
Cadigan said the map was an “an embarrassing mistake” for Hilroy.
“I wouldn’t read it as any intent to slight,” he said.
The fact people are making a big deal about this is legitimately embarrassing 🤦♂️
A brain fart: instead of recalling they could provide sticky decals to correct the problem. Students put them on themselves…
May be we as canadians should just shut down this company. Altogether, and let them go bankrupt. Americans love bankruptcy.
And what about Haida Gwai? AKA the Queen Charlotte Islands???
What happened to Wolfe Island and the 1000 islands or Georgian Bay Islands?
Simple laziness
Are the Elbows Up-a-teers blaming Trump yet?
And don’t forget Canada’s Great Lakes please.
Give them the benefit of the doubt but….. Where are Hilroy scribblers made now-a-days? Is your school supply money going to an American company? If so, is there a Canadian alternative? Just a few things to consider in light of everything that is happening I would say.
Hilroy is historically a Canadian brand, but it is now owned by an American company!!
owned by an American company…… Enough said!!
Did Trump have any thing to do with this!😎👮🇨🇦 LOL
Of course, sometimes when similar decorative maps of the world appear, occasionally they wind up missing New Zealand. So this sort of thing isn’t a new problem.
They’re called duotangs.
“They’ve been on store shelves since last year” oy shoes they did it as to cut costs….
Elbows Up Canadians losing their minds about a minor clerical error.
Who cares. Worry about important things, not this.
Appoligy not accepted. The books are considered educational tools. What is leaving provinces off Canada’s east coast teaching our children?
That’s because Hilton is not a Canadian company anymore !
Some channels are not respecting the jurisdictional right of countries in other places. Good for the people to learn that territories MUST NOT be separated (taking Quebec as an example). This hilarious event is the first alarm.
Separatists are not doing well in recent years. Their voices are now submerged by the voices from the general public. I don’t support either side. Being an anarchist or a normal people is definitely a good choice. (Notebooks are good anyway–as long as you have something to write on)
They also missed Haida on the west formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Magdalen Islands, an archipelago that belongs to the province of Quebec is also missing from the Hillroy cover. Magdalen Islands is located 110 kilometres north of PEI in the Golf of St.Lawrence.
Why doesn’t anyone mention that it also excludes Haida Quai?
Actually, probably foreign workers LoL 😂
How dumb are the generation working today, probably don’t know their head from their ass
Hilroy is trash, we have been purchasing their products for decades, 90% of the time. The books come back at the end of the school hardly used, you rip out a few cute drawings and recycle the book. And purchase it again next year, rinse and repeat. Save the trees, screw them they can’t find Newfoundland I can’t find their waste of money product on the shelf. Their erasers are trash, As well.
They also left Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) off the west coast!!!!!!!
Reading these reviews makes me embarrassed to be Canadian. Really, fire them. Someone made a mistake, stop reading into everything snowflakes.
HUGE mistake by someone, has the person responsible been fired? You also point out it’s been in stores but customers didn’t notice! Well neither did Hilroy! Obviously Hilroy has “absolutely NO QUALITY CONTROL”. You should be ashamed but big business rarely is.
If you read their apology with an eye to style, you can definitely tell that it was AI written. How embarrassing for them.
Huh…
I run similar tests myself. Does it understand the image or what is being said?
[Anonymous
September 2, 2026 at 4:48 pm
⬇️
➡️”Canadian first⬅️
September 2, 2026 at 1:17 pm
Shouldve left alberta off the map instead”
🤔 wha…?!]
⬇️
➡️”Canadian first⬅️
September 2, 2026 at 1:17 pm
Shouldve left alberta off the map instead”
🤔 wha…?!
Never let the laziness of our public educators waste an educational opportunity.
Peter,
ACCO Canada, which includes Hilroy Canada, employs between 200-500 employees vs the parent company, with 4,700. The US is ten times the size of Canada, as is its respective head offices.
Quit jeopardizing Canadian jobs because you are dumb.
“Peter Prust
September 2, 2026 at 3:33 pm
Typical American ignorance. Can see where their leader got it from.”
Hey man, they put lines on paper for people. The modern day equivalent has got to be homeless people holding doors open for you.
Typical American ignorance. Can see where their leader got it from.
With stories like this, no wonder you need government subsidies to survive. To think we pay for this ‘news’.
This is what’s newsworthy now? Scraping the bottom of the barrel as usual. Joke of a country and joke of a people. No wonder the US is going to wipe you off the map.
I’m surprised they included Vancouver Island. It’s a cleaner logo without Cape Breton and the Queen Charlottes
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Remove Quebec from the cover while you’re at it.
Shouldve left alberta off the map instead
That isn’t a printing error, its an error or the PEOPLE who are responsible for quality control
We call them the Queen Charlotte Islands. Only the natives want to call them something different. Other than Vancouver island, all the islands are missing off of the west coast.
PEI is not correct, a whole province, and nobody mentions it…
Haida Gwaii is also missing.
Must be DEI employees, there’s no other excuse.