Full Breakdown
Tim Hortons franchise bankruptcies underscore limits on temporary foreign workers
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Six Eastern-Ontario locations file for bankruptcy
M G B Ventures Inc., the operator of six Tim Hortons restaurants in Alexandria, Hawkesbury, Dunvegan, Vankleek Hill and L’Orignal, sought protection in the Ontario Superior Court after the company said a federal tightening of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program cut its access to needed labour. Court filings show the chain employed 41 of 156 workers through the TFW program; at the Alexandria outlet 19 of 23 staff (? 83 %) and at Dunvegan 15 of 25 staff (? 60 %) were foreign-worker hires. The filings also list debts of $1.6 million to the Canada Revenue Agency, $1 million to Scotiabank and $600 000 to the Business Development Bank of Canada.
Background & Context: Federal changes to the TFW program
In 2024 Ottawa imposed stricter rules on low-wage hiring, requiring employers to demonstrate efforts to recruit Canadians before accessing foreign workers. The government later introduced “targeted, time-limited measures” that let eligible rural restaurants increase their TFW quotas, but the earlier crackdown reduced the pool of workers available to M G B Ventures. Tim Hortons had previously pledged to hire 10 000 Canadians after reporting that roughly 4 000 of its 110 000 employees (? 3.6 %) were on TFW visas, and it later said the high youth-unemployment environment made further lobbying “no longer necessary.”
Official Statements & Responses
Tim Hortons said the Grimsby incident “was a bad outcome” and that a new franchisee had agreed to retain the existing workforce.
Criticism & Opposition
Niagara West MP Dean Allison publicly questioned the chain’s actions in Grimsby, asking, “Hey, Tim Hortons, what are you doing in your Grimsby stores?”
Verbatim Quotes
- “Six Tim Hortons restaurants in Eastern Ontario have gone bankrupt. According to Blacklock’s, their operators blame changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program,” — Dr. Sylvain Charlebois
- “I read the articles and the statement that that chain made, and they’re still asking for temporary foreign workers,” — Rempel Garner, conservative immigration critic
- “Hey, Tim Hortons, what are you doing in your Grimsby stores?” — Dean Allison, west MP dean
- “We believe this was a bad outcome,” — Tim Hortons
- “While we maintained our leadership positions in coffee, breakfast and baked goods, our calendar didn’t drive the growth we’ve come to expect from Tims and was unable to lap last year’s major product launches,” — RBI CEO Josh Kobza
