Petition Gains Momentum Calling on Canada to End Tipping Culture

A Change.org petition calling for an end to tipping culture in Canada gained 12,500 new signatures in less than 24 hours, according to its organiser, Warren Narayan.

Narayan started the petition in July 2024, and it asks Canadians to treat tipping as a choice again. Its three demands are to eliminate lower minimum wages for tipped employees, improve transparency around employee compensation, and make payment-terminal tipping prompts easier to bypass. It also urges Canadians to consider a fixed dollar amount instead of a percentage.

"The problem isn't that people don't deserve to be paid fairly," Narayan said. "It's that paying employees is the responsibility of businesses, not their customers." He said Canadians should not feel they have "done something wrong" when they don't tip.

A recent survey by Actual, the State of Tipping in Canada 2026 report, found that 67 per cent of tipped workers say their tip amounts have fallen over the past two years. Ontario had the highest share, at 72 per cent. Forty-three per cent of tipped workers said they rely on tips to cover rent, groceries and bills. Sixty-two per cent said tips should be tied to quality of service rather than the total bill.

The petition cites a minimum-wage range of $15 in Alberta to $20.17 in Nunavut. Those are general minimum wages, not tipped rates. Ontario eliminated its separate liquor server minimum wage in January 2022, so servers there earn the general rate.

The petition's demands have not yet drawn a reported response from businesses, restaurant industry groups or the government.