Election 2025: What you need to know
We are sharing our top policy asks with all federal parties through the media, letters and direct meetings. Those include:
- Removing GST/HST from restaurant food and alcohol
- Exempting food, cleaning products and food-safe packaging from retaliatory tariffs
- Eliminating interprovincial trade barriers
- Reducing EI payroll tax
A strategy for targeted tariff relief
U.S. tariffs and Canada’s counter tariffs are an important concern for the foodservice industry. We are sharing our tariff recommendations and exemption asks with all federal parties, focusing on obtaining relief for the essential items that are crucial to foodservice operators and preserving the relationship between employers and employees through wage subsidies in the event of major labour market disruptions.
With more than 1,500 proposed tariffs directly affecting the industry, we are targeting 39 essential items that need exemption, less than 3% of tariffs that impact our industry. We want to emphasize to the government that although these tariffs are intended to pressure U.S. producers, they are raising costs for Canadian businesses. For more detailed information on this matter, please refer to our Tariffs FAQ page where you can access various tools and updates on the topic.
Restaurants Canada’s GST/HST Campaign
Restaurants Canada is urging the government for the permanent removal of GST/HST on restaurant food and alcohol, a policy change that would have a noteworthy impact on our industry. GST/HST increases costs for consumers, provides a competitive edge to our primary competitors—grocery stores—and places an additional financial burden on operators.
Eliminating the GST/HST on prepared food would allow restaurants to lower prices, making dining out more affordable and accessible for everyone across the country. It would also make things fairer and create equal opportunities for restaurants in comparison to other industries such as grocery that don’t have to pay these taxes.
Keeping you updated the relevant electoral promises
We are keeping a close eye on what the major federal partiers are promising and how it will impact the restaurant sector. We will continue updating each party’s electoral promises relevant to our industry as their platforms are revealed, so stay tuned!
For a look at our Industry’s Impact Snapshot infographic, click here.
- GST/HST : Will eliminate GST/HST on all homes under $1 million for first-time buyers.
- Immigration : Cap Temporary Foreign Workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by 2027, and permanent resident admissions at 1% annually; Reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs by using digital services tools.
- Interprovincial trade : Will strengthen trade infrastructure (ports, railroads, airports, highways etc.).
- Trade war : Making it easier for impacted workers to access EI and EI Work-Sharing Program. Canada Strong Pass to incentivize travel within Canada.
- Affordability : Will reduce income tax by reducing the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by 1%.
Click here for the full Liberal platform.
- GST/HST : Will eliminate GST/HST on all homes under $1.3 million for first-time buyers. Will eliminate GST/HST on Canadian-made cars.
- Taxes : Will roll back alcohol excise tax to 2017 levels and cancel automatic increases.
- Immigration : Keep the rate of population growth below the rate of housing growth, job growth, and health care accessibility; Require union LMIA pre-checks, ensuring unions get consulted before employers hire temporary foreign workers.
- Trade war : Will renegotiate CUSMA immediately. Will roll out business loans for directly impacted businesses.
- Affordability : Will reduce income tax by reducing the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by 2.25%. Increase TFSA limit to $12,000.
Click here for the full Conservative platform.
- GST/HST : Will exempt essential items from GST/HST, including prepared food at grocery stores, but leaving out restaurant meals.
- Taxes : Increase the threshold on income taxes to $19,000.
- Immigration : No specific immigration targets. End Canada’s closed work permits; provide temporary workers with open work permits to help them avoid abusive employers.
- Trade war : Will launch Canada Victory Bonds. Will enact Buy Canadian, Build Canadian infrastructure plan. Will expand EI benefits and EI Work-Sharing Program.
- Affordability : Will cap prices on essentials at grocery stores. Will implement national rent control.
Click here for the full NDP platform.
- GST/HST : Will exempt second-hand goods sold at stores and repair services from GST/HST.
- Trade war: Will provide wage subsidy for affected industries to maintain employer-employee relationship. Will require the federal government to present any preliminary trade agreements in the House of Commons and obtain Quebec’s permission before signing them.
- Affordability : Will require Canada Post to offer the same postal rates to small merchants as it does to large businesses. Will require credit card companies to reduce interchange fees by 0.5%.
Click here for the full Bloc Quebecois platform.
- Affordability : Will eliminate Federal Income Tax on Earnings Under $40,000.
Click here for the full Green Party platform.
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Federal parties can protect jobs and affordability by permanently exempting all food from GST/HST, in face of new U.S. tariffs
The next government can protect the 1.2 million workers in the foodservice industry, improve food affordability for Canadians and help keep foodservice businesses afloat during the tariff war…
