Dunkin’ to Relaunch in Canada After 8-Year Absence, Targets Aggressive Expansion
May 16 - 2026
Coffee Geography Magazine
After pulling out of Canada nearly a decade ago, Dunkin’ is staging a major comeback. The American coffee and donut giant announced a new exclusive master franchise agreement with Montreal-based Foodtastic Inc., setting the stage for a large-scale national re-entry beginning in late 2026.
The first new café-restaurants are scheduled to open in Toronto and Montreal, marking the start of what the company describes as an aggressive growth plan. Foodtastic, which already owns Canadian chains like Second Cup, aims to open approximately 50 new cafes per year—roughly one location every week. Over the long term, the partnership envisions 600 to 700 Dunkin’ outlets nationwide, with an initial focus on Ontario and Quebec.
Dunkin’ previously exited the Canadian market in 2018 after shuttering its last remaining stores. This time, the brand is leaning on its formidable global scale.
The company sells roughly 2 billion cups of hot and iced coffee worldwide every year, a pace that breaks down to about 60 cups every single second. Coffee and other beverages remain the engine of the business, driving 60% of Dunkin’s total annual sales.
The relaunched menu will feature the brand’s iconic lineup of drip coffees, specialty espresso beverages, donuts, and sandwiches. That puts Dunkin’ in direct competition with Canada’s entrenched coffee empires, including Tim Hortons, Starbucks, and McDonald’s, all of which command a powerful presence in the country’s crowded quick-service market.
The deal is structured through Inspire Brands, Dunkin’s parent company, which has granted Foodtastic exclusive rights to manage Canadian market development, franchisee recruitment, and operations. Foodtastic is betting that Dunkin’s global brand recognition and a focused expansion strategy can succeed where the chain’s previous, more fragmented Canadian effort failed.
If they hire Canadian youth and seniors, they won’t have to try too hard. Singh Hortons is a filth pit now, and they refuse to hire Canadians of any colour, except brown, with most of them not even being Canadian. As long as their donuts and coffee aren’t gross, like they used to be, they just might make it. Everyone except India is tired of Tim’s. They are no longer Canadian anyway.