For more than a year, Canadian coffee giant Tim Hortons has been pushing the federal government to lift the cap on temporary foreign workers some of its franchisees can hire, CBC News has learned.The requests occurred over at least 18 months, in writing and in lobbying meetings with officials and MPs, as Canadian views on immigration soured and Ottawa reduced various newcomer streams.”The food service industry sector was disproportionately hard hit by the pandemic and continues to face unprecedented labour shortages,” said a letter addressed to Immigration Minister Marc Miller in May 2024.The letter was released in response to an access to information request seeking communications between either Tim Hortons, any of its franchisees or parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The document, which has its author’s name and position redacted, asks to raise a 20 per cent cap on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to 30 per cent. Ottawa had exceptionally allowed the higher number during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.Later in 2024, the federal government reduced the cap on TFWs to 10 per cent. Marc Miller, the former immigration minister, is among multiple MPs Tim Hortons lobbied in October 2025. (Andrew Lee/CBC)Tim Hortons also had multiple lobby meetings this year, and did not stop pushing for more TFWs. RBI and Tim Hortons representatives lobbied a number of MPs from different political parties, including the governing Liberals, as well as staff from several federal departments, at a series of meetings on Oct. 28, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. Company also seeking faster visa renewals Miller, who now holds the culture and official languages portfolio, was one of the Liberal MPs the company met with in October.He told CBC News it “wanted a pledge to continue the visas of those employed.”Miller said he is not unsympathetic to that request but “it’s part of a larger discussion on how to manage the inflow and outflow.”It’s a request another MP received as well.That MP spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly comment on the matter.They said RBI was looking for a “Nexus type of approval,” comparing it to the joint program run by the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which allows card holders quick passage through customs and security lines at airports and land crossings. Representatives from Tim Hortons and its parent company held multiple lobby meetings with MPs and federal staffers this year. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)Currently, foreign workers who wish to stay in Canada as employees have to submit applications to extend their work permits, a process that may also involve employers having to resubmit Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to the government. LMIAs are designed to demonstrate to federal authorities how an employer cannot hire Canadians or permanent residents to fill a job. Tim Hortons seeking ‘flexibility’Reached for comment, communications director for Tim Hortons Michael Oliveira said in a statement that the company is looking for “flexibility in hiring TFWs.”He said that is essential, especially in rural and smaller communities. He said in those communities, which face labour shortages, “TFWs who are already here working and contributing should have the chance to stay in Canada longer, either through extended work permits or clearer pathways to permanent residency.”He said Tim Hortons is also partnering with industry group Restaurants Canada “and the broader restaurant sector to address the 70,000 vacant jobs across the industry, including investing in training and development programs to help fill those roles.” Oliveira also noted the company has seen “a troubling rise in unacceptable hateful behaviour, both online and in our restaurants” and that “more than 95 per cent of all Tim Hortons employees are hired locally.”Tim Hortons says it has seen a troubling rise in unacceptable behaviour toward its staff, both online and at its restaurants. (J.P. Moczulski/Reuters)”Some individuals are making assumptions about ‘who looks Canadian,’ and anyone who doesn’t fit their personal expectations becomes a target for harassment,” he said. According to the lobbying note for Oct. 28, company representatives also met with Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs, staff for the ministers of finance, Canada-U.S. trade and industry as well as staff from the Prime Minister’s Office.The representatives also saw the parliamentary secretaries for global affairs, employment and social development and public safety. The Conservative MPs did not respond to requests for comment. The Opposition has been calling for an end to the TFW program since early September, accusing the federal government of flooding the market with cheap labour. Bloc spokesperson Julien-Coulombe-Bonnafous told CBC News two of the party’s MPs met separately with the company to “discuss about the temporary foreign workers program,” though he would not provide specifics.In July, another lobbying note said representatives met with Bloc MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe.Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe is seen standing with caucus colleague Mario Simard. Brunelle-Duceppe says Tim Hortons franchisees from his riding lobbied him for an increase in the TFW cap in July. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)Brunelle-Duceppe told CBC News they expressed a wish to “return to the 20 per cent” cap of previous years. “But it was only about Tim Hortons from [my riding],” he said. Brunelle-Duceppe said his party’s position is that exceptions to the 10 per cent cap should only be made for sectors in Quebec that are hurting from the smaller limit, such as forestry or softwood lumber.Request for permanent foreign workersIn a statement in response to questions about the TFW program, Employment and Social Development Canada told CBC News “program policies are continuously reviewed and adjusted regularly in response to shifting economic and labour market realities.”It also said the government “remains committed to working with partners and stakeholders to continuously find ways to strengthen the TFW program’s integrity and remain responsive to labour market needs.” It deferred specifics about visas to the Immigration Department, which said in a statement that it “can’t speculate about future policy decisions.”The May 2024 letter also asks for a working group to evaluate and plan for a “permanent foreign worker program.” However, the Tim Hortons spokesperson told CBC News that the company is no longer interested in such a program and that the letter “reflects ideas being discussed at that time.”Conservatives call to abolish programAsked about the Tim Hortons lobbying efforts, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said the TFW program has removed entry-level job opportunities for youth, including at fast-food restaurants.WATCH | Conservatives say youth lose opportunities with program:TFW program ‘removing entry-level job opportunities for youth’: Conservative immigration critic Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the temporary foreign worker program should be abolished to restore ‘that first opportunity for young Canadians’ when asked about Tim Hortons requesting that more TFWs be allowed to work at some of its franchises.”I can’t believe that there aren’t Canadians across the country that won’t do these jobs,” she said. She said that is “a myth that has been propagated” by employers using “the Liberals’ policy of just importing low-wage labour.”Rempel Garner reiterated her party’s stance that the program should be abolished.”The government should be focused on skills training, labour mobility across the country and restoring that first opportunity for young Canadians,” she said.
Tim Hortons lobbied MPs for more temporary foreign workers over last 18 months
