Tipping in Canada has gotten out of hand.

What used to be a way of showing appreciation for good service has become something we're expected to do almost everywhere. We're asked to tip at restaurants, coffee shops, takeout counters, drive-throughs, and even before we've received the product or service we're paying for.

And when we don't tip, there's often an uncomfortable feeling that we've done something wrong.

Meanwhile, the cost of everyday life keeps going up. We're already paying more for food, services, and entertainment, yet we're increasingly expected to add another charge on top of those prices.

The problem isn't that people don't deserve to be paid fairly. It's that paying employees is the responsibility of businesses, not their customers.

Nobody should feel obligated to supplement someone's wages simply because a payment terminal asks them to.

We want to see a Canada where businesses take responsibility for paying their employees, prices are transparent, and tipping is a genuine choice.

There are three areas where we believe change is needed.

1. Fair Wages Are the Responsibility of Employers
Everyone deserves to be paid fairly for their work. That responsibility should rest with the employer, not with customers deciding how much extra to leave behind.

Yet tipping culture has created an expectation that customers should help make up for wages they know very little about.

How much is the employee earning? How are tips distributed? Does the business rely on gratuities to attract and retain staff?

These aren't questions customers should have to answer before deciding whether to leave a tip.

A business should be responsible for paying its employees appropriately, regardless of whether customers choose to tip.

What should change?
Eliminate lower minimum wages for tipped employees.

Quebec is currently the only Canadian province with a separate, lower minimum wage specifically for tipped workers.

As of May 2026, the minimum wage for tipped employees in Quebec is $13.30 per hour, compared with the general minimum wage of $16.60.

Ontario and British Columbia have already eliminated their separate lower liquor-server wage categories.

This distinction should no longer exist anywhere in Canada.

Encourage greater transparency around employee compensation.

Customers shouldn't have to guess whether employees are being treated fairly.

One idea worth exploring is a voluntary fair-wage certification, similar to other business certifications that help consumers make informed choices.

Businesses could demonstrate that they meet recognized compensation standards appropriate to their region and display a certification that customers can recognize.

Eventually, this could include a publicly searchable directory or recognition through popular business listings, such as Google Business Profiles.

We're not proposing a single nationwide definition of a fair wage. Living costs differ from one region to another, and determining appropriate wages is a matter for employers, workers, and the relevant labour authorities.

The point is to recognize businesses that take this responsibility seriously and give customers a way to support them.

Fair compensation should be part of running a business, not something left to the generosity of customers.

2. Reform Tipping Technologies
Payment technology has made tipping more common, more prominent, and harder to avoid.

Rather than simply allowing customers to leave something extra, many payment systems actively encourage it through suggested percentages, prominent buttons, and unnecessary steps to decline.

There are several practical ways to address this.

A. Stop asking for tips before providing the service
Tipping should be a way to recognize service received, not something we're expected to pay in advance.

Yet mobile ordering apps, food delivery services, and other platforms often request a tip before an order has even been prepared or delivered.

This can leave customers wondering whether their decision to tip might influence the service they receive.

A customer should have the opportunity to experience the service before being asked to reward it.

Payment systems should offer optional tipping after the product or service has been delivered, not before.

Customers who wish to leave a gratuity should still be able to do so.

B. Make tipping an active choice, not something customers must decline
The purpose of a payment terminal is to let someone pay for their purchase.

That should be the easiest thing to do.

Instead, many terminals present suggested gratuities as part of the normal checkout process and require customers to find an option to decline.

This takes advantage of common user-experience design principles, including prominent calls to action, default selections, and the path of least resistance.

The Keystroke-Level Model (KLM) is one method used to evaluate the effort involved in completing tasks through an interface. Similar principles could be used to establish measurable standards for payment terminals.

We believe the easiest path through a payment terminal should always be to pay the purchase price without tipping.

That means:

• Completing a purchase without tipping should require fewer actions than adding a tip.
• No tip should be selected by default.
• Customers should not have to explicitly decline a gratuity.
• Adding a tip should require a deliberate action by the customer.
• Declining to tip should never trigger additional confirmations, warnings, or messages intended to make customers feel guilty.
• The layout should not hide, minimize, or make it unnecessarily difficult to complete a purchase without tipping.

For example, on a $23.50 purchase:

The main option should simply say "Pay $23.50." A separate, less prominent option could say "Add Tip." Paying the purchase price would take one action. Adding a tip would require selecting the option, choosing an amount, and confirming the payment.

This is a practical standard that could be tested and enforced across payment terminals and mobile applications.

Customers shouldn't have to opt out of tipping. They should have to opt in.

C. Make suggested tip calculations accurate and consistent
Customers should be able to trust the amounts presented on payment terminals.

Today, suggested tipping percentages aren't always calculated consistently. Some systems calculate gratuities before tax, others after tax, and discounts can be handled differently.

There have also been cases where the displayed dollar amount doesn't appear to match the suggested percentage.

Even when the calculation is mathematically correct, the result can be misleading if customers aren't told what the percentage is based on.

We believe that if percentage-based tipping remains available, there should be a consistent standard.

Tips should be calculated on the actual sale amount after discounts, but before sales tax.
The amount used for the calculation should be clear.
Suggested dollar amounts must accurately match their displayed percentages.
Businesses and payment providers should be responsible for checking their calculations.
Misleading or materially incorrect calculations should be subject to meaningful penalties.
Ultimately, we'd like to see less reliance on percentage-based tipping altogether. But until then, customers should at least be able to trust the numbers they're shown.

D. Prevent hidden service charges
Removing tipping expectations shouldn't give businesses an opportunity to replace optional gratuities with unexpected mandatory fees.

Customers should know what they're going to pay before deciding to make a purchase.

Canada already has laws addressing certain forms of misleading pricing, including drip pricing, where unavoidable charges are added to an advertised price later in the transaction.

The Competition Bureau of Canada provides guidance on these practices.

We believe similar principles should be clearly applied to service fees and mandatory gratuities.

Any mandatory service charge should be disclosed before a customer orders or commits to a purchase.
Unavoidable business-imposed charges should be included in advertised prices.
Conditional fees, such as automatic gratuities for larger groups, should be explained upfront.
Mandatory fees must be clearly distinguished from optional tips.
Businesses can decide what to charge. Customers deserve to know those charges before they buy.

3. Remove the Social Stigma Around Not Tipping
One of the biggest reasons tipping culture continues is that people feel uncomfortable saying no.

We tip because it's expected, because someone is watching, or because declining feels rude.

But not tipping doesn't mean someone is cheap, disrespectful, or unappreciative.

Tipping is supposed to be optional. We need to start treating it that way.

The cost of living is already increasing what we pay in tips
According to Statistics Canada, consumer prices increased by 19.9% over the five years ending in 2025.

Restaurant prices have also risen considerably.

When a meal becomes more expensive, a percentage-based tip increases automatically, even if the food, service, and overall experience haven't meaningfully changed.

For example:

A $50 meal with a 20% tip costs $60 before tax.
If that same meal increases to $60, a 20% tip adds $12.
The customer now pays $72, including $2 more in tips, simply because the meal became more expensive.
And if suggested tipping percentages rise at the same time, the added cost grows further.

This raises a reasonable question: Why should a higher product price automatically mean a larger gratuity?

More expensive purchases don't always mean more service
Imagine going to two different restaurants: at one, you order a $25 meal. At another, you order a $100 meal. A 20% tip would be $5 at the first restaurant and $20 at the second. But the work involved in taking your order, bringing your food, and processing payment might be quite similar.

Why should the price of the food determine how much that work deserves in additional compensation?

Someone who saves up for an expensive dinner shouldn't feel obligated to pay significantly more in tips simply because they chose a more expensive restaurant.

People deserve to enjoy what they've paid for without feeling they owe something extra.

We should be able to choose what a tip is worth
There's nothing wrong with recognizing someone who provides exceptional service.

But the decision should belong to the customer.

Sometimes a few extra dollars may be a reasonable expression of appreciation. Sometimes no tip is appropriate. And sometimes an exceptional experience may deserve much more.

The amount should reflect what the customer wants to give, not what a payment terminal suggests or what social pressure demands.

Choosing not to tip should be just as acceptable as choosing to tip.

 
What Can We Learn From Other Countries?
Canada's tipping culture can feel unavoidable, but the same expectations don't exist everywhere.

Many countries have successful restaurant and hospitality industries where customers aren't routinely expected to leave additional money.

Japan

Tipping is generally not customary in restaurants, cafés, hotels, or taxis.

Good service is considered part of the experience customers have already purchased.

The Japan National Tourism Organization explains that gratuities are not generally expected.

Australia and New Zealand

Tipping is not typically expected for everyday purchases or restaurant service.

Customers may leave something extra for particularly good service, but there's no general expectation that every bill should include an additional percentage.

New Zealand's Commerce Commission also provides guidance on optional tipping and the upfront disclosure of additional charges.

France

Restaurant service is incorporated into displayed prices, rather than relying on customers to calculate an additional gratuity.

Tips remain optional.

France's consumer-protection authority explains the distinction between included service and voluntary gratuities.

Denmark and Sweden

Customers generally aren't expected to tip, although they may round up a bill or leave something extra if they wish.

According to VisitDenmark, restaurant and hotel service is included in the bill, and tipping is voluntary.

United Kingdom

Tipping is more common in some restaurants, but there are rules intended to protect workers who receive gratuities.

Legislation introduced in 2024 requires qualifying tips to be distributed fairly to workers without employer deductions.

The UK government's code of practice outlines these requirements.

What does this tell us?
No country has a perfect system, and Canada doesn't need to copy another country's wage policies or tipping customs.

But these examples show that good service, successful businesses, and fair employment practices can exist without expecting customers to leave large percentage-based gratuities.

If people in other countries can enjoy a meal, receive great service, pay the advertised price, and leave without feeling obligated to tip, why can't Canadians?

 
Why Write a Petition?
Because people care, and this affects us in everyday life.

Many Canadians disagree with how tipping culture has evolved, but continue to participate because it's become socially expected.

It's uncomfortable to decline a tip when the terminal is handed to you. It's uncomfortable to feel judged for choosing not to leave something extra.

And it's easy to assume you're one of the few people who feel this way.

This petition is a way to show that you're not alone.

It gives Canadians an opportunity to express their concerns together, creating a visible record of public support that can be brought to governments, consumer-protection authorities, businesses, and payment technology providers.

But it's also about changing how we think about tipping.

When thousands of people share the same concerns, it's easier to question practices that we've simply grown accustomed to accepting.

It becomes easier to have conversations about tipping, to make different choices, and to feel comfortable standing by those choices.

There's strength in numbers, both in pushing for change and in knowing that others feel the same way.

We don't need everyone to agree on exactly when or how much to tip.

We need to agree that it should be a choice.

 
What Can Canadians Do Today?
We don't have to wait for laws or industry standards to change before making different choices.

Here are a few practical things anyone can do.

1. Don't tip before receiving a product or service: If an app or business requests a gratuity before providing the service, consider declining. You can always choose to leave something afterward if the option exists and you feel it's deserved.
2. Consider tipping fixed dollar amounts instead of percentages:  Think about what the service was worth to you. An extra $5 for a pleasant lunch might be perfectly reasonable, regardless of the total cost of the meal.
3. Don't feel obligated to tip at a counter: If you walk up, place an order, wait, and collect your purchase yourself, there's no reason to feel that an additional payment is required.
4. Don't feel obligated to tip in a drive-through: Taking your order, preparing the product, and handing it to you are part of the purchase you're already paying for.
5. Pay attention to suggested tip calculations: Check whether the percentages are being applied correctly, particularly when taxes and discounts are involved. Question amounts that appear incorrect or misleading.
6. Support businesses that treat employees fairly: When possible, choose businesses that demonstrate transparent and responsible compensation practices.
7. Talk about tipping without shaming people: You don't have to criticize employees who accept tips or customers who choose to leave them. This isn't about punishing service workers. It's about questioning a system that places responsibility for compensation on customers.
8. Share this petition: The more people who participate, the more clearly we can demonstrate that concerns about tipping culture are widespread.

Who Should Act?
Meaningful change will involve governments, businesses, and payment technology providers.

We're asking:

• Provincial and territorial governments to review wage rules, particularly lower minimum wages for tipped employees, and strengthen consumer protections.
• Federal consumer-protection and competition authorities to address misleading prices, undisclosed charges, and deceptive practices.
• Payment technology providers to make tipping genuinely optional and ensure payment interfaces are fair and transparent.
• Businesses and industry associations to take responsibility for compensation and respect customers' decisions about gratuities.
  These groups have different responsibilities, but all can play a role.

 
Let's Make Tipping a Choice Again
This petition isn't about refusing to recognize good service; it's about making sure that recognition is voluntary.

We want a Canada where:

• Employees are paid fairly by their employers.
• Customers know what they're paying before they buy.
• Tipping prompts are optional, accurate, and easy to bypass.
• Businesses can't disguise extra charges as gratuities.
• People can choose whether and how much to tip without feeling guilty.

We should be able to pay for a product or service, receive what we paid for, and leave without being made to feel that we owe something more.

Fair wages. Fair prices. Fair choices.

If you believe tipping should be a choice rather than an expectation, sign and share this petition.

The more Canadians who speak up, the greater the opportunity to change things.