Restaurants Canada

Retail Insider “Q3 2026 Food Service Report”: Growth Must Pay at Restaurant Level

Lee Rivett -
Canada’s restaurant chains are expanding while consumers trim visits, extras and delivery spending. The Q3 report examines whether new occasions and locations can support repeat demand and restaurant returns.

Q3 2026 Food Service: Restaurant Growth as Consumers Become More Selective

Craig Patterson -
Canadian foodservice receipts continued rising during Q3 2026, while inflation, consumer restraint and thin margins complicated the growth picture. The report examines restaurant development, beverages, value offers, loyalty and delivery, focusing on whether investment generates repeat demand and sustainable operator returns.

Q3 2026 Policy & Regulation: Tariffs, Grocery Competition and Tax Changes

Craig Patterson -
Retail Insider’s Q3 2026 Policy & Regulation report examines tariffs, grocery competition, Quebec tax changes, consumer rules and investment incentives, focusing on how policy implementation affects retailer costs, market access, systems and capital decisions.

Food services and drinking places sales reach close to $9 billion in July: Statistics Canada

Mario Toneguzzi -
In July, the largest increase in sales in dollar terms came from full-service restaurants (+0.8%), the industry's seventh consecutive month-over-month increase.

8 in 10 Canadians cutting back on restaurants: Restaurants Canada

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurant sales are expected to reach $130 billion in 2026, but rising costs and thin margins continue to depress bottom lines.

Canada business groups welcome Productivity Mega Deduction as boost to investment

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants Canada and the Retail Council of Canada welcome the federal government’s proposed Productivity Mega Deduction, saying it could spur investment in equipment, technology and infrastructure.

Restaurants Canada welcomes extension of Federal Fuel Excise Tax suspension

Mario Toneguzzi -
Gas costs have risen by an average of 46% since December 2025, contributing to higher food and transportation costs and supplier fuel surcharges, reported by 86% of restaurants.

New U.S. Tariffs Add to Cost Pressures for Canada’s Restaurant Industry: Restaurants Canada 

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants Canada research shows that 41% of operators are now operating at a loss or barely breaking even, compared with 12% in 2019.

Canadian Restaurants Avoid Broad Food Tariff Hit as Supply Costs Face Pressure

Craig Patterson -
Restaurants Canada welcomes Ottawa’s targeted tariff approach, but new duties on packaging, equipment and selected foods could add costs for operators.

Canada announces $27.6B in counter-tariffs on U.S. goods as retailers, restaurants and small businesses weigh impact

Mario Toneguzzi -
“Canada’s retail sector will shoulder a significant share of this burden, with so many essential consumer goods targeted."

Retail Insider “Policy & Regulation Report”: Affordability Promises Collide With Retail Costs

Lee Rivett -
Retail Insider’s Q2 2026 policy report finds affordability promises colliding with rising compliance, trade, labour and public-safety costs, while grocery property controls and public-store proposals expose how government action is reshaping Canadian retail operations today.

Rising costs outpace sales growth, eroding restaurant profitability: Restaurants Canada

Mario Toneguzzi -
Real commercial foodservice sales are expected to grow by 1.5% in 2026 (inflation-adjusted), a slight improvement over the Q1 forecast.

Restaurant industry leads Canada in youth job growth through first half of 2026

Mario Toneguzzi -
While most other industries have been cutting youth jobs, the restaurant industry employed an average of 52,770 more youth during the first half of 2026 than during the same period in 2025.

Retail Insider “Food Service Report”: Scale, Value and New Formats Reshape Canadian Restaurants

Lee Rivett -
Retail Insider’s Q2 2026 Canadian Food Service Report examines resilient restaurant spending, tougher traffic competition, franchise platform growth, value-led QSR strategy, coffee and breakfast pressure, and the growing role of food halls, mixed-use projects and flexible formats.

Federal government launches National Food Security Strategy

Mario Toneguzzi -
With the average transaction sitting at approximately $12 per person, restaurants provide an accessible source of nourishment for millions of Canadians.

High operating costs, uneven consumer spending put restaurants under pressure: Restaurants Canada

Mario Toneguzzi -
Real commercial foodservice sales are expected to decline by 0.2% in 2026 (inflation-adjusted), following 2.3% growth in 2025.

Restaurants Canada calls on provinces to urgently opt-in to temporary TFW cap increase for rural regions

Mario Toneguzzi -
Temporary Foreign Workers represent just 3% of the foodservice workforce and are a last resort for employers, filling critical gaps in communities with aging populations, shrinking workforces and declining youth participation rates.

Fast Food Is No Longer the Cheap Option in Canada

Sylvain Charlebois -
Fast food is losing its value edge in Canada as prices rise and consumers shift spending to grocery and more selective dining choices.

Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Program applauded by business groups

Mario Toneguzzi -
Helping employers who are facing severe labour shortages.

Daily Synopsis: Feb 19, 2026 – Reitmans, Walmart, Restaurant Woes

Retail Insider -
Inside the unravelling of Putman's Toys R Us revival, Japanese-style egg sandwiches coming to 7-Eleven Canada, Toronto facade grant returns, FreshCo replacing Winnipeg Sobeys, analyzing Yorkdale's shift post-Les Ailes, and other news.

VIDEO: Nearly half of Canadian restaurants losing money or barely breaking even, warns Restaurants Canada CEO

Mario Toneguzzi -
44 per cent of restaurants were in that position as of November 2025, a sharp increase from pre-pandemic norms when roughly 10 to 12 per cent struggled to turn a profit.

Restaurants brace for more obstacles in 2026: Restaurants Canada

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants Canada expects real commercial foodservice sales to have grown by 2.4% in 2025 and to decline by 1.1% in 2026.

Restaurants Canada encouraged by federal government’s announcement of new food affordability measures

Mario Toneguzzi -
The foodservice industry is the fourth-largest private sector employer in the country, with nearly 1.2 million employees, including 500,000 youth.

Restaurants Canada appoints Anthony Polci as executive vice-president of government relations and public affairs

Mario Toneguzzi -
The appointment took effect recently, according to the organization, and comes as Restaurants Canada continues to position its government relations and public affairs function as a core part of its work on behalf of the foodservice industry.

Food continues to be excluded from internal trade agreements, despite chronic rising costs

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants Canada’s own data shows that food costs have gone up 12% over the past two years for foodservice businesses.
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