It’s been a tough haul for Canadians lately. After the announcements earlier this year that both Target and Sony Store would be pulling out of Canada, news comes today that Best Buy Canada Ltd. will be shutting down 66 Future Shop stores effective immediately. The other 65 stores will close down for a week while they’re transitioned into Best Buy stores.

According to the CBC News release, 500 full-time and 1,000 part-time jobs have been eliminated, employees being let go this morning during a 7am work meeting. There was no sign in sight that this was coming. Best Buy president and CEO Ron Wilson stated in a written report:

Currently, 80 per cent of our customers are within a 15-minute drive to a store and this won’t change. … Any decisions that impact our people are never taken lightly; our first priority is to support them through this change. I want to express my appreciation to the employees who are leaving, for their contributions to Best Buy Canada.

Customers arriving at Future Shop this morning for their electronic shopping needs were caught off guard when they were met with a closed door and small sign stating, “This store is closed permanently. We thank you for your support and look forward to serving you at your nearby Best Buy store.”

For the community of collectors at Hi-Def Ninja, they’ll always know Future Shop as the retailer that made SteelBooks the massive, popular hobby that it is today. For me, as a Canadian, I’ll always know Future Shop as the place that gave me the job 11 years ago that would lead me to meeting my future wife and one of my best friends today.

No word yet as to what this means for many of Future Shop’s upcoming exclusive SteelBooks but we’ve got word that Best Buy Canada still has them in their plans, but keep an eye on the forum where announcements will be made immediately as soon as we find out.

R.I.P. Future Shop. Thanks for the memories.