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Tim Hortons says Temporary Foreign Worker program 'no longer necessary', turns to hiring locally
Tim Hortons will reduce its reliance on the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program as it commits to hiring 10,000 “new local team members” across Canada.
In a press release on Monday, the restaurant chain announced a new national hiring campaign, which invites “all aspiring team members to apply to join a Tim Hortons restaurant this summer.” The announcement follows last week’s news that 80 new restaurants will open this year in Canada, while 400 existing locations will be renovated.
The company added: “This is part of the brand’s strong, ongoing commitment to hire locally, whenever possible, in every community we serve.”
The new campaign marks a shift from Tim Hortons’ previous approach, which has been a vocal advocate of the TFW program in the past.
The program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to fill labour shortages, and is regulated by the federal government.
Last year, Tim Hortons lobbied the federal government to expand the TFW cap, which had been reduced to 10 per cent in 2024 amid shifting public sentiment toward immigration.
The restaurant chain also campaigned for Ottawa to expand the foreign worker hiring cap during the pandemic, when a labour shortage emerged due to lockdowns.
However, the TFW program has long been controversial, particularly because of allegations of worker abuse by employers.
Reporters from National Post and Investigative Journalism Bureau previously revealed how the system exploits migrant farm workers , exposing them to health risks, financial exploitation and physical abuse.
Tim Hortons has previously faced criticism for its use of the TFW program, with Conservative Party MP Michelle Rempel Garner saying in December 2025 that it “has removed entry-level job opportunities for youth.”
Addressing Tim Hortons’ past support from the TFW program, Monday’s press release said: “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. Tim Hortons was one of the companies encouraging the government to do so at the time to help restaurants facing staffing challenges.”
However, the company added, “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.”
Meanwhile, Duncan Fulton, chief corporate officer of Restaurant Brands, the company that owns Tim Hortons, told The Globe and Mail: “We have not lobbied the government since last year and we won’t be lobbying them on TFWs any time soon given our commitment to hire locally everywhere possible.”
He added: “At the end of the day, our owners would prefer to hire locally almost 100 per cent of the time.”
Tim Hortons estimates that of its 110,000 team members, roughly 4,000 hold positions under the Temporary Foreign Worker program, representing approximately 3.6 per cent of all restaurant roles.
A spokesperson for Tim Hortons told National Post in an email: “Our restaurant owners have always been committed to local hiring. We think one of the biggest misperceptions about Tim Hortons is how the TFW program has been used. Less than 4% of team members were hired through the TFW program.”
They added: “Our local hiring campaign is targeting anyone who wants to work at a Tim Hortons who is living in Canada and permitted to work in Canada – our restaurant owners don’t discriminate in their hiring, so that could be Canadian students, international students, any member of the community.
“Canada has become more diverse over the years – as have our restaurants – and we think that’s a good thing. We are also proud that Tim Hortons restaurant owners are a leading employer of youth, with about 45% of team members aged 15-24.”
Tim Hortons remains Canada’s largest restaurant chain, with approximately 4,000 locations nationwide. According to the company, it has more restaurants per capita in Canada than any other restaurant brand in the world, and is operated by “more than 800 Canadian restaurant owners and their families.”
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Unpublished Newswire
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