History of Smoking in Canadian Restaurants

In the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, smoking was ubiquitous in Canadian restaurants. There were no restrictions whatsoever. Fine dining establishments had elegant glass ashtrays as part of their table settings — just like salt and pepper shakers. Coffee shops had chrome ashtrays at every booth. Even fast-food restaurants like Harvey’s and McDonald’s had small ashtrays on trays.

• 🍽️ Table ashtrays: Standard equipment in every restaurant, from diners to five-star hotels.
• 📰 Cigarette vending machines: Located in restaurant lobbies — buy a pack of Player’s or Export ‘A’ with your meal.
• 👔 No “non-smoking sections”: The concept didn’t exist. The entire restaurant was smoking-allowed.
• 🎵 Cigarette girls: In upscale restaurants, women in uniforms walked around selling cigarettes and matches to diners.

The 1980s brought the first attempts at separation. Restaurants began offering “non-smoking sections” — usually a small area in the back, poorly ventilated, and separated by nothing more than a waist-high partition or a thin curtain. The smoke still drifted everywhere. But it was a start.

• 📏 1987: First guidelines — Health Canada recommended that restaurants create separate smoking areas, but no law required it.
• 🍁 1994: Toronto leads the way — Toronto became one of the first Canadian cities to restrict restaurant smoking, requiring physical barriers and separate ventilation (rarely enforced).
• 👩‍🍳 Restaurant workers suffer: Waitstaff and cooks had no protection — studies showed they had lung cancer rates 50% higher than the general population.
• 🔄 The “accordion wall” era: Some restaurants installed folding walls to separate sections, but ceiling gaps let smoke through.

The 2000s saw a wave of provincial legislation that finally ended indoor restaurant smoking. Prince Edward Island led the nation in 2003, followed by Manitoba and New Brunswick in 2004. Ontario and Quebec passed their landmark laws in 2006. By 2010, every province had banned smoking inside restaurants, bars, and all workplaces.

• 🏆 PEI (2003): Canada’s first province to fully ban restaurant and bar smoking.
• 📅 Ontario (2006): The Smoke-Free Ontario Act was a game-changer — fines up to $5,000 for businesses that allowed smoking.
• ⚜️ Quebec (2006): La Loi sur le tabac banned smoking in all restaurants, even in outdoor sections if partially enclosed.
• 🍷 Patio loophole: Initially, many provinces allowed smoking on open patios. This was gradually closed (Ontario extended the ban to patios in 2015).
• 🔒 Enforcement: Public health inspectors conducted undercover visits. Restaurants caught violating bans faced massive fines.