Tim Hortons Cuts Back on Foreign Worker Program, Announces 10,000 New Jobs in Canada

Tim Hortons is trying to reset the conversation around hiring in Canada. After years of debate over its use of temporary foreign labour, the coffee chain says it will reduce its reliance on the Temporary Foreign Worker program and focus on hiring up to 10,000 local workers as it expands across the country.

The announcement comes as Canada’s entry-level job market becomes more difficult for young workers. Youth unemployment has risen from about 10% in mid-2022 to more than 14% recently, putting pressure on large service-sector employers to show they are creating opportunities for local applicants.

For Tim Hortons, the shift is not only about staffing restaurants. It is also about public trust. The brand has faced criticism from politicians and worker advocates who argue that food-service chains should be giving more jobs to Canadians, especially students and young people looking for first work experience.

Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Tim Hortons, says it has stopped lobbying Ottawa for changes that would expand the Temporary Foreign Worker program. Duncan Fulton, RBI’s chief corporate officer, said the company does not plan to push the federal government on TFW expansion “any time soon,” adding that franchise owners prefer to hire locally wherever possible.

The Temporary Foreign Worker program allows Canadian employers to bring in workers from outside the country when they cannot find enough local staff. Employers generally need a Labour Market Impact Assessment, or LMIA, to show that hiring a foreign worker will not take away opportunities from Canadians or permanent residents. Full program details are available through the Government of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Tim Hortons had previously supported greater access to the program during the pandemic, when restaurants across Canada struggled to find workers. Ottawa raised the foreign-worker cap to 30% in 2022 for some employers, but later reduced it to 10% in 2024 after immigration and labour-market concerns became more politically sensitive.

The company now says its need for the program has fallen sharply. Tim Hortons currently employs about 4,000 temporary foreign workers, equal to roughly 3.6% of restaurant roles. The company also says TFW use among franchise owners has dropped by about 50% since 2024.

That does not mean Tim Hortons is walking away from the program completely. Executives say some rural and remote restaurants still face genuine staffing shortages, where the local labour pool is too small to reliably fill every shift. But in suburban and urban markets, hiring conditions have improved from the worst months of 2021 and 2022.

The new hiring campaign will be tied to job fairs and local recruitment efforts across Canada. Tim Hortons says it is not targeting one specific group, but anyone legally allowed to work in Canada can apply. At the same time, the company noted that about 45% of its current workforce is between 15 and 24 years old.

The hiring push also comes alongside a major store investment plan. Tim Hortons plans to open 80 new locations by the end of 2027 and renovate 400 existing restaurants. Restaurant Brands and franchise owners are expected to invest about $400 million combined into that expansion and renovation program.

The timing makes the announcement more important. Canada’s labour market has shown signs of weakening, especially for younger workers looking for service jobs. Swikblog recently covered the broader pressure facing workers in Canada’s unemployment rate is rising again, as hiring slows and competition for available roles increases.

For workers, the key question is whether this promise turns into visible hiring at the local level. For Tim Hortons, the challenge is different: it must prove it can keep restaurants staffed while reducing dependence on a program that has become politically unpopular.

The company’s move may also influence other restaurant and retail employers. If Canada’s youth unemployment remains elevated, more brands could face pressure to show that they are prioritizing local hiring before asking Ottawa for more access to foreign labour.

Tim Hortons’ decision does not end the debate over temporary foreign workers in Canada. But it does show how quickly the labour conversation has changed. During the pandemic, the focus was on worker shortages. In 2026, the bigger question is whether major employers are doing enough to hire people already looking for work in Canada.

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