[1][2] Born in Toronto, Ontario, Billes went at age 16 to work as a clerk at a branch of the Dominion Bank.
In 1922, he used his savings to team up with his brother William to buy Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd. in Toronto.
The Billes brothers expanded the business into a full line of automotive products and home and garden supplies.
[3] A publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canadian Tire's Class A Non-Voting shares are widely held.
In honour of Alfred Billes, the company's distribution centre in Brampton, Ontario, was named the A.J.