Tim Hortons launched on Monday a national campaign across TV, digital, paid social and in-restaurant channels, to hire 10,000 new people, supporting natural turnover and growth of Tim Hortons restaurants – including 80 new restaurants opening this year across Canada.
It also addressed its position on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Canada.
“This is part of the brand’s strong, ongoing commitment to hire locally, whenever possible, in every community we serve,” said the company in a news release.
Monday’s announcement comes just days after the brand announced Canadian restaurant owners are investing $270 million, in addition to Tim Hortons corporate investing an additional $130 million, in a plan to build or renovate 480 restaurants across the country. Nationally, 280 Canadian restaurant owners are investing in 400 renovations, with another 60 Canadian restaurant owners investing in 80 new locations. There are 1,500 Canadian restaurant owners who own and operate 4,000 Tim Hortons restaurants from coast to coast.
The two announcements also come on the heels of recent news by Foodtastic, one of Canada’s leading restaurant operators, which announced it had signed a master franchising agreement with Inspire Brands to open hundreds of Dunkin’ locations across Canada.
Under the new agreement, Foodtastic said it will have exclusive rights to develop the Dunkin’ brand nationally through both corporate and franchise-operated locations. This expansion strengthens Foodtastic’s relationship with Inspire Brands and adds a globally recognized coffee and donut concept to its Canadian portfolio, it added.
“Canada is a country that prides itself on welcoming everyone. As a brand, for more than 60 years, this is a value that Tims has shared and is one that we deeply believe in – this will never change,” said Tim Hortons in a news release.
“Tims restaurant owners don’t discriminate in their local hiring – anyone entitled to work in Canada is welcome to work at their restaurants. This includes Canadian students, international students, people with disabilities, mature workers, Indigenous people, new Canadians and members of the local community of all ages – always with the aim to hire locally every time they can in order to serve guests with excellence at every Tims, every time.
“When Tim Horton himself opened his first restaurant in 1964, he wanted it to be a place where anyone could go at any time and feel welcomed. We continue to believe in Tim’s vision today: everyone in Canada is welcome as a guest and everyone in Canada is welcome to work in a Tim Hortons restaurant.”
As Canada emerged from COVID in 2021, there were acute labour shortages across the country. To address this, the government increased access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, said the brand.
“Tim Hortons was one of the companies encouraging the government to do so at the time to help restaurants facing staffing challenges and lobbied them to maintain greater access when they announced plans to limit applications. However, today in 2026, with high youth unemployment nationally, lobbying for expanded access is no longer necessary. In fact, our restaurant owners’ use of the program has already declined steadily since 2024. We will continue to work within the labour frameworks the federal and provincial governments decide are best for Canada,” it said.
“Of the approximately 110,000 team members across the Tim Hortons system, we estimate roughly 4,000 team members hold positions under the Temporary Foreign Worker program – representing approximately 3.6% of all restaurant roles. These are positions in communities where restaurant owners faced documented labour shortages and went through the full government approval process before hiring. Restaurant owners understand the need for continued rigour and scrutiny for any new temporary foreign worker applications.”
Tim Hortons is the largest restaurant chain in Canada, with 4,000 restaurants – more restaurants per capita than any other brand anywhere in the world.
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