Canadian roasters are building a specialty coffee culture on their own terms

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Key takeaways

• 71% of Canadian adults drank coffee in the past day.
• Tim Hortons remains dominant, but specialty coffee is gaining ground.
• Cities like Vancouver, Calgary, and Montréal lead Canada’s specialty scene.
• US tariffs tested Canadian roasters who relied on cross-border supply chains.

---

Canada’s coffee culture has grown fast. According to the Coffee Association of Canada, 71% of Canadian adults drank coffee in the past day, making it the country’s most consumed beverage. National consumption has risen by almost a million 60kg bags per year over the last decade, with Canadians averaging 2.7 cups daily.

Adam Pesce, President and owner of Reunion Coffee Roasters in Toronto, Ontario, says the country’s coffee history has closely followed the broader “waves” of coffee. “Although we may not have been a real trailblazer relative to some of the more progressive coffee cultures around the world, we’ve always punched above our weight in terms of our influence,” he says.

Adam’s father, Peter, began working in coffee in the 1970s and helped pioneer modern direct trade and quality-driven practices. His roastery, Bourbon Coffee, was among the first second-wave roasters in Canada.

Today, like many other major coffee consumers, homegrown chains lead the market. Tim Hortons, founded in 1964 and well known for its doughnuts, is more popular in Canada than McDonald’s and has become deeply embedded in Canadian culture. Yet across the country, independent cafés and roasteries are building a specialty-focused scene.

You may also like our article on how tariffs reshaped coffee trade in North America.

Specialty coffee expands in Canada

Veronica Ortiz Rodriguez, Brand, Marketing and Consumer Experience Lead for Rabbit Hole Roasters in Montréal, Québec, which opened in 2018, says the industry is still finding its feet. “Coffee in Canada has evolved a lot, but it’s still in transition. For a long time, it was dominated by commodity coffee and larger chains, and honestly, that’s still the reality today,” she tells me. 

“Specialty is growing, but it’s still a small part of the overall market. There’s more awareness around quality and sourcing, but there’s still a lot of work to be done across the board.”

Today, the Canadian coffee industry is valued at around CA$6.2bn and employs over 160,000 people.

“Vancouver feels like the origin point for a lot of Canada’s third wave coffee movement,” Adam explains. Vancouver roaster 49th Parallel, a Blend Silver Winner at the 2025 Global Coffee Awards US & Canada edition, opened its first café in 2007, spurring the growth of the city’s specialty coffee scene. Today, other notable roasters and coffee shops in Vancouver include Nemesis, Revolver, Prototype, Propaganda, Pallet Coffee Roasters, Oidé Coffee, and more.

Located near the Rocky Mountain foothills, Calgary is home to world-class roasters like Monogram, co-founded by seven-time Canadian Barista Champion Ben Put, and Phil & Sebastian, a Filter Gold Winner at the 2025 Global Coffee Awards US & Canada edition.

“Calgary has asserted its dominance over the ‘competitive’ coffee landscape, and Toronto helped ‘commercialise’ and expand what specialty has become,” Adam says. 

Toronto’s coffee scene has exploded in recent years. Often referred to as the world’s most international city, where more than 140 languages are spoken, Toronto is home to Pilot Coffee Roasters (opened in 2009), Subtext Coffee Roasters, De Mello, Fika, Propellor, Library, Hatch, and more.

Different cities, different coffee scenes

Known for its food and jazz scene and European-inspired culture, Montréal also has a thriving specialty coffee scene. “Ever the cultural hotbed, Montréal fostered a new generation of micro-roasters with its pioneering of the co-op roasting space, allowing cafés to determine their offerings at a whole new level,” says Adam.

In 2018, Scott Rao and Andy Kyres founded the Canadian Roasting Society, providing a creative space for roasters to develop their skills. Numerous roasters and cafés also operate in Montréal, including Dispatch, Crew Collective, Eclair, 94 Celsius, Escape, Traffic, Jungle, and more.

“Montréal stands out because shops are very intentional about their brand identity. Everyone is trying to carve out something distinct rather than follow a standard specialty template,” Veronica says. “It’s a real melting pot beyond just French and Anglo-Canadian influences, and that diversity shows up in how cafés approach coffee and hospitality.”

Beyond major cities, places like Edmonton, Ottawa, and Halifax are home to exceptional cafés and roasteries. Pioneers like North Roast Coffee Roasters, one of the first specialty coffee roasters in Kingston, Ontario, have been operating for almost three decades – defining local coffee scenes.

“Specialty coffee is truly everywhere in Canada thanks to the passion that’s been fostered from coast to coast”, says Adam.

A specialty coffee market that stands out as its own

With annual coffee consumption steadily rising, Canada’s specialty market will continue its upward trajectory. As it gains an international reputation for exceptional coffee, Canada increasingly stands out against its southern neighbour, the US – one of the most established coffee-consuming countries in the world.

“Canadians are deeply habitual coffee drinkers. We’re one of the highest per-capita consuming countries in the world, but for a long time, the culture was more about ritual than quality,” Adam says. “Tim Hortons’ Double-Double – brewed coffee with two creams and two sugars – is practically a national icon, and there is something genuinely comforting about that tradition.

“Most Canadians opt for a good old-fashioned cup of drip coffee,” he adds. Research from the Coffee Association of Canada, however, finds that 29% of Canadian adults had an espresso-based drink in the past day – signalling a shift in consumer behaviour.

Green coffee sourcing practices are also evolving. “There’s a small but growing shift toward long-term relationships with producers, not just buying coffee year to year. More companies, like our partners Semilla Coffee, and what we’re building here at Rabbit Hole, are committing to working with the same producers crop after crop,” Veronica explains. 

“That also means paying higher prices than local markets, investing in infrastructure or education when and where needed, and supporting projects that are socially forward and rooted in real impact at origin,” she adds. “It’s less about surface-level narratives and more about giving producers the tools to build independence and long-term success within their own communities. 

“This kind of consistency plus shared growth is still not the norm, but it’s where the industry needs to go if we’re serious about sustainability and equity.”

Unprecedented challenges emerged – and Canadians adapted

The US and Canada have one of the most open trade relationships in the world. But in February 2025, US President Trump’s 25% tariffs threatened the US$2.5bn worth of goods and services crossing the border every day.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retaliated by imposing tariffs on imported goods from the US, including coffee. This raised prices for Canadian roasters who relied on US green coffee importers, some of which have a well-established presence in the Canadian market.

In response, some roasters may have switched to homegrown importers. But with Canada’s main shipping port located in Delta, British Columbia, increased shipping costs were also a concern.

Although coffee has since been exempted, US-Canada tariffs remain in place – straining a historically friendly trade relationship. Trump’s remarks about making Canada the “51st State” were also met with intense backlash, even prompting some café owners to rename the americano as the “Canadiano” as an act of defiance.

Tariffs tested the resilience of the Canadian coffee industry, with many roasters reliant on cross-border supply chains. But its specialty coffee market continues to thrive.

From Vancouver’s pioneering third-wave brands to Montréal’s innovative micro-roasters, Canada has built a truly unique coffee scene. Each city offers its own distinct coffee experience, and with consumption rising, the country is on track to keep defining specialty coffee culture on its own terms.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why roasters are continuing to collaborate.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!