September 10,2025
RED FM News Desk
Restaurants Canada, a national advocacy group representing the foodservice sector, is criticizing British Columbia Premier David Eby for comments targeting restaurants in the province that use the temporary foreign worker program.
Eby, along with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, has suggested ending the federal program that allows employers to hire foreign workers to fill gaps in the local labour market. Earlier this week, Eby singled out two Vancouver-area chain restaurants—a Starbucks and a Boston Pizza—for reportedly seeking franchise managers through the program.
In a statement Wednesday, Restaurants Canada said the premier’s remarks “miss the reality of the foodservice industry” in B.C., which employs roughly 183,000 people and provides one in five youth jobs in the province. The group noted that temporary foreign workers make up only three per cent of Canada’s foodservice workforce, primarily filling roles such as chefs and cooks with specialized skills not readily available locally.
“Tourism-heavy regions with aging populations often lack enough youth to meet peak seasonal demand,” said Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “Similarly, 24-hour operations, like highway rest stops, struggle to staff overnight shifts and may rely on the program.”
The organization acknowledged that reforms are needed to ensure the program supports local workers. In B.C., about 11,000 temporary foreign worker positions were approved in the first three months of 2025, a 37 per cent drop from the same period last year, compared with a 20.5 per cent decline across the rest of Canada. These decreases followed federal tightening of program access last September.
Restaurants Canada emphasized that B.C.’s foodservice industry contributes over $20 billion annually to the economy, representing nearly five per cent of the province’s GDP.
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