Restaurants Canada

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.

Struggling small businesses won’t find much help in the federal budget: CFIB

Mario Toneguzzi -
Federal budget was a missed opportunity to provide meaningful tax relief to Canada’s employers.

Foodservice sector added nearly 24,000 jobs since start of the year: Restaurants Canada

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants Canada expects real commercial foodservice sales to grow by 2.1% in 2025.

Restaurants could create 25,000 additional youth jobs with boost from permanent GST exemption

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants are the number one source of first-time jobs for Canadians.

Restaurants Canada Warns Over BC Liquor Strike

Craig Patterson -
Restaurants Canada urges urgent action as BC liquor strike drains bar and restaurant inventories across the province.

3 in 4 Canadians dining out less amid rising costs: Restaurants Canada report

Mario Toneguzzi -
65% of Canadians are replacing a traditional meal with a snack at least once a month, says Restaurants Canada.

Restaurants Canada pushes back on B.C. Premier’s criticism of Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Mario Toneguzzi -
There are geographic areas and skill gaps that make it necessary for some foodservice businesses to recruit temporary foreign workers, says Restaurants Canada.

Restaurants Canada says supply of Temporary Foreign Works represents only a small but critical percentage of the total workforce

Mario Toneguzzi -
Restaurants are a $120 billion industry employing nearly 1.2 million Canadians and the number one source of first-time jobs in Canada.

Groups praise Government of Canada for removal of retaliatory tariffs

Mario Toneguzzi -
Retaliatory tariffs were resulting in at least $100 million a month in additional costs to the foodservice industry.
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