Restaurant reservations rise in Manitoba amid GST holiday

CTV’s Jeff Keele has more on the restaurant industry pushing the federal government to make the GST holiday permanent.

Restaurants in Manitoba have seen a rise in reservations since the GST holiday came into effect, according to new data.

In December, Ottawa removed GST and HST off several items, including restaurant meals, as an affordability measure through the holidays and into the new year.

Online reservation service OpenTable suggests reservations were up 18 per cent nationwide between Dec. 14 and 27 – immediately after the holiday came into effect. In Manitoba, reservations were up 20 per cent, while Ontario topped the list with a 23 per cent increase.

“It’s a pretty significant rise, even more than normal,” said Shaun Jeffrey, CEO of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

While Jeffrey said it’s a good starting point, he said the real value of the GST holiday won’t be known until numbers from January come in, since the start of the new year is normally when things slow down. However, the restaurant industry is pushing the federal government to make the GST holiday permanent, stretching past its Feb. 15 end date.

“It’s definitely a welcome change to our industry, it’s a welcome change to Manitobans who are also facing these same cost pressures,” he said.

Jeffrey said the results of the GST holiday have been inconsistent, depending on the type of food establishment. He said it’s been more noticeable in the catering sector.

CTV News spoke to several restaurant owners who said they haven’t noticed any sales increase because of the tax break.

“It was met with indifference, honestly,” said Scot McTaggart, the owner of Fusion Grill.

But McTaggart said he’s also on board with keeping the holiday in place.

“We need to level the playing field,” he said. “We need to take GST off restaurant food. We don’t pay GST on food when we go to the grocery store.”