Tim Hortons commits to hiring 10,000 local employees, scaling back on temporary foreign workers

Tim Hortons is pledging to hire some 10,000 local employees, rolling back its reliance on the temporary foreign worker program.

The coffee chain says 400 hiring events have already taken place throughout March and April, and that the hiring blitz of local team members will continue throughout the year.

It’s a bit of a change for the company, which has in the past relied on the temporary foreign worker program to pull in new employees. Tim Hortons says it turned to the foreign worker program following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when the country experienced a shortage of workers.

Still, Tims says it has always been dedicated to hiring from within the communities where restaurants are located.

“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,” said Tim Hortons communications director Michael Oliveira in an email to CBC News.

According to the company, only 4,000 Tim Hortons employees — or 3.6 per cent of workers in restaurant roles — are employed through the temporary foreign worker program, and the coffee chain says those employees are hired in communities with documented labour shortages.

In 2022, the federal government doubled the proportion of temporary foreign workers that businesses could rely on from 10 to 20 per cent of their workforce, while some sectors, including food service, were extended even further to 30 per cent. The federal government cut the number back to 10 per cent in 2024.

The company lobbied the government to maintain the program, saying it would help restaurants at a time when staff were in short supply. The government’s lobbying registry shows that as recently as 2025, Tim Hortons’ parent company Restaurant Brands International was lobbying the government on immigration policy related to the temporary foreign workers program.

Conservative and NDP politicians previously criticized the company for its use of temporary foreign labour.

WATCH | Tim Hortons asked to raise cap on temporary foreign workers:

Tim Hortons asked to raise cap on temporary foreign workers

CBC News has learned Tim Hortons has been requesting over at least 18 months for the federal government to raise its cap on temporary foreign workers from 20 per cent to 30 per cent for some of its franchises.

But given the recent rise in youth unemployment, the coffee chain says that lobbying is “no longer necessary,” and records from this month indicate immigration policy is no longer a topic Restaurant Brands is discussing with the government.

Youth unemployment rose to 14.3 per cent in April, according to Statistics Canada, compared to the 6.9 per cent overall unemployment rate.

Changes come as coffee wars heat up

The change is just one shakeup coming to the Canadian coffee chain — Tim Hortons announced on Friday that it’s planning to add 80 new restaurants across the country by the end of the year, and renovate another 400 of its cafes.

Of the new stores, Ontario is getting the most, with 26 new locations, while 17 new locations are coming to Alberta and 14 are planned for Quebec.

All of the change at Tim Hortons coincides with the announcement of the American coffee and donut chain, Dunkin’, making a return to the Canadian market.

WATCH | Dunkin’ returning to Canada’s crowded coffee market:

Dunkin’ returning to Canada’s crowded coffee market

American doughnut chain Dunkin’ is set to return to the Canadian market after reaching a deal with Montreal-based Foodtastic, which owns chains including Milestones and Second Cup.

Montreal-based Foodtastic said earlier in May that it had reached a deal to bring the donut and coffee chain back to Canada, after it exited the country in 2018.

Foodtastic CEO Peter Mammas told CBC News he expected the first store to open its doors within the next six months, and hundreds would follow eventually.

When asked if the expansion plans have anything to do with the return of Dunkin’, Tim Hortons said the multi-year plan was part of a longer term investment.

“Opening a new restaurant … involves landlords, leasing, permits, construction — all which take more than a year to come together — so this is part of our long-term investment in Canadian communities, largely funded by our local, Canadian restaurant owners,” Oliveira said.

But David Pullara, a business consultant and marketing instructor with York University’s Schulich School of Business, says it’s hard to see the recent moves by Tim Hortons as anything other than a response to the return of Dunkin’ to Canada.

While the Tim Hortons consumer base is generally viewed as older and more traditional, Pullara says Dunkin’ has a “cool factor” that could help the American chain capture a younger generation.

“I think that Dunkin’ does represent a real threat,” said Pullara.

Tim Hortons doesn’t do too bad a job keeping up with pop culture, Pullara says — think collabs with Canadian celebrities like Justin Bieber and Ryan Reynolds.

Still, leaning into their Canadian-ness by pledging to invest in local communities, as Tim Hortons seems to be doing with these announcements, might be the best way to take on Dunkin’, according to Pullara.

“You go to any community in Canada and you can find a Tim Hortons, right? It’s a fixture in most Canadian communities,” Pullara said. “I think that Canadians will remember that.”

Youth unemployment specifically has become a real problem across the country, so Pullara says any company that pledges to help solve it will certainly gain favour among Canadians — even if the fact that Canadian company Foodtastic’s backing of Dunkin’ means both companies will be Canadian in a way.