Online ordering for restaurants across Canada, from Vancouver pickup to Montréal delivery

Direct ordering for Canadian restaurants: the decisions that are actually local

Most of what makes direct ordering work is the same in Toronto as in Austin: put a link where regulars look, make pickup painless, keep the customer’s number. The parts that are specifically Canadian are tax, language and delivery staffing, and they deserve a few paragraphs each.

Tax: the province decides, you collect

The federal GST is 5 per cent everywhere. Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island harmonise it into HST between 13 and 15 per cent. Québec adds QST at 9.975 per cent. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba run separate provincial taxes, and their treatment of restaurant food differs: British Columbia exempts most food for human consumption from PST, Saskatchewan has applied PST to restaurant meals since April 2017, and Manitoba applies its retail sales tax to restaurant meals. Alberta and the territories have GST only.

On a marketplace order, how tax is collected depends on the platform’s arrangement. On a direct order, there is no ambiguity: you are the seller. Tuckly applies the rates and treatment you configure at checkout; it does not know your province’s rules for you. Set it up with your accountant and check it against a counter receipt before launch. (Province-level rates summarised from public tax guides checked October 2026; confirm current figures with the CRA and your provincial authority.)

Language: Québec is its own market

Law-firm commentary on Québec’s Bill 96, the overhaul of the Charter of the French Language, describes French-language requirements for websites and menus aimed at Québec customers, with the final provisions in force from 1 June 2025 and registration with the Office québécois de la langue française for businesses of 25 or more employees. We are not lawyers and the commentary we read was secondary, so take advice.

What Tuckly does and does not do here is simple: menu text is free-form, so you can write item names and descriptions in French, or in both languages on the same line. There is no bilingual toggle that shows a French menu to one customer and an English one to another. If that matters to you, it is better to know now than after setup.

Delivery: pickup first, drivers if you have them

Porter does not operate in Canada and Tuckly has no Canadian courier integration, so delivery on your direct site means your own drivers, assigned per order from the order screen. The honest advice for most Canadian independents is pickup first. A pickup order on a marketplace carries a published commission in the US tiers and whatever your Canadian contract says; on your own site it carries a card fee. The self-delivery page covers what to charge once you do put a driver on.

Payment: one percentage, and it is not ours

Online payment runs through a supported processor at that processor’s published Canadian rate. Tuckly does not add a commission. Tipping at checkout is not a confirmed feature, and we would rather say that plainly than have you discover it on the first delivery order. The pricing page states the subscription.

POS: what the directory says

Square sells Square for Restaurants in Canada and processes Canadian payments through open developer APIs. Clover lists Canada among its markets and approves production developer accounts individually. Lightspeed, based in Montréal, is available in Canada with K-Series API access reserved for partners and approved merchants. For each, the integrations directory states whether Tuckly pushes orders in today, syncs menus, or is still in discussion. A logo is not an integration.

What to do this week

Add the ordering link to Google Business Profile. Print a QR on the bag or the counter card. Tell the regulars the site is the same price for them and better for you. Then compare the marketplace statement at month end with the previous one, and use the commission calculator with your real rate.