Canadian Government Aims to Reduce Use of Temporary Foreign Workers

The Canadian government is taking steps to reduce reliance on temporary foreign workers and to address fraud and abuse within the system. This announcement comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government faces increasing pressure to control temporary immigration, which includes individuals on study permits.

Measures Announced by the Government

According to a release from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), several measures were outlined during a meeting with business representatives. Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, stated, “Bad actors are taking advantage of people and compromising the programme for legitimate businesses. We are putting more reforms in place to stop misuse and fraud from entering the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”

One of the potential actions being considered is implementing a refusal to process under the low wage stream. If this is enacted, it would prevent employers in specific areas and industries from utilizing the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program.

The ESDC emphasized that the TFW Program is designed to adapt to changes in the labor market. After the COVID-19 pandemic, various changes were introduced to meet urgent employment needs. However, as the labor market stabilizes, the TFW Program is being adjusted to ensure that only employers with clear labor market needs can access it.

Context and Political Pressure

This initiative comes amid mounting pressure on the Trudeau government to manage temporary immigration more effectively. High levels of immigration have contributed to a housing affordability crisis in Canada, impacting the political standing of Trudeau’s Liberal Party.

At the end of 2023, nearly 190,000 people held valid work permits through the TFW program, a 157% increase from 2019. In the first quarter of this year, employers received government approval to hire 28,730 people through the low-wage stream, a 25% increase from 2023, marking the highest quarterly number for such approvals in government records dating back to 2016.

Data and Future Projections

Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that in 2023, there were 183,760 TFWP permit holders, with 28,215 from India. By June of this year, Indians accounted for 17,095 of the 109,840 permit holders. Comparatively, in 2015, before the Trudeau government took office, Indians formed 1,955 of the overall 72,960 TFWP work permit holders.

On March 21 this year, IRCC announced plans to reduce the intake of non-permanent residents (NPRs) to lower their population share from 6.2% to 5% over three years. However, the Bank of Canada (BoC), in its July 24 Monetary Policy Report, indicated that NPRs represented 6.8% of the population at the beginning of April and are expected to continue rising in the near term. This suggests that it will take longer for planned policies to achieve the 5% target.

NPRs include international students, temporary workers, and refugees, with international students forming the majority.

These measures and adjustments aim to ensure that the TFW Program serves its intended purpose without being exploited, while also addressing broader immigration concerns impacting Canada’s infrastructure and political landscape.