Number of temporary foreign workers in Canada last year hit highest point since records began in 2015
Canadian employers’ reliance on temporary foreign workers was on full display last year, when the number of employers allowed to hire workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program more than doubled from five years ago.
Overall, the number of positions approved to be filled by temporary foreign workers in 2023 stood at 239,646, more than double the 108,988 recorded in 2018, CBC reported, citing data from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
The surge came at a time when Ottawa rolled out its Recognized Employer Pilot (REP) under TFW Program.
"All we hear about are labour shortages, [but] we have to begin to recognize that this really is a self-serving narrative mostly coming from corporate Canada," said Mikal Skuterud, a labour economics professor at the University of Waterloo, in the CBC report.
In January, Ottawa expanded the REP to employers in different fields.
How many temporary residents are there in Canada?
The number of temporary foreign workers in Canada last year hit its highest point since records began in 2015. In 2023, there were 183,885 total temporary foreign worker permit holders, up from just 72,960 in 2015, CBC reported, citing data from ESDC.
However, temporary foreign workers continue to be disproportionately represented in low-wage employment.
Overall, the number of positions approved to be filled by temporary foreign workers in the low-wage stream stood at 83,654 by Jan. 1, 2023, nearly quadruple the 21,394 recorded by Jan. 1, 2018.
In comparison, the number of positions approved to be filled by temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream stood at 45,874 by Jan. 1, 2023, up from 14,456 by Jan. 1, 2018.
In February, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) noted that the REP under the TFW program is being exploited by low-wage employers.
Top five jobs in TFW Program
The top five jobs that saw the greatest number of approvals last year were:
- General farm workers - ≈81,500
- Nursery and greenhouse workers - ≈15,400
- Cooks - ≈12,000
- Food service supervisors - ≈10,400
- Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations - ≈8,300
By late 2020, the share of immigrants participating in the labour force surpassed that of the Canadian-born population. And in early 2024, the participation rate of immigrants outperformed Canadian-born workers by 2%, according to RBC.
In May, Ottawa started limiting the use of the TFW Program to employers who absolutely cannot find Canadians who can fill job openings.
In May, the Senate called for an end to employer-specific work permits under the TFW Program, noting that the program is “not working well for employers or workers”. In their recommendations, however, the Senate failed to seize on the temporary status of the workers themselves, which is the root cause of their vulnerabilities, according to one expert.
Another report called for the federal government to grant migrant workers permanent residency upon their arrival in Canada.
