How does Halal Food Pass decide whether a chain is halal?

We publish what the chain says about itself, what a named halal certifier says about it, or what a specific restaurant says, and we say which. We never publish community consensus, other directories, or our own impressions.

Why do so many of these say the chain has not published a position?

Because most of them have not. Fourteen of the eighteen chains we checked in August 2026 had published nothing about halal in Canada. We would rather tell you that than invent an answer.

Does Halal Food Pass certify halal?

No. We report halal information from the chain, from named certifiers or from individual restaurants, with the date we checked. We are not a certifying body.

Checked and sourced

Is it halal?

Canadians ask these questions hundreds of thousands of times a year and almost nobody answers them honestly. So we checked what each chain actually publishes, wrote down where we looked, and dated it. Where a chain has said nothing, we say that — we do not fill the gap with guesswork.

1 not certified
1 sometimes
1 partly
14 nobody has said
1 disputed

What the statuses mean

Halal at all Canadian locations: The chain, or a named halal certifier, states this for Canada.
Varies by location: Halal at some Canadian restaurants and not confirmed at others.
Halal items named, no certification published: The chain names halal ingredients on its own site but claims no certification and names no certifier.
No halal certification nationally: The chain states explicitly that it has no halal certification in Canada. That is about certification, not about slaughter method.
Unclear — no public statement: Nobody has published an answer. The honest default, not a negative finding.

How we decide what to publish

We use the chain's own Canadian website, a written reply from the chain, a named halal certifier's public register, or an individual restaurant's own page — in that order of weight. We never use forums, social-media consensus, other halal directories, news write-ups or our own recollection, and a chain's halal status in another country is never evidence about Canada. Halal Food Pass reports halal information; it does not certify halal.

Where a chain says its food is not halal certified, that is what we print. Certification is a paid third-party audit, and its absence is not the same as a statement about how animals were slaughtered.

New to the question? What is halal food? covers what halal means, what makes meat halal, and what Canadian law requires of a halal claim.

Halal practice can differ between restaurants of the same chain, and suppliers change. Always confirm with the specific restaurant before you order.