Budget 2025 fails to deliver for Canadians facing rising costs.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, so I want to start this CEO Note by acknowledging the men and women who have served our country. Remembrance Day is a time for us to reflect on the freedoms and privilege we can enjoy thanks to their selflessness.
Federal budget
Last week, the federal government tabled its first budget under Prime Minister Carney. We were disappointed by the lack of immediate measures addressing affordability in the budget. Canadians are still struggling with cost-of-living increases, and are cutting their discretionary spending as a result, as reported in our latest Quarterly report. In fact, 75% say they are eating out less often because of the rising cost of living. We are also deeply concerned by the drastic cuts to immigration in the next two years outlined in the budget. The federal government has failed to lay a clear path forward for filling the growing labour gaps we are seeing as a result of the cuts that have already been enacted, and this latest decrease in immigration levels will worsen the situation.
We had a call with the Minister of Finance’s office immediately after the budget and expressed our strong disappointment. We also shared that reaction in a public press release and in several media interviews throughout the week.
We also met with Conservative MP and Small Business Shadow Minister Brad Vis. We shared our deep concerns and frustration about the baseless rhetoric on immigration and misrepresentation of our sector, along with how we can find common ground to support the viability of the foodservice sector—a critical economic driver in his riding and portfolio.
In addition, we discussed our ask to eliminate GST on all food items and how it complements Conservatives’ affordability and inflation arguments.
We will continue advocating on behalf of the foodservice industry on these and other issues. Our workforce campaign is in development and will tackle many of the misconceptions about foodservice jobs and the role of foreign workers in our operations.
You can read our in-depth analysis of the budget here. Please see VP of Federal Affairs Matt Triemstra’s update below for more of our federal work.
Q3 Quarterly Report is out
Last week, we released our Q3 Quarterly Report. So far this year, the foodservice industry has outperformed earlier forecasts, thanks to strong domestic tourism and the GST/HST holiday at the start of the year. It also added 23,600 jobs in the first nine months of 2025, more than the 21,200 jobs created across the broader private sector.
However, 74% of Canadians say they are cutting discretionary spending because of cost-of-living increases, with eating out (56%) and take-out or delivery (50%) being the most common types of expenses they are cutting. Foodservice businesses also face significant operating cost increases that challenge their profitability. Over the past two years, insurance costs have increased 14%, food costs 13% and labour costs 11%.
Read our latest Quarterly report for more information on these and other trends impacting your sales.
Join our latest virtual town halls
Our virtual members-only town halls are coming up this week. We will be discussing the latest updates from the federal budget, the Quarterly Report, providing a regional update and answering your questions, so don’t forget to register. All registrants will receive a recording so you can stay up to date with Restaurants Canada even if you can’t attend.
- November 12, 2025, 12:00 PM MT /11:00 AM PT: Western Canada – Register Here
- November 13, 2025, 11:00 AM ET: Quebec (FR) – Register Here
- November 14, 2025, 9:00 AM CT /10:00 AM ET: Central Canada – Register Here
- November 17, 2025, 11:00 AM AT /11:30 AM NT: Atlantic Canada – Register Here
De-escalation On-Demand Webinar
Across the country, we’re hearing from members who are facing new kinds of challenges on the front lines, from rising tensions in their communities to moments of crisis that go far beyond traditional hospitality. As support for mental health, housing, and outreach reaches its limits, restaurant staff are often asked to step into roles they were never trained for.
To help support you and your staff, we’ve partnered with BetterStreet to offer a specialized Street-Certified: Hospitality training webinar designed to help hospitality teams recognize, respond to, and safely de-escalate challenging interactions.
It’s an important reminder that hospitality isn’t just about service — it’s about safety, dignity, and care for our team and everyone who walks through our doors.
Restaurants Canada partners with Canadian Restaurant Investment & Leadership Summit CEO panel
I’m looking forward to participating in the CEO panel at the upcoming 15th anniversary of the Canadian Restaurant Investment & Leadership Summit (CRILS) event on November 13, 2025. The panel will bring together industry leaders to dive into the trends and challenges redefining foodservice in Canada—and how together, we can lead what comes next. I hope to see you there!
FEDERAL UPDATE
From Matt Triemstra | Vice-President, Federal Affairs
Youth Employment
Restaurants Canada had the opportunity to make a submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) for their Study on Youth Employment in Canada. Canada’s restaurant industry is the largest private-sector employer of young people, providing first jobs to one in five youth workers nationwide. However, youth employment growth is being constrained by affordability challenges, declining discretionary spending, and barriers to Employment Insurance (EI) access.
A permanent exemption from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on restaurant meals would provide immediate stimulus to hiring, generating more than 25,000 additional youth jobs while supporting small businesses across the country. Restaurants Canada urges the Committee to consider tax relief, EI modernization, and targeted training initiatives as key levers to strengthen youth participation and long-term employment outcomes. You can read the full submission here.
CUSMA
Restaurants Canada also had the opportunity to make a submission to the Government of Canada’s Consultation on the Operation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The North American food chain is highly integrated. Recent trade tensions, in particular tariffs and retaliatory tariffs on food products, have deeply concerned the foodservice industry on both sides of the border. Food products are essential and should never be used as a bargaining chip. To that end, Restaurants Canada made recommendations relating to Canada’s priorities in the upcoming 2026 CUSMA Review: maintain existing rules of origin requirements as defined in the existing agreement and ensure that Canada’s supply management system is fit for purpose. Thank you to the members of our Tarriff Working Group for their input! You can read the full submission here.
Canadian Dairy Commission
In October 2025, the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) conducted the annual review of Canadian farmgate milk prices and various other costs used in administering the supply management system. The result of the National Pricing Formula (NPF), a pricing mechanism that was determined by the industry, which considers dairy farmers’ costs of production as well as the consumer price index, is an increase of 2.3255%. Additionally, the support price for butter used by the CDC in its storage programs will increase from $10.3489 per kg to $10.5662 per kg on February 1, 2026. You can read more here.
Chicken prices
As you may have seen, CTV Atlantic did a piece on chicken prices last week that included incorrect information. Restaurants Canada reached out to the journalist and Sylvain Charlebois to clarify information along with confirming chicken pricing information from Canadian Chicken Farmers of Canada.
Over the past year, chicken prices in Canada have remained stable, rising only 1.5%. Chicken Farmers of Canada are increasing production by 7.5% for Nov 2025–Feb 2026, keeping prices largely stable (0.2% increase).
We will keep you posted on this issue.
SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE
From Jillian Rodak | Vice-President, Sustainability
Noteworthy budget call-outs on sustainability for foodservice
The 2025-2026 federal budget includes several areas of focus for sustainability, covering climate investments, metrics, disclosure as well as support for farm resilience. Most notably:
- The government proposes to amend the Competition Act to update the greenwashing provisions by:
- Removing the requirement for businesses to substantiate their environmental benefit claims based on internationally recognized methodology standards; and
- Removing the ability for third parties to bring cases directly to the Competition Tribunal for greenwashing complaints.
- The budget did not include any reference to plastics or relevant circular economy initiatives. This may be due to the delayed decision on the single-use plastics ban court appeal decision announcement and other macroeconomic factors, and/or a potential shift in responsibility for provinces and municipalities on these issues.
Federal Plastics Registry update
On October 30th, Environment and Climate Change Canada announced that they will publish the data from phase 1 reporting by early 2026. They have also shared their intention to consult on opportunities to:
- Streamline reporting requirements
- Identify who is responsible for reporting
We remain dedicated to advocating for reduced complexity and mitigating further requirements on the Federal Plastics Registry and will keep you informed on our next steps.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick has released a proposal for a new organic waste diversion program that aims to establish an organic waste disposal cap in the province, initially set at 20% of total landfill waste. The province will be conducting consultations on their draft proposal through a virtual workshop on November 19th, which RC will be attending. Reach out to wd-rd@gnb.ca if you are interested in attending this workshop as well.
What does this mean for your business?
- The disposal cap would require restaurants to implement or contract organics separation systems.
- Restaurants would need to establish front-of-house and back-of-house organic waste sorting and arrange separate organics hauling (if not already in place).
PFAS update
PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) are a large group of chemicals used to make products resistant to water, grease, and stains. Known as « forever chemicals, » they do not break down quickly and can build up in the environment and human bodies.
On September 26th, ECCC opened consultations for Phase 1 of their Risk Management Approach for PFAS, which covers fire fighting foams, with proposed regulations expected to be released in the Spring of 2027. While Phase 1 does not directly apply to the foodservice industry, Phase 2 will focus on food packaging materials, food additives, non-industrial food contact products (E.g. paper plates), and Phase 3 on industrial food contact materials, medical devices, prescription drugs, etc. Consultation for Phase 2 will follow the publication of Phase 1 regulations in 2027.
What does this mean for your business? Proposed regulations for phases 2 and 3 could require that all food packaging and industrial food contact materials (e.g. industrial baking trays or moulds) in restaurants are PFAS-free. It will be important for your business to learn more about PFAS and begin to explore feasible alternatives.
For more background on PFAS and the proposed prohibition, click here.
Noteworthy dates
November 24th: The Circular Innovation Council is hosting a webinar on “How EPR Frameworks Are Accelerating Reuse in Packaging”. Click here to register.
QUEBEC UPDATE
From Marie-Pier Richard | Vice-President, Quebec
English Follows
Niveaux d’immigration du Québec
La semaine dernière, le ministre de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration a annoncé une diminution des seuils d’immigration, fixant la nouvelle cible à 45 000 nouveaux arrivants annuellement. Pour ce qui est des travailleurs étrangers temporaires, le gouvernement souhaite faire passer leur nombre de 200 000 à 175 000 d’ici quatre ans, c’est-à-dire une baisse de 13% ciblée à Montréal et Laval.
Voici à cet égard notre déclaration.
Élections municipales
C’était jour d’élections municipales aux quatre coins du Québec dimanche et nous avons suivi les résultats de près dans l’intérêt de notre industrie. À Montréal, c’est l’ancienne ministre fédérale, Soyara Martinez Ferrada qui a remporté les suffrages, une collaboratrice de longue date avec notre équipe.
À Québec, c’est le maire Bruno Marchand qui a été réélu et rappelons que lors de la précédente campagne celui-ci a pris des engagements congrès envers les restaurateurs soit la gratuité des permis de terrasse, une personne dédiée au sein de son exécutif à la gastronomie pour être à l’écoute du monde de la restauration et un engagement à déposer un dossier de candidature pour obtenir une désignation de ville créative de gastronomie de l’UNESCO.
Pour consulter tous les résultats électoraux : Résultats et statistiques – Élections Québec
Lettre ouverte
Vous avez pu voir dans les six médias des coops de l’information (le Soleil, le Droit, le Nouvelliste, Le Quotidien, la Tribune et la Voix de l’Est) une lettre ouverte co-signé par notre organisation et l’ARQ. Une manière pour nous de réitérer nos demandes au gouvernement alors que se terminait la semaine dernière, les consultations sur les niveaux d’immigration. Nous vous invitons à partager sur vos réseaux sociaux cette lettre : Dernier service pour les travailleurs en restauration.
Sommet sur la main d’œuvre et l’immigration du Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ)
Lundi se tenait à Montréal un Sommet sur la main d’œuvre et l’immigration du Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ). Une occasion d’échanger avec différents secteurs sur nos enjeux communs, mais également d’en apprendre davantage alors qu’une intéressante étude d’Aviséo sur la complémentarité de l’innovation et de l’immigration dans le milieu du travail y a été présenté. Je vois invite d’ailleurs à en prendre connaissance.
Rendez-vous gourmet Québec Ottawa
Le 27 octobre dernier, le savoir-faire québécois était à l’honneur à Ottawa alors que plus de 50 exposants présentaient leurs produits lors du 13e rendez-vous gourmet. J’ai eu l’occasion d’aller à leur rencontre et d’échanger avec eux. Plusieurs ont déjà confirmé leur intérêt à participer au RC show en mars prochain.
Gala Envirolys du Conseil des entreprises en technologies environnementales du Québec (CETEQ)
La semaine dernière à Laval se tenait le Gala annuel Envirolys du CETEQ. Ce fût l’occasion de discuter rapidement avec le ministre de l’Environnement Bernard Drainville nouvellement en fonction. L’industrie a profité de l’occasion pour souligner le travail des dernières années du précédent ministre Benoit Charrette.
Quebec Immigration Levels
Last week, the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration announced a reduction in immigration thresholds, setting a new target of 45,000 new arrivals per year. As for temporary foreign workers, the government plans to reduce their number from 200,000 to 175,000 over the next four years—a 13% decrease focused on Montreal and Laval.
We expressed our disappointment and concern in a public statement (French only).
Municipal Elections
It was municipal election day across Quebec on Sunday, and we closely followed the results in the interest of our industry. In Montreal, former federal minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada— a long-time collaborator with our team— won the vote.
In Quebec City, Mayor Bruno Marchand was re-elected. During the previous campaign, he made several commitments to restaurant owners, including free patio permits, appointing an executive member dedicated to gastronomy to better engage with the restaurant sector, and submitting a bid for Quebec City to obtain UNESCO’s Creative City of Gastronomy designation.
To view all the election results: Results and Statistics – Élections Québec
Open Letter
You may have seen an open letter co-signed by our organization and the ARQ last week in the six media outlets of Les coops de l’information (Le Soleil, Le Droit, Le Nouvelliste, Le Quotidien, La Tribune, and La Voix de l’Est). It was an opportunity for us to reiterate our requests to the government as the consultations on immigration levels wrapped up last week. We invite you to share this letter on your social networks: Dernier service pour les travailleurs en restauration.
CPQ Summit on Workforce and Immigration
On Monday, the Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ) held a Summit on Workforce and Immigration in Montreal. It was an opportunity to exchange ideas with representatives from various sectors on our shared challenges, and to learn more from an interesting study by Aviséo on the complementarity between innovation and immigration in the workplace. I encourage you to take a look at it (French only).
Québec-Ottawa Gourmet Rendezvous
On October 27, Quebec know-how was in the spotlight in Ottawa as more than 50 exhibitors showcased their products at the 13th Rendez-vous gourmet. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with them, and several have already confirmed their interest in participating in the RC Show next March.
Envirolys Gala of the Conseil des entreprises en technologies environnementales du Québec (CETEQ)
Last week in Laval, the CETEQ held its annual Envirolys Gala. It was a chance for a brief conversation with Bernard Drainville, the new Minister of the Environment. The industry also took the opportunity to highlight the work accomplished in recent years by his predecessor, Benoit Charrette.
ATLANTIC CANADA UPDATE
From Janick Cormier | Vice-President, Atlantic Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador
Following last month’s election, Premier Tony Wakeham and his cabinet were sworn in on October 29th. I have sent congratulatory letters to all elected MHAs, including newly appointed Ministers, which includes a meeting request. My aim is to quickly meet with key people such as the Premier, Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Immigration, to start building relationships early so that we can work with them towards a strong foodservice industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
You can see the full Cabinet team here.
Prince Edward Island
On November 4th, the government tabled its 2026-2027 capital budget. The Capital Budget is a forecast of spending for infrastructure and capital projects such as roads and bridges, public buildings, and equipment. The operating budget is delivered each spring.
This capital budget focused on addressing issues that come with the tremendous growth we have seen on the island, as well as for the future. It included a 5-year plan totaling $1.6 billion in infrastructure investments.
As this was a capital budget, there was nothing in there that would directly impact our industry.
We have also officially sent a letter to Minister Burridge and the PEILCC on the changes we would like to see as they work towards modernizing the Liquor Control Act. I know some of you were invited to consultations about this, and I thank those of you who were able to participate.
New Brunswick
On October 21st, Lieutenant-Governor Louise Imbeault read the 2025 speech from the throne, marking the one-year anniversary of the Holt government. Unfortunately, the government has renewed its commitment to prioritize immigration for health care, education, social services and construction. Restaurants Canada is working on our workforce development plan, and specific immigration policy proposals that we will bring to the federal government to help support our chronic labour shortages.
The government also revealed its tourism strategy for 2026-2031. The goal is to grow tourism revenue by $1 billion by 2031. We know that the foodservice industry is a big part of the tourism product of the province and without access to labour to fill our chronic shortages, especially in rural areas, there will be significant challenges for the province to reach that goal. However, they have identified culinary experiences as an anchor product AND a key investment area– this is good news for our industry! I’m looking forward to working with the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick and Minister Thériault to make this strategy a reality.
CENTRAL CANADA UPDATE
From Kris Barnier | Vice-President, Central Canada and the North
ONTARIO
Fall Economic Statement
Last week, the Ontario government tabled its Fall Economic Statement. You can read our reaction and highlights here.
Crime
I had the opportunity to participate in a town hall on crime and public safety that was hosted by Mississauga East – Cooksville MPP Silvia Gualtieri, which included numerous representatives from Peel Region. I took the opportunity to speak with Ms. Gualtieri about public safety challenges impacting our members, and I spoke with police about strengthening our relationship with police representatives and opportunities to work with them on safety in restaurants and bars.
Restaurants Canada has written to Premier Ford and Solicitor General Michael Kerzner in support of a proposal to invest $13M over three years toward the creation of an Ontario Retail & Hospitality Crime Joint Force Operation. The entity would be tasked with and include:
- A shared intelligence and analytics team to track offenders and crime patterns.
- Coordinated investigative and enforcement operations targeting violent, repeat, and organized offenders.
- A dedicated Retail and Hospitality Liaison Officer to strengthen collaboration with local businesses, BIAs, and chambers of commerce.
Small Business Week
It was a pleasure to be a guest of Ontario Associate Minister of Small Business Nina Tangri at her celebration of Small Business Week. It was a great opportunity to catch up with the Minister to talk about crime, consumer constraints on affordability, and the rising costs associated with running a restaurant.
MANITOBA
Crime Grant Update
MRFA And Restaurants Canada have remained in high contact with the Government of Manitoba to push for the formal launch of its Business Security Rebate Program. We have been assured that the government is working diligently on the IT build necessary to deliver the program and that it is on track to be able to open the program by the end of the year.
Meth Crisis Legislation
The Manitoba government has passed Bill 48, the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act, which aims to address the province’s growing meth crisis. The legislation allows police and health-care professionals to detain people intoxicated by drugs for up to 72 hours in a safe facility where they can be stabilized and treated without criminal charges. The stated goal is to protect both the individual and the public, particularly those experiencing meth-induced psychosis, which can last longer than other forms of intoxication. Once stabilized, individuals will be offered access to addiction supports and follow-up care, reflecting the government’s focus on safety, compassion, and treatment rather than punishment.
WESTERN CANADA UPDATE
From Mark von Schellwitz | Vice-President, Western Canada
Post BCGEU Strike – BC Liquor Distribution Update
Since the resumption of liquor distribution on Monday October 27th, Restaurants Canada and other liquor stakeholders have had daily calls with the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) on their progress in processing orders and getting liquor inventory restocked for hospitality and private retail wholesale customers. From the updates we can confirm that their emergency liquor distribution restart plan is on track to catch up on orders leading to a return to normal operations within three weeks. We are also receiving ongoing updates from the Liquor Cannabis Regulatory Branch (LCRB) as they resume processing various licensing applications.
We appreciate that LDB is working 24/7 to catch up on liquor orders and replenish liquor inventory including setting up the following 15 Temporary Hospitality Hub Centres where hospitality customers can purchase a selection of top selling spirits, liquor and imported wines. Initially there was a six-bottle limit on spirits on hospitality hub centre orders, but that limit has now been lifted. On November 3rd LDB sent the following hospitality customer update to Restaurants Canada and other hospitality associations reporting progress on their restart plan as well as liquor distribution information that hospitality licensees will find helpful on deliveries, and Non-Stock Wholesale Product (NSWP) orders.
Restaurants Canada would also like to hear from BC members on any challenges you may be experiencing on replenishing your liquor inventory in general, and on any specific product categories, including accessing Non-Stock Wholesale Products (NSWP). Restaurants Canada also continues to work with our hospitality industry association partners on liquor distribution progress, and we are contemplating sending out a joint industry association survey to identify any liquor restocking challenges hospitality members may be experiencing as LDB implements their liquor distribution restart plan. Members are also encouraged to continue monitoring liquor distribution updates on the LDB wholesale website.
Alberta NDP Introduces Minimum Wage Private Members Bill
In response to Premier Smith defending not increasing minimum wage due to the high youth unemployment rate, on October 30th NDP MLA Kathleen Ganley introduced a private members Bill (Bill 201) in the legislature. The Bill calls for Alberta to introduce an annual $1 increase in Alberta’s minimum wage for the next three years and index minimum wage increases by CPI for subsequent years. The Bill also calls for the elimination of the $13 youth/student wage.
MLA Ganley introduced the Bill soon after meeting with Restaurants Canada on the minimum wage issue where we agreed to disagree on minimum wage policy except for eventually returning to a CPI indexation formula for future minimum wage increases. Private members Bills rarely get passed. Bill 201 will not receive the support of a majority of MLAs in the legislature and will therefore die on the order paper. However, it does articulate the Alberta NDP’s position on minimum wage.
Saskatchewan Introduces Labour Policy Reviews
Given the importance of labour policy to restaurant operations, Saskatchewan members are encouraged to provide their feedback to both Restaurants Canada and directly to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations & Workplace Safety on two labour policy consultations. In the last CEO note I mentioned the following OHS review consultation, but another Labour Relations Employment Standards Review is now also underway.
- Saskatchewan Occupational Health and Safety Regulatory Review: Restaurants Canada and our Saskatchewan members have been invited to participate in an Occupational Health and Safety Regulatory Review which could impact restaurant operations. Saskatchewan members are encouraged to provide feedback either directly at legislation.labour@gov.sk.ca or through Restaurants Canada by responding to the questions in the following discussion paper. Any feedback received by Restaurants Canada will be incorporated into our submission. The feedback deadline is November 30th, 2025.
Labour Relations Employment Standards Review: Further to the passage of the Saskatchewan Employment Standards Amendment Act last May, Restaurants Canada has been invited to participate in a review of the labour relations provisions (Parts VI, VII, VIII) of the Employment Standards Act, which regulate labour-management relations and establish the obligations of employers, employees and the unions that represent employees. The provisions protect employees’ rights to organize and join unions, to bargain collectively through representatives of their choosing and establish the rules under which collective bargaining is to occur. Members are encouraged to provide Restaurants Canada and/or the Ministry of Labour Relations & Workplace Safety at legislation.labour@gov.sk.ca with any thoughts and recommendations for possible changes to the labour relations sections on the Employment Standards Act prior to the December 4th submission deadline.
With gratitude,
Kelly Higginson
