Tim Hortons Invests $400M to Build or Renovate 480 Restaurants Across Canada

TORONTO, May 22, 2026 — Tim Hortons and its Canadian restaurant owners announced on May 22, 2026 a combined $400 million national investment to build or renovate 480 restaurants across Canada this year, with Ontario carrying the largest share of the plan, 214 locations in total, comprising 26 new builds and 188 renovations, representing approximately $165 million flowing directly into Ontario communities.

The scale of the program makes it one of the most significant single-year infrastructure commitments in the brand's more than 60-year history. It touches communities from Thunder Bay to Windsor, from Ottawa to Niagara Falls, and reflects a deliberate push by the company and its franchise owner network to modernise the restaurant estate across the country's most populous province and beyond.

Tim Hortons $400 Million Plan Covers Every Province and Territory

Nationally, 340 Tim Hortons restaurant owners are investing their own money in the programme, with franchise owners collectively contributing $270 million and Tim Hortons corporate adding a further $130 million. The result is 400 renovations and 80 new restaurant builds spread from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, with all 13 provinces and territories represented in the 2026 plan.

Ontario leads the national count at 214 total locations. Quebec follows with 65, Alberta with 66 and British Columbia with 51. Smaller networks in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island also receive investment under the plan, ranging from a single renovation in Nunavut to 22 locations in New Brunswick.

26 New Ontario Restaurants Open in 2026 as 188 Locations Undergo Renovation

The 26 new Ontario builds span cities including Cambridge, Cornwall, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, Mississauga, Ottawa, Scarborough, Toronto, Vaughan and Woodstock. The 188 renovation projects reach a wider geography, touching communities from Acton and Ajax in the south to Kapuskasing, Dryden and Sault Ste Marie in the north, and dozens of smaller towns across central and eastern Ontario including Cobourg, Minden, Parry Sound, Picton and Wasaga Beach.

The renovations target several aspects of the restaurant experience simultaneously. Updated layouts improve the flow of service, allowing team members to fill orders faster and with greater accuracy. Improved digital ordering infrastructure makes it clearer for guests to use the mobile app or in-store kiosks, and dedicated pickup points for mobile orders are better integrated into the floor plan.

Renovations Bring New Layouts, Better Equipment and Upgraded Baked Goods Display

Each renovated location receives brighter lighting and updated interior design, with a focus on creating a more welcoming space for both guests and staff. Kitchen equipment upgrades form part of every renovation scope, targeting the consistency of hot food and beverages served fresh across all dayparts.

A dedicated baked goods showcase sits at the heart of the updated restaurant design. Tim Hortons identifies itself as the largest seller of baked goods among quick-service restaurant chains in Canada, and the new display format is built to make the full range of donuts, Timbits, cookies, muffins and other baked items more visible to guests at the point of order.

The updated design also incorporates what the company calls a celebration of Canadian heritage, reflecting the brand's more than 60 years in communities across the country and its connection to Tim Hortons Foundation Camps, the youth programme the brand has supported for decades.

All Construction Materials Sourced From Canadian Businesses

Tim Hortons states that renovation and construction materials for the programme are sourced through Canadian-owned businesses, with most items manufactured domestically. The company's custom restaurant furniture is handcrafted in Montréal using 100 percent Canadian-sourced maple. All signage is designed, fabricated and installed by Canadian suppliers. Restaurant artwork is commissioned from Canadian artists and makers.

Beyond materials, the construction activity itself generates ongoing work for local tradespeople, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, masons, painters, tilers, roofers, general contractors and mechanical companies, in communities across every province. The company frames this as an intentional local economic contribution, not simply a byproduct of the building programme.

Axel Schwan Describes Investment as Canadian Families Backing Their Own Communities

Axel Schwan, president of Tim Hortons, said the brand was built in Canada by Canadians and that the investment reflects a commitment to giving guests modern, welcoming restaurants. Schwan described the restaurant owners behind the programme as Canadian families investing their own money in their own communities, a framing the company has used consistently as it positions the franchise ownership model as a community-rooted enterprise rather than a corporate rollout.

Tim Hortons operates nearly 4,000 restaurants across Canada and more than 6,000 locations globally, including in the United States and international markets. The brand traces its origins to a single location opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964 — now more than six decades behind it and, by its own account, still growing.

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