What to know
- Tim Hortons says it will shift focus away from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by hiring 10,000 local workers to fill vacancies at Canadian locations.
- The company says temporary foreign workers currently make up fewer than four per cent of its 110,000 Canadian employees.
- Immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo said the move reflects changing labour conditions and rising youth unemployment, while noting the TFWP should be used only as a last resort.
- Tim Hortons said severe post-pandemic labour shortages led to greater use of the TFWP in 2021, but the chain now plans to focus on local hiring while opening 80 new locations across Canada.
Tim Hortons says it plans to shift focus away from expanding its use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program as it looks to hire 10,000 local workers across Canada.
What is Tim Hortons changing in their hiring?
In a news release on Monday, the company said they would be focusing on filling existing vacancies at all of their Canada-based locations with locals, rather than temporary foreign workers.
Tim Hortons wrote this was part of the company’s ongoing commitment to hire locally, whenever possible, in every community they serve.
Additionally, Tim Hortons said they’ve seen a natural decrease in the use of the program since 2024. The Canadian coffeehouse says roughly 4,000 of its 110,000 Canadian employees currently participate in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. That amounted to just under four per cent.
Mario Bellissimo, the founder and principal lawyer of Bellissimo Immigration Law Group PC, told Now Toronto the move by the franchise was a good one.
“They’re saying, ‘look, the marketplace has changed, there’s a higher rate of youth unemployment, so we want to get ahead of this… we used the program during a labor shortage, but now we’re [taking our] resources and pivoting back to local hiring.’” Bellissimo said.
He added the move was smart both substantively and formatively to show Canadians the brand is Canada-first.
While being dedicated to hiring locally, Tim Horton’s added they don’t discriminate, and those from different countries who are already living within Canada when applying would still be considered.
“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,” they wrote in part.
What is the Temporary Foreign Worker Program?
Bellissimo explained there’s a cap on the number of foreign workers that you can hire as part of the program, making it so the number would never be above 10 per cent overall. Now, new legislation requires eight weeks of advertising for a vacant position before a company is able to apply for the TFWP.
“The [TFWP] is supposed to be a safety valve, right? It’s supposed to be a measure of last resort,” he said. “The reality is, when you work in the field, it’s very clear that even if there is unemployment, and even if… the youth unemployment rate is high, [it] doesn’t necessarily mean these individuals will still want to do these jobs.”
What kind of labor shortages are franchises facing in 2026?
In the same press release, Tim Hortons explained why at one point they were lobbying for an increase in the use of TFWP, versus now, where they’re taking a slightly different approach to filling positions.
“As Canada emerged from COVID in 2021, there were acute labour shortages across the country. To address this, the government increased access to the [TFWP],” the release read in part. “Today in 2026, with high youth unemployment nationally, lobbying for expanded access is no longer necessary.’
They added they’ve seen a natural decline of restaurant owners’ use of the program since 2024.
When it comes to employee shortages for various companies in Canada, Bellissimo said it’s been a consistent problem.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years, and it is a systemic and long-term issue,” he explained. “If we look at the numbers, we’re down last year [by] about 60 per cent on work permits as well as students, and the first three months are showing that we’re actually down 75 per cent.”
He added that while the flow of new workers is low, there’s still an amount of individuals from the increase of new workers in previous years that are still present in Canada.
“That’ll take some time to work its way through,” Bellissimo admitted.
Additionally, some jobs are harder to fill or have a bigger turnover rate due to being in positions people don’t want to fill.
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“The type of work Canadians on a whole will say, ‘look, we just don’t want to do that work. That’s not something we’re aspiring to do,’” Bellissimo said. “Sometimes youth can fill these, particularly retail roles, for a period, but there’s significant turnover, so it’s always a challenge to staff this.”
Are foreign workers and Canadian residents competing for the same job?
A common misconception circulates, especially following mass immigration, of whether newcomers will take jobs which some Canadians feel should be designated to existing residents.
Bellissimo shared it’s more nuanced than that, adding some workers settle in Canada, while some are truly temporarily in the country.
“There’s reciprocal agreements Canada has…” Bellissimo explained. “There’s a percentage that actually will stay here permanently. There’s a number that are just passing through, and we cannot process or expect everyone that comes here has a pathway to permanent residency.”
He added both low and high-skilled immigrants have clearer opportunities to settle permanently.
When it comes to the TFWP, Bellissimo said it’s “critical” that it’s not used for routine staffing.
To support the push for Canada-first hiring, Tim Hortons said they will be opening 80 new locations in the country.
