‘I thought it said $25,000’: Order of Canada recipient wins $25-million Lotto Max jackpot

The OLG says Toronto resident Charles Coffey didn't have his glasses on when he was checking his ticket and thought he won $25,000.

For the first time in its history, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says an Order of Canada recipient has won a “major” lottery jackpot in Ontario.

In a news release issued Thursday, the OLG announced that Toronto resident Charles “Charlie” Coffey won the $25-million Lotto Max jackpot from Jan. 31.

Coffey, who was awarded the order in 2003, was filling up his car at a gas station in North York when he went inside to grab a chocolate bar and check his Lotto Max tickets, the Crown corporation said.

“I thought it said ‘$25,000’ and I said, ‘Well, that’s interesting,‘” Coffey recalled in a video released by the OLG.

“I didn’t have my glasses on. Then I went back to check on what I thought was $25,000 and saw, with my glasses on, it was $25,000,000.”

Coffey said he then rushed home to confirm the amount of the windfall with a family member.

“When we finally accepted the fact that the ticket was worth $25 million, someone suggested they take my pulse to make sure I was alive and seeing the amount of the win!” he said.

Originally from a small town in New Brunswick, 81-year-old Coffey spent his career in the banking industry, while also fighting for the rights of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and empowering women in business and politics.

In addition to receiving the Order of Canada, in 1997 Coffey was named Honorary Chief by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs for his support of First Nations and later accepted the Canadian Women’s International Business Initiative Award from the Canadian Embassy in the United States.

“The intent is to invest the money and use the earnings on that to support causes that have been near and dear to our family over the years. I want to ensure that grassroots organizations are supplied with sustainable funding to ensure their survival,” Coffey said.

“Diversity, inclusion, and equity may be on the outs, but it’s a core strength of who we are as Canadians. These are the things that make us a great country and we’re going to need that more so than ever going forward.”

Coffey purchased the winning ticket from a Shell gas station on Yonge Street.

The Lotto Max jackpot for Friday stands at an estimated $55 million.