People Are Sharing Their Thoughts On The Tipping Culture In Canada & It's Pretty Heated

When and how much you should tip in Canada is a confusing topic for some and with the price of just about everything rising in the country, it's also leading to frustration.

Over on the Reddit thread r/AskACanadian, one user asked, "What's your opinion on tipping culture?"

"It's gotten out of hand," wrote the person asking the question. "With the ongoing cost of living and inflation crises, it's also quite ridiculous that even places where you don't tip normally are now asking you for tips...and even then, their default options are 18% minimum! I wanna know what the rest of you guys think."

And people were quick to chime in.

"It's absolutely out of control and we have some of the highest tipping rates in the world right now," said one user. "The percentage is unreasonably high and the amount of industries requesting tips is growing every day."

"It's like another form of tax I have to pay," explained another.

Tipping culture in Canada can seem particularly brutal after international travel, according to one Redditor.

"Spent a couple weeks in Europe this fall and I'm completely over tipping," they shared. "Tipping is never expected and if you do feel like doing it all you have to do is a couple euros."

"To be very honest I f*cking hate it," another said of having to tip, making it clear that he doesn't blame the wait staff for the situation.

"In Ireland you used to give like 2-3 euro as a display of thanks to a truly excellent service. Out here I'm expected to give at least 10% for what is the bare minimum. Point is, it shouldn't be compulsive. At least as an outsider's view in."

As well, others shared the growing frustration around getting asked to tip in a situation where you aren't having a sit-down meal with table service.

"No matter what the POS machine 'suggests,' I'm not tipping a restaurant for counter service or a takeout order," someone wrote.

In terms of when it is actually absolutely necessary to tip, etiquette expert Lisa Orr shared some advice with Narcity Canada.

"The one case where I would say it's really non-negotiable — and if you can't afford it, you shouldn't go — is in a restaurant context," said Orr.

She explained that if you're not planning to leave somewhere between 15 and 20% then you'll actively be hurting your server's bottom line.

"That's the expectation, and it's part of how people in the restaurant industry form a living wage," she said. "So that's the one place where I think it's really societally non-negotiable."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.