New federal government elected: What you can expect in the days ahead
Updated on April 29, 2025
Last night, the federal Liberals were elected with a minority government, ushering in a new political chapter with both continuity and change that will affect our industry.
Here are some highlights we saw in their platform during the election that will impact your business:
- 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 service tools.
- Interprovincial trade: Strengthen trade infrastructure (ports, railroads, airports, highways etc.); reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
- Trade war: Make it easier for impacted workers to access EI and EI Work-Sharing Program; Canada Strong Pass to incentivize travel within Canada.
- Affordability: Reduce income tax by reducing the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by 1%.
What’s next
Prime Minister Mark Carney will announce his new cabinet within the next two weeks. The House of Commons is scheduled to return on May 26th and sit until June 20th. A Throne Speech and a Budget are expected before Canada Day, according to The Globe and Mail.
The budget is expected to feature a middle-class tax cut and legislation to remove federal barriers to interprovincial trade—both of which would benefit restaurants, suppliers, and distributors operating across provincial lines.
Restaurants Canada launches new campaign on GST/HST
Throughout the election, Restaurants Canada has been actively engaging with all the major parties to share our members’ concerns and our policy priorities. Now that we have a new government, we will be redoubling our efforts as re-elected and newly elected MPs settle into their roles. Here is what you can expect to see from us:
- Reaching out to MPs from the top 50 foodservice ridings in the country: Building strong and strategic relationships will be key for our advocacy in the coming year.
- Connecting with priority Cabinet Ministers (Finance, Immigration, Labour, Small Business, Sustainability, Tourism) to build support and have champions around the Cabinet table.
- Food Tax Fairness – Our campaign to remove GST on restaurant meals: As highlighted in yesterday’s CEO Note, our next big campaign will be to remove GST/HST from all prepared food and alcohol sold at restaurants. We believe this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do it. Stay tuned for more details.
- Continuing our advocacy on tariff supports, labour and cost of doing business: Our industry is facing significant challenges. We will be sharing the importance of the foodservice sector to Canada’s economy with government and working to find solutions to your most pressing concerns.
We are analyzing the full impact of these results and policy commitments and will continue engaging directly with this renewed Parliament to represent your interests.
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