New changes to Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program are now in effect. Here's what you need to know:
What has changed?
As announced by Employment and Social Development Canada in August, several changes took effect on Thursday.
Going forward, the federal government will no longer administer Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in areas of the country with unemployment rates of six per cent or more, particularly assessments in the low-wage sector of the TFW programme. By refusing to process these forms, the government will in most cases deter employers from hiring TFWs as long as unemployment remains high in their area.
In addition, employers are now prohibited from hiring more than 10 percent of their workforce through Canada's TFW program. This percentage applies to low-wage workers, as described above. Previously, the upper limit was 20 percent.
Finally, a participant in the TFW program may only work in a low-paying job for one year (instead of two years previously).
Who is affected?
Thursday's changes affect workers and employers in the low-wage sector of the TFW program, which regulates jobs that pay less than the average hourly wage in the province or territory in which they are located.
Exceptions may apply to workers in some key seasonal and non-seasonal industries, including agriculture, food processing, construction and health care.
In addition, a temporary suspension of LMIA applications was imposed in Montreal earlier this month and is expected to come back into force on March 3. The suspension applies to jobs with an hourly wage below the Quebec median of $27.47 per hour.
Why does this happen?
After years of a sharp increase in the number of people holding work and/or study permits in Canada, the Canadian federal government announced tighter restrictions on non-permanent immigration in recent months.
Thursday's changes are just the latest efforts to restrict eligibility, the press release said. Since October 2023, TFW's workforce caps have dropped from 30 to 20 percent and now from 20 to 10 percent.
“As the labour market situation improved, the Canadian government began to roll back pandemic measures designed to address the extraordinary labour shortage,” it said.
“Employers in Canada have a responsibility to invest in the full range of workforce available in this country.”
The August statement from Canada's Department of Employment and Social Development noted two consecutive months of rising unemployment in May and June, with the most recent data at that time showing a national unemployment rate of 6.4 percent.
“The temporary foreign worker program was designed to address shortages in the labour market when qualified Canadians cannot fill those positions,” Labour Minister Randy Boissonnault said in the press release.
“The changes we are making today will prioritize Canadian workers and ensure Canadians can have confidence that the program will meet the needs of our economy.”
What happens next?
The Ministry of Employment and Social Development states that the federal government will “continue to monitor conditions on the labour market and make further adjustments to the programme if necessary”, with a substantive review expected before the end of the year.
Further adjustments, the August press release warned, could impact the TFW program's high-wage programs, as well as existing but unfilled LMIA positions, current exemptions for some economic sectors, and a potential extension of restrictions to rural areas not included in a CMA.
According to recent estimates, by 2023, approximately 10 million Canadians, or just over a quarter of the population, will live outside a CMA.