Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used only when qualified Canadians and Permanent Residents are not able to fill those job vacancies.
The Government of Canada is aware that the TFW program has been used to circumvent hiring talented workers in Canada and that there has been reported abuse of the program and of workers.
That is why, earlier this month, the Hon. Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, brought together business organizations to seek input and inform them that the Government of Canada will reduce and tighten criteria & compliance audits for access to the Program.
Given current labour market conditions, and to further reduce the reliance of Canadian employers on the Program, Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, announced today (August 26, 2024) that the Government will take further action to reduce TFW Program misuse and fraud.
In response to the current employment environment, the Government will refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in the Low-wage stream, regulating employers to hire no more than 10% of their total workforce through the TFW program and limit the maximum duration of TFW workers to 1 year instead of the 2 years, previously.
Employers in Canada have a responsibility to invest in the full range of workers available in Canada, such as young people, newcomers, and persons with disabilities, who are too often an untapped labour resource in Canada.
Employers will be required to also invest in retraining or upskilling to ensure that those they currently employ can adapt to the economy of the future.
The Government of Canada will continue to work with businesses and organizations to help them find the workers they need and ensure that Canadian workers have the opportunities they deserve, by providing supports for training and education.
The Government of Canada will continue to monitor labour market conditions and introduce further adjustments to the Program as needed in the coming months to ensure that only employers with demonstrable labour market needs have access to the Program. Within the next 90 days, further review will be undertaken of the Program, which could result in changes to the High-Wage Stream, to existing LMIA applications for which positions have not been filled, to sectoral exceptions, or refusing to process other LMIA applications, including for rural areas.
Please feel free to contact my office with any further questions regarding this program. Send an email to hedy.fry@parl.gc.ca, or call us at 604-666-0135.
