Registration - In-house Organization

Restaurants Canada / Kelly Higginson, President and CEO

Registration Information

In-house Organization name: Restaurants Canada
Previous in-house organization names
Responsible Officer Name: Kelly Higginson, President and CEO
Responsible Officer Change History
Initial registration start date: 1996-03-22
Registration status: Active
Registration Number: 954819-502

Associated Communications

Total Number of Communication Reports: 803

Monthly communication reports in the last 6 months: 27

Version 75 of 76 (2026-02-02 to 2026-02-12)

Registration versions:

Version 75 of 76 (2026-02-02 to 2026-02-12)

Lobbying Information

Subject Matter Details

Details Regarding the Identified Subject Matter
Subject matters	Details	Categories
Tourism	Advocacy related to the renewal and continued federal funding of the International Convention Attraction Fund, including a request for a commitment of $10 million annually over four years.	Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit
Agriculture, International Trade	Agriculture trade policy with regard to trade liberalization opportunities	Policies or Program
Internal Trade	Amendments to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act to exempt wines purchased by restaurants regarding the transportation and sale of beverage between provinces.	Regulation
Agriculture	Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) regarding annual dairy pricing	Policies or Program
Agriculture, International Trade	Chicken and Turkey Tariff Rate Quota Advisory Committee (TQAC) regarding import quota	Policies or Program
Taxation and Finance	Communicating with and arranging meetings with Public Office Holders to discuss the benefits of removing GST on all food in Canada	Policies or Program
Immigration, Labour	Communicating with the Government of Canada regarding Budget 2026 as it pertains to immigration cuts affecting labour shortages.	Policies or Program
Economic Development	Economic Strategy Tables - Continue to work closely with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in contributing to Canada's Economic Strategy Tables by ensuring the discussion help reflect the concerns of our industry	Policies or Program
Labour, Taxation and Finance	Employment Insurance with respect to policy for establishing premium rates	Policies or Program
Labour, Taxation and Finance	Engaging the Government of Canada on US led tariffs and the Government of Canada's response as they impact the foodservices industry.	Policies or Program, Regulation
Environment	Environmental regulations regarding plastics and recycling	Regulation
Health	Healthy Eating Strategy - to ensure that policy and regulation proposals on the restriction of unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children, sodium reduction initiatives, menu labelling requirements, related initiatives are balanced, reasonable and science-based. Providing input into Health Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy consultations.	Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution, Policies or Program, Regulation
Employment and Training, Immigration, Labour	Immigration policy with respect to workers programs and permits	Policies or Program, Regulation
Health	Nutritional labeling policy with respect to provision of nutrition information	Policies or Program
Taxation and Finance	Regulation of financial institutions with respect to credit card fees	Regulation
Labour, Taxation and Finance	Regulations and policies pertaining to Canada Pension Plan employer/employee premiums	Regulation, Policies or Program
Arts and Culture	Regulations and policies regarding fees to SOCAN and ReSound	Policies or Program, Regulation
Economic Development, Taxation and Finance	Taxation policy with regard to corporate, small business and personal income taxes	Policies or Program
Taxation and Finance	Tax policy on alcohol (escalator excise tax).	Regulation, Policies or Program

Communication Techniques

Written communication
Oral communication
Grass-roots communication

Government Institutions

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Canada Employment Insurance Commission
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT)
Copyright Board of Canada (CB)
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC)
Finance Canada (FIN)
Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
Health Canada (HC)
House of Commons
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
Privy Council Office (PCO)
Public Safety Canada (PS)
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
Senate of Canada
Service Canada (ServCan)
Statistics Canada (StatCan)
Transport Canada (TC)
Treasury Board Of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
Women and Gender Equality (WAGE)

In-house Organization Details

Description of the organization's activities

A not-for-profit trade association representing the interests of the owners and operators of foodservice establishments in Canada.

Responsible officer name and position during the period of this registration

Kelly Higginson, President and CEO

Organization's membership or classes of membership

Membership ranges from the largest national chain to the smallest independent restaurant. There are over 30,000 members across Canada.

Government funding

End date of the last completed financial year: 2025-09-30

List of Government Funding
Government Institution	Funding Received in Last Financial Year	Funding Expected in Current Financial Year
GLOBAL AFFAIRS CANADA / CANEXPORT	$496,231.00	Yes
Ontario Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training	$1,202,472.00	No

In-house Organization Contact Information

Address:
1155 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1J4
Canada

Telephone number: 416-923-8416

Lobbyists Details

Employees who lobby for the organization

Kris Barnier, VP Central Canada | No public offices held
Janick Cormier, VP, Atlantic | Designated public offices held ^Footnote1
Kelly Higginson, President and CEO | No public offices held
Tracy MacGregor, Chief Operating Officer | No public offices held
Cheryl Maitland Muir, Vice President, Western Canada | No public offices held
Anthony Polci, Executive Vice President, Government Relations & Public Affairs | Public offices held
Marie-Pier Richard, Vice President, Quebec | Designated public offices held
Jillian Rodak, Vice President, Sustainability | No public offices held
Matthew Triemstra, Vice President, Federal Affairs | Public offices held
Mark von Schellwitz, Vice President, Western Canada | Public offices held

^Footnote1 Exemption granted under the Lobbying Act

Restaurants Canada

The following names have been used on or after July 2, 2008

Name	From	To
Restaurants Canada	2016-01-27	current
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association operating as Restaurants Canada	2014-03-13	2016-01-27
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association	2008-09-03	2014-03-13

The following names have been used before July 2, 2008

Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association
CANADIAN RESTAURANT AND FOOD SERVICES ASSOCIATION (CRFA)

Restaurants Canada

Responsible Officer History
Responsible Officer Name	From (YYYY-MM-DD)	To (YYYY-MM-DD)
Kelly Higginson	2023-05-10	Current
Christian Buhagiar	2022-09-06	2023-05-10
Roy Little	2022-02-23	2022-09-06
Todd Barclay	2020-08-31	2022-02-23
Roy Little	2020-07-01	2020-08-31
Shanna Munro	2016-06-01	2020-07-01
Donna Dooher	2014-11-12	2016-06-01
Garth Whyte	2009-06-15	2014-11-12
Douglas Needham	1996-03-22	2009-06-15

List of Public Offices Held
Position	Period Held	Last Date Designated Public Office Held
Director of Communications Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Office of Marco Mendicino	January 2019 to January 2021	January 15, 2021

List of Public Offices Held
Position	Period Held	Last Date Designated Public Office Held
Manager of Caucus Services and Operations House of Commons, Conservative Research Group	September 2008 to November 2010	Not a designated office
Special Assistant House of Commons, Colin Carrie, MP	August 2007 to September 2008	Not a designated office
Special Assistant House of Commons, Rob Moore, MP	September 2006 to August 2007	Not a designated office

List of Public Offices Held
Position	Period Held	Last Date Designated Public Office Held
Special Assistant to Federal Minister Energy Mines & Resources, Minister Office	August 1985 to April 1988	Not a designated office

List of Public Offices Held
Position	Period Held	Last Date Designated Public Office Held
Chief of Staff Transport Canada, Office of the Minister of Transport	March 2003 to December 2003	Not a designated office
Director of Communications and Senior Policy Advisor Transport Canada, Office of the Minister of Transport	June 2000 to March 2003	Not a designated office
Special Assistant Transport Canada, Office of the Minister of Transport	June 1997 to June 2000	Not a designated office
Special Assistant House of Commons, Office of the Hon. David Collenette, M.P.	October 1996 to June 1997	Not a designated office
Special Assistant Department of National Defence, Office of the Minister of National Defence	January 1996 to October 1996	Not a designated office
Contact Collections Officer Revenue Canada, North York District Office	July 1993 to December 1995	Not a designated office

List of Public Offices Held
Position	Period Held	Last Date Designated Public Office Held
Director of Communications Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Office of Marco Mendicino	January 2019 to January 2021	January 15, 2021

List of Public Offices Held
Position	Period Held	Last Date Designated Public Office Held
Director of Communications and Parliamentary Affairs House of Commons, Office of the Minister of National Revenue	November 2019 to May 2021	May 7, 2021
Director of Parliamentary Affairs and Issues Manager House of Commons, Office of the Minister of National Revenue	February 2019 to November 2019	November 1, 2019
Issues Manager and Parliamentary Affairs Advisor House of Commons, Office of the Minister of National Revenue	September 2018 to February 2019	February 1, 2019
Regional Desk and Parliamentary Secretary’s Assistant House of Commons, Office of the Minister of National Revenue	March 2017 to September 2018	September 1, 2018
Legislative Assistant House of Commons, Office of Steven MacKinnon, MP for Gatineau	November 2015 to March 2017	Not a designated office
Legislative Assistant House of Commons, Office of Senator Claudette Tardiff	September 2014 to November 2015	Not a designated office

Exemption granted under the Lobbying Act:

Exemption number: 202526-003-E
Effective date: 2025-10-27
End date: 2026-05-08
Reason:

A combination of having less than six months to the end of her prohibition, and her undertaking to respect the following strict conditions:

will lobby federal public office holders only on behalf of her current employer;
will not lobby any of her former colleagues in the Office of the Minister National Revenue; and
will not lobby any public office holder with whom she had direct contact when she was employed in the Office of the Minister of National Revenue, regardless of where in government they are employed.

Date Modified:: 2026-03-23

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Registration - In-house Organization

Restaurants Canada / Kelly Higginson, President and CEO

Registration Information

Associated Communications

Version 75 of 76 (2026-02-02 to 2026-02-12)

Version 75 of 76 (2026-02-02 to 2026-02-12)

Subject Matter Details

Communication Techniques

Government Institutions

Description of the organization's activities

Responsible officer name and position during the period of this registration

Organization's membership or classes of membership

Government funding

In-house Organization Contact Information

Employees who lobby for the organization