In response to the Leader of the Official Opposition’s calls recently to scrap the Temporary Foreign Worker program, Restaurants Canada says that without enough staff for key roles, restaurants in rural and remote communities risk reduced hours, closures, and lost local jobs.
Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), while making up only 3% of the foodservice workforce, play a vital role in sustaining operations in underserved areas. These workers: predominantly skilled chefs and cooks are often the cornerstone of a restaurant’s ability to operate and maintain operations. The realities of the aging labour market in many of these areas, means chefs and cooks are simply not available, said the national organization.
“Our ask is simple,” said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “Let’s work together to ensure rural and remote communities have a supply of key labour positions to protect the small businesses, support communities, and ensure Canadians can continue to enjoy the food, hospitality, and culture our restaurants bring to the table. Restaurants are looking for permanent solutions, not temporary ones.”
Temporary Foreign Workers are not a low-cost option for labour, but a last resort for restaurants in many areas. The costs of bringing in TFWs can be as high as $8,600 per worker. The preference has always been to hire locals, explained the organization.
“Forty percent of the restaurant industry’s workforce is currently youth, and the industry has long been the #1 source of first-time jobs for youth for decades,” it said.
Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing Canada’s foodservice industry. Restaurants are a $120 billion industry employing nearly 1.2 million Canadians and the number one source of first-time jobs in Canada, it says.
After a tumultuous first quarter, the outlook for the foodservice industry has moderated thanks to a cooling of tariff war rhetoric and a slight uptick in consumer confidence, but operators remain cautious, according to the organization’s Q2 Quarterly Report.
Restaurants Canada said it expects real commercial foodservice sales to experience -0.5% to 0.5% growth in 2025 and a 0.1% to 0.6% decline in 2026.
In the first four months of 2025, commercial foodservice sales grew by a solid 6.6%, supported in part by the GST/HST holiday in January, explained the national organization. With headwinds picking up speed again and a majority of restaurants having to increase prices, it is urging the federal government to permanently exempt all food, including restaurant meals, from GST/HST.
Related Retail Insider stories:
