The number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) employed in Canada’s health care sector has soared over a 20-year span, according to a report from Statistics Canada (StatCan).
This number has jumped from just 3,200 in 2000 to 57,500 in 2022—a 17-fold increase over two decades, according to the report.
The growth in TFW numbers accelerated sharply in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic and surged even further during the crisis. Between 2019 and 2020 alone, the number of TFWs in health care jumped by 50%, rising from 26,100 to 39,300.
By 2022, TFWs made up 3.0% of the workforce in ambulatory health care services, 1.2% in hospitals, and 4.9% in nursing and residential care facilities. In some subsectors, such as home health care services, TFWs represented nearly 8% of all workers.
The composition of TFWs in health care has also shifted over time. In the early 2000s, most TFWs held health-occupation-specific work permits and were mainly employed in hospitals or ambulatory care. Since 2010, a growing share of TFWs have entered the sector with open or non-health-specific permits, particularly in nursing and residential care facilities. This shift reflects broader changes in immigration and labour policies, as well as the evolving needs of the health care system.
Temporary foreign workers by region
Temporary foreign workers represented an increasing share of the health care sector in all provinces, according to StatCan.
While the TFW population in the health care sector grew significantly in all provinces since the new millennium, the geographical distribution became more concentrated. In 2000, 39% of TFWs in the health care sector were employed in Ontario, 13% in Alberta, 15% in Quebec, 16% in British Columbia, and the remaining 17% were distributed across other regions.
In 2022, 43% of TFWs in the sector worked in Ontario, 26% in Quebec, and 13% in British Columbia.
Meanwhile, the share of TFWs in Alberta dropped sharply over the years, accounting for just 4% of TFWs working in the health care sector nationwide.
Earlier this year, the federal government announced it would be investing $14.3 million across four organizations through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) to relieve pressure on healthcare workers and address healthcare labor shortages.
Canada anticipates a shortage of 78,000 doctors by 2031 and 117,600 nurses by 2030, according to the federal government.
Permanent residency for TFWs
Permanent residency (PR) for TFWs is key to addressing the labour shortage in health care, and the majority of these workers in the sector have transitioned to such status, according to StatCan.
By 2023, 58% of TFWs who worked in the health care sector from 2000 to 2022 had obtained PR in Canada.
“TFWs from developing countries generally had higher PR transition rates than those from other regions. For example, 77% of Filipino workers and 57% of Indian workers had obtained PR status by 2023, compared with 43% of French workers,” say StatCan’s economist Yuqian Lu and principal researcher Feng Hou in the report.
Among new TFWs—those who are employed in Canada for the first time—over the study period, more than one-quarter transitioned to PR within two years after their first employment in the health care sector. The cumulative rate of transition to PR increased for more recent cohorts.
For example, 63% of new TFWs who worked in the health care sector from 2000 to 2004 became permanent residents within 15 years after their first job, while the same transition rate was achieved within seven years for those who entered from 2005 to 2014.
“The long-term viability of TFWs as a stable labour source depends on two factors: the number of workers who transition to PR and the percentage of those who continue to work in the sector after obtaining PR,” say Lu and Hou.
“This study found that recent TFW cohorts had higher rates of transition to PR compared with earlier cohorts, whereas recent PR policy changes may have had a positive impact on the transition rate. After transitioning to PR, TFWs holding health-occupation-specific work permits had higher industry retention rates in the sector than those who did not have health-occupation-specific work permits.”
Meanwhile, British Columbia Premier David Eby has called for the cancellation or significant reform of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), citing concerns that the current system is contributing to ongoing challenges in the province. And 44% of Canadians support phasing out the program, while 30% are opposed and 18% are neutral or undecided, according to a previous report.