Canadian Tim Hortons locations are hiring more foreign workers than any year prior

Ontario-based Tim Hortons locations have received backlash for the utilization of a common Canadian foreign worker hiring program. 

Information on the Canadian food service industry emerged in a recent report published by Bloomberg this week, which indicated that Tim Hortons has experienced an increase in temporary foreign workers in recent years. 

According to data in the report, the number of temporary foreign workers approved to work in the Canadian food and retail sectors jumped 211 per cent between 2019 and 2023. Within this uptick, Tim Hortons hired roughly 714 temporary foreign workers last year — a major increase compared to the 58 in 2019.

Bloomberg also reported that 92 per cent of positions for Tim Hortons in 2023 open to temporary foreign workers lacked any franchise letterhead tying back to the Tim Hortons brand.

The report continues to indicate that this trend emerging within Canadian businesses may correlate to why Canadian youths are struggling to get summer jobs. 

At the time of publication, the Government of Canada Job Bank indicates a nearly eight per cent unemployment rate in the Toronto economic region. 

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Research conducted on behalf of Canadian economist Mike Moffatt also backs up Bloomberg’s data, as he recently posted information indicating that employment rates for 15 to 24-year-olds are at an all-time low nationwide. 

New Labour Force Survey data are out today. They show that, outside of the pandemic, we have the lowest rates of employment for 15-19 and 20-24-year-olds. This is a big drop from last summer. pic.twitter.com/TxkcsDrzM0

— Dr. Mike P. Moffatt 🇨🇦🏅🏅 (@MikePMoffatt) August 9, 2024

In response to the information presented by Bloomberg, representatives within Tim Hortons provided an official response concerning hiring practices for temporary foreign workers. 

“While we don’t track franchisee-level employment data, we estimate that less than 2 per cent of all team members employed by Tim Hortons restaurant owners in Canada have come to work in restaurants through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP),” Meghan Giffin, senior manager for communications with Tim Hortons, told INsauga.com via email. 

Beyond their internal numbers, representatives within the franchise have also indicated that there is a mandate to exhaust all local resources before engaging in any out-of-country hiring practices

“Tim Hortons restaurant owners attempt to hire locally before using government-regulated programs like the TFWP to fill vacancies as mandated by the program. Further, before being approved by the government-led TFWP, a business must prove they conducted local recruitment efforts,” Giffin told INsauga.com.

Giffin then defended local hiring practices further by indicating that small Tim Hortons franchises always put community hiring first to “provide team members with opportunities to gain valuable skills in an environment where guests are neighbours and simple acts like a smile, served alongside with your favourite cup of coffee, can make someone’s day.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated from its original version to include a response from Tim Hortons and additional information.