The federal government has announced significant changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign labour in favour of Canadian workers, it said.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, revealed today that these adjustments come in response to rising unemployment and concerns about the misuse of the TFW Program.
Starting Sept. 26, 2024, the government will refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in the Low-Wage stream for areas where the unemployment rate exceeds 6%. While exceptions will be made for certain industries — such as primary agriculture, food processing, fish processing, construction, and healthcare — the broader intent is to ensure that employers prioritize hiring from within Canada’s domestic workforce.
Under the new rules, employers will be limited to hiring a maximum of 10% of their workforce through the TFW Program’s Low-Wage stream, a reduction from the previous limit of 20% set earlier this year. Additionally, the maximum duration of employment for temporary foreign workers in this stream will be reduced to one year, down from the current two years.
“The Temporary Foreign Worker program was designed to address labour market shortages when qualified Canadians were not able to fill those roles,” Minister Boissonnault stated. “Right now, we know that there are more Canadians qualified to fill open positions. The changes we are making today will prioritize Canadian workers and ensure Canadians can trust the program is meeting the needs of our economy.”
These adjustments follow a trend of tightening restrictions as the Canadian labour market has shown signs of loosening. Data from the Labour Force Survey indicates that the unemployment rate has climbed to 6.4% as of June 2024, marking a steady increase since April 2023. This has prompted the government to roll back pandemic-era expansions of the TFW Program, which had been implemented to address critical labour shortages at the time.
In line with these changes, the government has indicated that further reviews of the TFW Program will be conducted within the next 90 days. These reviews could result in additional modifications, including changes to the High-Wage Stream and further adjustments to existing LMIA applications.
The move aligns with the government’s broader strategy to encourage employers to invest more in training and upskilling Canadian workers. Employers are urged to explore untapped labour pools within the country, such as young people, newcomers, and persons with disabilities, who remain underutilized in the workforce.
The government has also recently approved a temporary freeze on the approval of new temporary foreign workers in Montreal’s low-wage stream, effective Sept. 3, 2024. This six-month freeze is specific to job offers with wages below the Quebec median hourly rate of $27.47.
