Restaurants Canada

With patios reopening and filling up across many regions, Restaurants Canada invites you to Patio By Numbers: What the Data Says About Summer Dining — our May webinar presented by Square, featuring a special guest from The Fifteen Group.

Patio season brings major opportunities — along with added operational complexity. Join us for actionable insights and data-driven strategies to help you navigate the season ahead and make the most of increased summer traffic.

Register today: https://bit.ly/4dmigOW

Labour shortages are hitting the restaurant sector hard and will only get worse without more action from governments.

Our President & CEO, Kelly Higginson, recently made national headlines with an op-ed on this topic. Restaurants Canada is calling on all provincial governments to sign on to the temporary cap increase for temporary foreign workers in rural regions announced recently by the federal government to help address some of the shortages.
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Les pénuries de main-d’œuvre frappent durement le secteur de la restauration et la situation ne fera qu’empirer sans davantage d’interventions gouvernementales.

Notre présidente, Kelly Higginson, a récemment fait les manchettes nationales avec une lettre d’opinion sur ce sujet. Restaurants Canada demande à tous les gouvernements provinciaux d’adhérer à l’augmentation temporaire du plafond des travailleurs étrangers temporaires dans les régions rurales, annoncée récemment par le gouvernement fédéral, afin d’aider à combler certaines de ces pénuries.

Restaurants Canada is calling on the Manitoba government to amend its PST exemption on prepared foods sold by grocery and convenience stores, which continues to exclude restaurants.

As designed, this is not a neutral tax cut on food—it is a tax shift between competitors that distorts consumer choice. It creates an arbitrary distinction between identical products based solely on where they are purchased, exempting prepared food from some sellers while taxing it from others.

The measure, included in budget implementation legislation now before the Legislature, can still be corrected to ensure all prepared food is treated consistently, regardless of where it is purchased.

Read more on this here: https://bit.ly/430c8XH

Canada’s restaurant industry is under growing financial strain in early 2026, as persistent affordability challenges, rising operating costs, and uneven consumer spending continue to erode profitability.

A majority of operators report declining sales, traffic, and especially profitability, highlighting a widening gap between revenue growth and financial performance.

Read more from Q1's Quarterly report, here: https://bit.ly/4cUiGvF

We continue to raise these financial challenges with federal and provincial governments. Feeding people is foundational to Canada’s ambitious economic agenda, and Restaurants Canada is calling on governments to take targeted action that both improves affordability for Canadians and supports investment in our job-creating sector.

Read more in this week's CEO Update from Kelly Higginson here: https://bit.ly/4n4MM4g

Canada’s restaurant industry is under growing financial strain in early 2026, as persistent affordability challenges, rising operating costs, and uneven consumer spending continue to erode profitability.

New data from Restaurants Canada’s Q1 Quarterly Report highlights uneven foodservice sales growth driven by ongoing affordability pressures, with lower-income Canadians especially pulling back on spending.

Take a glance at Q1 of The Quarterly in our release here: https://bit.ly/4cUiGvF

Big crowds come with bigger opportunities for the foodservice industry!

Join us for our upcoming webinar to learn how to anticipate demand, manage operational pressure, and deliver standout guest experiences when it matters most. Whether you're in the host city or benefiting from the spillover, we’ll show you how to turn high-traffic moments into long-term wins—for your business and your team.

When tourists travel, they eat, drink, and gather—and during major sporting events, that demand hits a whole new level. Register for our webinar on Tuesday, May 5 at 2PM ET to learn how your businesses success can go beyond the final whistle: https://bit.ly/4sTyqFc

A big thank you to our valued partner, Moneris for their support in bringing this timely and impactful webinar to life.