Butter tarts battle heats up in Wellington North township

Butter tarts aren’t all sweetness. Tourism officials in Ontario’s Wellington North township have launched legal action to protect the trademark of its Butter Tart Trail from an upstart competitor, the city of Kawartha Lakes and its Butter Tart Tour.

April Marshall, Wellington’s tourism manager, called in a Toronto law firm to issue a cease-and-desist order.

The rival tour brings “confusion” to the marketplace, she told the Wellington Advertiser. Wellington’s 100-km trail offers a dozen varieties of tarts, as well as “doggy butter-tart treats, pottery trays in homage to the butter tart and scents inspired by them,” the township website brags. Not to be outdone, the Kawarthas Northumberland district promises “over 30 bakeries” in “the land of 1,000 perfect butter tarts.”

According to the most recent report in the Wellington Advertiser, township council members have decided to shelve the butter tart lawsuit battle for now, but "the issue is expected to come up again at council."