Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program is under threat of being closed down permanently. The voice against the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is rising as Canadians feel that jobs are being taken away by foreigners.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for an immediate end to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, stating it is necessary to protect domestic youth and workers, reports Global News.
Poilievre urged the government to cease issuing new permits for the program, which he described as suppressing wages and stealing opportunities.
Pierre Poilievre stated that the temporary foreign worker program would be permanently abolished under an urgent plan, with a new, separate program established specifically for agricultural labor shortages that are genuinely difficult to fill.
Poilievre proposes that Canada should cease issuing new permits, with regions experiencing ultra-low unemployment having a maximum five-year transition period for the program’s wind-down.
A recent Nanos poll shows that Canadians are more than twice as likely to support (45%) or somewhat support (26%) reducing the number of new immigrants into Canada, compared to those who
oppose (9%) or somewhat oppose (17%).
Similarly, over three in five Canadians support or somewhat support (33% each) the government reducing its target for new temporary residents that it plans to accept, from 673,650 temporary residents in 2025, to 516,600 in 2026 and then a slight increase to 543,600 in 2027, rather than oppose (13% oppose, 14% somewhat oppose).
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to fill temporary jobs when qualified Canadians are not available. However, the TFW program has been under fire for being misused against Canadian workers.
To qualify for the TWF program, an employer must apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to hire a foreign worker to fill labour or skills shortages temporarily.
Government’s Stand
Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed that the Temporary Foreign Workers program plays a role in Canada’s economy and that the government is working to ensure its effectiveness, speaking after Poilievre’s announcement.
“We will be discussing how well the Temporary Foreign Worker program is working and how our overall immigration system is working,” Carney told reporters at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Toronto on Wednesday. He added that the government was taking “clear steps to adjust” the immigration system.
Carney said, “When I talk to businesses around the country, the number one issue is tariffs and their number two issue is access to temporary foreign workers.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said Poilievre’s recent statements on immigration contained “inaccurate or incomplete information.”
“The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is designed to be responsive to changes in the labour market and to allow employers in Canada to hire foreign workers when qualified Canadians or permanent residents are not available to fill job positions,” the department told Global News in an emailed statement.
New Rules Since September 2024
On September 26, 2024, Canada set a 10% cap on low-wage hires per workplace, 20% in certain in-demand sectors, and introduced a refusal-to-process policy in urban areas with unemployment at or above 6%. Further, the maximum duration of employment for workers hired through the Low-Wage stream has been reduced to one year from two years.
As of November 8, 2024, more positions were subject to these rules due to an increase in the wage threshold for the high-wage stream. Canada expects the number of work permits and extensions to go down in the months ahead to reflect the impact of the new measures.