Official registries and open data list 32,351 active companies in accommodation and food services in Quebec, which puts Quebec in 1st place in Canada for this sector (91 % of the national total). 1,540 of them (5 %) have at least one known director, and 1,070 (3 %) published an official change in the last 18 months: incorporation, amendment, change of director or address.
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Get 5 profiles from this segmentFood services and accommodation form the country's fourth-largest private employer, with 1.2 million workers and $125 billion in foodservice sales according to Restaurants Canada. The sector lives a contradiction: hotels posted record revenues in 2025 and keep growing in 2026, while restaurants, squeezed between rising costs and customers dining out less, are seeing profitability erode; 41% of operators say they are losing money or breaking even.
NAICS 72 brings together accommodation (hotels, motels, inns, campgrounds, resorts) and food services (full service, limited service, caterers and contract services, drinking places). According to Statistics Canada, food services generated $99.6 billion in operating revenue in 2024 (+4.8%), including $44.9 billion for limited service (+7.7%), which for the first time since the pandemic exceeds full service ($44.2 billion, +1.4%), $7.8 billion for special food services and $2.7 billion for drinking places. The average operating margin is only 4.1%, with cost of goods (35.9%) and payroll (33.6%) absorbing more than two thirds of expenses.
ISED counts 131,170 establishments in 2025, of which 85,793 are employers; 75.8% of these employers have 5 to 99 employees, the highest proportion of any major sector, and only 76 exceed 500 employees. Ontario (32,551 employers), Quebec (18,231), British Columbia (13,296) and Alberta (10,327) hold most of the base. The major players are franchisors (Tim Hortons and Restaurant Brands International, McDonald's Canada, MTY, Recipe Unlimited, A&W, St-Hubert, Groupe Sportscene), institutional caterers (Sodexo, Aramark, Compass) and hotel groups (Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Germain, Fairmont).
The hotel industry has about 7,560 hotels and 466,850 rooms, with 375 projects in the pipeline representing nearly 50,000 rooms, according to CoStar and Horwath HTL. In 2025, national occupancy returned to its 2019 level (66%), the average daily rate reached $216 (+31% over 2019) and RevPAR a record $143.
Food services are slowing. Restaurants Canada estimates real commercial sales growth at 2.3% in 2025 and, in the first quarter of 2026, expected a 0.2% decline for the year, revised to +1.5% in July. Operator surveys are gloomy: 49% report lower sales, 54% fewer guests, 69% see customers dining out less for affordability reasons; 91% cite food cost pressure and 87% labour cost pressure. The share of operators at a loss or breaking even rose from 36% in March to 41% in June 2026, triple the 2019 level. Monthly sales nonetheless keep rising in nominal terms ($8.7 billion in January 2026, +4.9% year over year, Statistics Canada).
Hotels are outperforming. After RevPAR growth of 4.0% in 2025, HVS reports a 6.5% increase over the first six months of 2026, fuelled by domestic demand, international visitors and a favourable Canadian dollar; the West (Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton) gained occupancy points while Montreal and Niagara Falls remained below their 2019 levels. In Montreal, the Association des hôtels du Grand Montréal reports 79.9% occupancy in June 2026 (74.4% a year earlier), at the cost of a lower average rate. Canadian travellers avoiding the United States and major events (the 2026 World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver) are supporting demand.
The underlying trends are quick service and delivery eating into full service, rising rents and insurance, minimum wage increases, the tightening of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program since 2024, order automation (kiosks, apps, ghost kitchens) and delivery platform fees. Restaurants Canada is calling for accelerated depreciation: 73% of operators say tax policy is holding back their investments.
Regulation is mostly provincial and municipal: liquor licences (Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux in Quebec, AGCO in Ontario, LCRB in British Columbia, AGLC in Alberta), food inspection (MAPAQ, Ontario public health units, regional health authorities), labour standards, minimum wage and tipping rules, sales and lodging taxes, occupancy permits and zoning. Federally, the CFIA governs labelling and food safety, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada runs the foreign worker programs on which part of the sector depends.
Associations are active: Restaurants Canada, Association Restauration Québec (ARQ), Hotel Association of Canada, Association Hôtellerie Québec, BC Hotel Association, Alberta Hospitality Association, Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association, as well as tourism bodies (Destination Canada, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec, Destination Toronto, Destination Vancouver). Franchisors and buying groups (Sysco, Gordon Food Service, Colabor) structure procurement.
The major buyers are institutional networks (hospitals, universities, seniors' residences, corporate cafeterias) that award food services through tenders, airports and arenas, shopping centres and event organizers. Public programs include regional tourism funds, BDC and, in Quebec, Investissement Québec and Tourisme Québec.
Who buys what: restaurateurs buy food and beverages, kitchen and refrigeration equipment, point-of-sale and reservation systems, delivery and marketing services, uniforms, cleaning products, insurance and equipment financing; hoteliers buy bedding and fit-out, management and pricing systems, energy, maintenance, laundry and recruiting. Employers with 5 to 99 employees (76% of the sector) buy locally and quickly, often through their distributor or franchisor.
Cycles and signals to watch: seasonality (summer, holidays, school breaks) and events; newly issued liquor and occupancy permits announce openings; Statistics Canada's monthly sales and Restaurants Canada's quarterly surveys set the mood; bankruptcies and closures free up premises and equipment; hotel projects in development (nearly 50,000 rooms) create markets for fit-out and technology.
How ciblr helps: spot new restaurants and hotels through recent registrations by province, filter employers with 5 to 99 employees in tourist regions, identify franchisees and multi-unit operators through ownership links, track job postings for cooks, managers and housekeeping staff as a signal of openings or peak season, and cross-reference public food service and accommodation contracts.
18,231 employers and a distinct framework: RACJ permits, MAPAQ inspections, lodging tax, Bill 96 on French signage and service. Greater Montreal showed 79.9% hotel occupancy in June 2026 according to the AHGM; MTY, St-Hubert, Groupe Sportscene and Germain Hôtels are headquartered there and the ARQ is the restaurateurs' voice.
Of these 32,351 companies, 1,546 are federally incorporated, 30,805 are known through the provincial registry. 5,313 of them were founded in 2025 and 2026, that is 16 % of the active base; 3,144 incorporations in 2025. That is well above the average of the three previous years (2,581 a year): the sector is attracting new entrants.
Over the last 12 months, 162 companies in the sector (<1 %) won at least one public contract, 225 contracts in all, published by governments, cities and public bodies. 12 received a federal grant or contribution (12 agreements).
Headcount is known for 32,300 companies (100 %): 185,186 declared jobs in total, and the median company has 1-4 employees.
1,440 companies (4 %) publish a general phone or email, 1,301 have a website verified by ciblr, 8,315 hold an official licence or permit, 1 show a job posting on their own site.
Moves published in the last 90 days: 5 new incorporations, 38 relocations, 22 public contracts, 46 hirings, 40 dissolutions.
32,351 companies in accommodation and food services are active in Quebec according to official registries and open data, that is 91 % of the 35,627 companies in the sector across Canada.
1,540 of these companies (5 %) have at least one director on the federal registry (the only registry that publishes directors), which lets you approach them through the right person.
ciblr sends 5 company profiles from this target free of charge, directors and contact details included. The subscription at 99 CAD per month gives access to the whole target, with Excel export and change tracking.
Every company counted here is active in an official registry (Corporations Canada, Registraire des entreprises du Québec, OrgBook BC) or named by an official open source (licence, public contract, grant, registered employer). The sector is a NAICS code, size comes from the declared headcount when a source provides it and otherwise from an estimate based on the registry (board size, age, status, statute), and "recent signal" means a published move (incorporation, amendment, change of director, address, contract, grant, hiring) in the last 18 months. Figures are recomputed every week from the ciblr database. No data is purchased or invented.
ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in accommodation and food services in Quebec free of charge, directors and contact details included. For the whole target, the subscription is 99 CAD per month, no commitment.