tim hortons pivots to hiring local youth as it expands and renovates calgary locations
4 minute read
a tim hortons location is seen in calgary on monday, may 25, 2026.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
tim hortons is expanding and renovating in calgary, with managers at the country’s largest quick-service restaurant chain hoping the move can help reduce youth unemployment.
last week, the coffee chain announced it will add three new locations in calgary and renovate 13 existing stores, as part of a national campaign that will see 80 new stores across the country and 400 existing locations renovated.
the renovations will include improved lighting and layout with canadian themes woven through the design, a baked-goods showcase, upgraded kitchen equipment, and improved digital ordering and pickup services.
three days later, the chain also launched a national campaign to focus on hiring local youth, with a promise to hire 10,000 new local employees across the country.
on monday, managers at three different tim hortons locations across the city shared varied opinions on how they hire new employees.
“finding people with no experience isn’t hard, but finding people with tim hortons experience is,” said navdeep kaur, manager of the outlet at 10810 – 50 st. s.e.
manager navdeep kaur and navdeep brar at a tim hortons location in calgary on monday, may 25, 2026.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
she added that she’s looking to hire three people to work at her location. one person was hired monday, and kaur expects the remaining two vacancies will be filled later this week.
she said she receives two to five applications weekly at her store, mostly from people looking for short-term employment.
“we don’t take them in because it’s hard to train a person and then let them go,” she said.
while half of the employees at her store are students in their early 20s, she said applications for long-term employment generally come from older immigrants looking for stable income — “usually in their 40s just looking for stable pay,” she said.
differences between employing students, foreign workers
ace mallare, store assistant manager at 102-255 sage valley common n.w., said the location is in need of two new employees, but doesn’t hire new employees often.
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“we didn’t need any new employees during the winter, and now for the coming summer, just two,” he said. however, per week, the store receives anywhere between five to 10 applications, in person and through indeed, an online job portal.
while his store employs more younger students than any other demographic, he said he finds that temporary foreign employees are more likely to stay long-term, for at least a year or two.
temporary foreign workers are mandated to work a minimum of 30 hours a week, which mallare said makes it easier to employ them.
“they’re more flexible,” he said.
however, saie manalo, store manager at 10125 19 st. n.e., said she has had to opt for hiring younger students over temporary workers.
“before it was easier to hire temporary workers for full-time work, and usually they’re the ones you can rely on in the store because they’re responsible,” she said. “but nowadays, they ask for assurance that we can give them an extension but we can’t guarantee that.”
the tim hortons in chestermere was photographed on monday, may 25, 2026.
gavin young/postmedia
more availability won’t ‘stabilize youth employment,’ says expert
at the outset, the plan spells good news for university and high school students looking to complement their classes with a part-time job — but audrey farrier, a sessional instructor with the haskayne school of business, advises caution.
“the real challenge to me is the bridge between the development of the skill and the employment,” she said. “students in trade and university programs are struggling to find employment that doesn’t require experience but will still be skill-building for them.”
she said she expects the new jobs will be filled not by youth nor by temporary foreign workers, but by new immigrants already working several jobs.
farrier attributed the increasing uncertainty around long-term work to the overall shift toward a gig economy.
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“employers are not looking for long-term stable workforces anymore,” she said. “it is to their advantage to intersperse technology, automation, artificial intelligence with short-term workers.”
the changing economy favours youth and student employment, despite the cost of high turnover and recruitment costs, she said. but it does not match what younger students are prioritizing in their first job.
“when you see 10,000 jobs, you think, wow,” she said. “i know that some students want to position themselves to get the job that’ll pay their rent . . . but as they start learning and gaining in skill sets, they want to take a leap from a job that’s just wage to something that will continue to develop them.”
while more availability may mean more choice, it won’t “stabilize youth employment,” she said. “especially the kind of employment that’s most advantageous to youth building their skill sets.”
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