Wal-Mart Canada said it advised the union last year when the bargaining process began that the store's financial situation was precarious.

"Despite this fact and nine separate days of meetings over a period of more than three months, the company has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with the union that would allow the store to operate efficiently and profitably," the company said in a release.

A spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers union was not immediately available for comment.

The company said the union applied for first contract arbitration on Feb. 2, and in doing so acknowledged the two sides were not likely to reach an agreement.

The roughly 180 employees affected by the closure will receive severance packages, Wal-Mart said.

In January, a Wal-Mart Canada store in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, won union certification and said it hoped to deliver contract proposals by mid-February.

At the time, the retailer said it was considering all options to block the certification, including legal action against the Quebec Labor Relations Commission.

Wal-Mart Canada said the decision to automatically certify the Saint-Hyacinthe store was undemocratic and seriously flawed as employees were not offered a secret ballot vote