Ottawa Tightens Rules on Temporary Foreign Workers Program

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to media at the federal ministers cabinet retreat in Halifax, on Aug. 26, 2024. Kelly Clark/The Canadian Press

The federal government is taking steps to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in the country, seeking to stamp out fraud and misuse.

“It’s not fair to Canadians struggling to find a good job, and it’s not fair to those temporary foreign workers, some of whom are being mistreated and exploited,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said while announcing the changes at a cabinet retreat in Halifax on Aug. 26.

Trudeau noted the number of workers accepted into the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFW) increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to address worker shortages, but said existing levels are not appropriate in the current labour environment.

The number of work permit holders was slightly over half a million in 2021 and climbed to over 1.3 million in the second quarter of 2024, according to Statistics Canada.

The prime minister encouraged businesses to invest in training and technology instead of relying on low-cost foreign labour.

Unemployment nationwide has been trending upward since April 2023, according to Statistics Canada, rising to 6.4 percent in June.

The specific measures announced by Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault on Aug. 26, include refusing TFW applications in the low-wage stream in metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6 percent or higher.

Ottawa is also capping at 10 percent the number of foreign workers part of a total workforce who can be hired through the program’s low-wage stream.

There will be exceptions for both measures in the sectors of construction, health care, and seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in food security sectors.

The federal government will also reduce the maximum duration of employment for temporary workers in the low-wage stream from two to one year. Boisonnault said the measures are expected to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers by 65,000.

Trudeau said cabinet is also considering making changes to the high-wage stream program while a review is conducted over the next three months.

The measures to curb temporary foreign workers will be effective Sept. 26 and come as Ottawa is facing pressure to address record-level housing costs. They follow other previous measures targeting temporary immigration, with Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this year imposing a cap on international students and raising their cost-of-living requirement.

Temporary and permanent immigration has increased at a record pace in recent years. The number of non-permanent residents in the country more than doubled from 2021 to 2024, reaching over 2.7 million.

Ottawa has also systematically increased its target levels for new permanent residents, seeking to reach 500,000 by 2025. While there has been no talk of reducing that number, it has been capped at 500,000 for year 2026.

Trudeau didn’t say whether his government would make further changes to target levels for permanent residents but said it is part of “ongoing conversations that we’re having that we’re taking extremely seriously.”

“We’re looking at the various streams to make sure that as we move forward, Canada remains a place that is positive in its support for immigration, but also responsible in the way we integrate and make sure there’s pathways to success for everyone who comes to Canada,” he said.