The federal government’s push to wean businesses off their temporary foreign worker (TFW) addiction isn’t going to plan.
Driving the news: Canadian employers recruited low-wage foreign workers at a record-high rate to start the year, despite Ottawa’s recent efforts to shrink Canada’s temporary resident population, which has more than doubled over the last two years.
By the numbers: According to Employment and Social Development Canada, employers got approval from the feds to hire 28,730 people through the low-wage stream of the TFW program in the first quarter of this year, a 25% jump from the same period in 2023.
- Approvals for the entire TFW program from January to March were up 13% compared to last year, with employers getting the green light to bring in 71,000 temporary workers over that span.
Why it matters: Before turning to the TFW program, employers are supposed to provide proof that they can’t find a Canadian worker for the job — experts say that should be more difficult now that unemployment is rising.
- Critics of the program have long argued that letting employers fill 20-30% of their workforce with cheap foreign labour would inevitably hurt Canadian workers and drive down wages.
What’s next: Immigration Minister Marc Miller promised new measures aimed at cutting the temporary resident population by 20% over the next three years, saying “the era of uncapped programs” would end.—LA