Dunkin’ returns to Canada, plans hundreds of new locations with Foodtastic

The first Canadian Dunkin’ store is still months away, but Foodtastic will already control the parts that matter most to workers: hiring, training and day-to-day operations for a planned rollout of hundreds of locations nationwide. Under the master franchising agreement signed May 12 with Inspire Brands, the Quebec-based operator got exclusive rights to develop Dunkin’ across Canada.

That structure puts a local company, not the U.S. parent, in charge of how the chain will actually run on the ground. Foodtastic said it will handle market development, franchisee recruitment and operations in Canada, which means it will shape who gets hired, how stores are staffed and how quickly new units open. In a chain built through franchising, those decisions can ripple directly into schedules, shift coverage and training consistency from one city to the next.

Dunkin’ is returning to Canada after exiting in 2018, when Quebec franchisees successfully sued the company for not sufficiently promoting the brand. The chain once had hundreds of Canadian locations, including a strong presence in Quebec, before pulling back from a market now dominated by Tim Hortons. Founded in 1950, Dunkin’ sells coffee, donuts and breakfast sandwiches, a menu built for the morning rush and the kind of labor pressure that comes with it.

Foodtastic said the first Canadian Dunkin’ is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027. Peter Mammas, the company’s founder and chief executive, framed the deal as a growth opportunity for Foodtastic and its franchise partners. For the people behind the counter, the more immediate question is whether that growth comes with stable staffing, clear training standards and predictable scheduling, or whether a fast expansion simply spreads the same early-morning churn across more stores.

Canada’s coffee-and-doughnut market is still heavily shaped by Tim Hortons, which makes Dunkin’s return a direct challenge to an entrenched rival. But the bigger workplace story is less about brand nostalgia than about who sets the rules inside the stores. A master franchise gives Foodtastic room to build the system it wants, and the quality of that system will show up in the paychecks, prep shifts and opening-day chaos workers deal with long before the chain reaches “hundreds” of locations.