May 26, 2026
Tim Hortons and the TFW Debate: Why They Are Shifting Back to ‘Local’ Hiring
I was recently interviewed regarding the story around Tim Horton’s use of the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program. In my view, this is really a story about balance: employers say they need flexibility to fill hard-to-staff roles, but Canadian labour and immigration rules are built around a ‘Canadians first’ principle. Tim Hortons is now trying to show it is responding to the political and labour-market moment by emphasizing local hiring.
Let’s display some inaccurate information that is circulating. Using temporary foreign workers is legal if the employer goes through a Labour Market Impact Assessment process and proves recruitment efforts. The issue is whether the program is being used as a last resort, not as a routine staffing model.
Tim Hortons says it has about 110,000 team members, with roughly 4,000 hired through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program about 3.6% of restaurant roles. It has announced it is launching a campaign to hire 10,000 local team members. Tim Hortons also maintains about 45% of team members are aged 15–24, and lobbying for expanded TFW access is “no longer necessary” given high youth unemployment.
As of April 1, 2026, low-wage LMIA applicants must advertise for at least 8 consecutive weeks in the three months before applying and must target youth in recruitment. The federal rules also say low-wage LMIAs generally will not be processed in census metropolitan areas with unemployment of 6% or higher. Further, for low-wage positions, there is generally a 10% cap on the proportion of temporary foreign workers at a specific work location, with certain sector exceptions. The policy purpose is expressly to ensure Canadians and permanent residents are considered first.
Ultimately the TFW is supposed to be a pressure valve, not a permanent staffing strategy. The legal question is compliance. The public-policy question is whether Canadians, especially young workers, are getting the first real shot at these jobs.
Tim Hortons appears to be trying to get ahead of the criticism by saying: we used the program during labour shortages, but we’re now pivoting back toward local hiring. A 3.6% TFW share may sound modest, but in a brand as visible as Tim Hortons, even modest reliance becomes politically symbolic. The LMIA process is not just paperwork. It is supposed to test whether there is a genuine labour shortage.
All employers must show genuine recruitment efforts and comply with caps, wage rules and workplace protections. The broader concern is whether low-wage employers are leaning too much on temporary labour instead of improving recruitment, wages, scheduling and retention.
So should Canadians be prioritized?
That is already the foundational structure of the program. The LMIA process is designed to make employers prove they tried to hire Canadians and permanent residents first. The current debate is whether those safeguards are strong enough and consistently enforced.
The real test is whether local hiring actually materializes, either franchisees comply with the tighter LMIA rules, and whether temporary foreign workers who are already here are treated fairly and lawfully.
The policy changes are no longer theoretical. We are already seeing the impact: new student arrivals are down about 60% year over year, new worker arrivals are down nearly half, and early 2026 numbers are down roughly three-quarters compared with early 2024.
It is important though to separate two things: the stock and the flow. The number of temporary residents already in Canada does not fall overnight, but the flow of new study and work permit holders has dropped very sharply.
What we will see over time, perhaps outside the media spotlight, is whether Canadians do come forward to fill these jobs, and whether the measures now being taken to reduce reliance on temporary foreign workers and international students prove to be a necessary correction or an overcorrection that creates future labour shortages. My sense is that we will land somewhere in the middle. The system clearly needed tightening, but Canada still needs a realistic labour strategy. One that prioritizes Canadian workers while recognizing that immigration will continue to play an important role in filling genuine gaps.
Read the full article here: Why Tim Hortons is shifting focus back to ‘local’ hiring, according to an immigration lawyer – NOW Toronto
