Federal Government of Canada to restrict low-wage foreign workers

4 September 2024 | Canada

Federal Government of Canada to restrict low-wage foreign workers

As the federal government proposes new restrictions to reduce the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encourages businesses to hire Canadians.

Additionally, Ottawa is considering whether to lower its annual targets for permanent residency, which may represent a significant change in the Liberals’ immigration policy.

Pre-pandemic regulations that made it more difficult for companies to hire low-wage foreign laborers are being reinstated by the federal government in response to growing criticism of the recent surge in temporary foreign workers.

Trudeau claimed that his government has relaxed regulations to benefit companies suffering from a labor shortage in their post-pandemic recovery. However, he noted that the current economic situation has changed and that Canada “no longer needs as many temporary foreign workers.”

“We need Canadian businesses to invest in training and technology and not increasing their reliance on low-cost foreign labour,” Trudeau stated.

“It’s not fair to Canadians struggling to find a good job, and it’s not fair to those temporary foreign workers, some of whom are being mistreated and exploited.”

According to Trudeau, Randy Boissonnault, the minister of employment, is also considering altering the program’s high-wage stream.

When questioned about whether restricting the number of permanent residents is something the federal government has been looking at, the prime minister responded that those were “ongoing conversations.”

The Liberals’ latest attempt to restrict immigration is Monday’s announcement, which comes in reaction to criticism of its immigration policies.

Applications for low-wage temporary foreign workers will be rejected by the government starting on September 26 in areas where the unemployment rate is six percent or above.

Employers may now only hire up to 10% of their workforce through the temporary foreign worker program, as opposed to 20% previously. The maximum term for employees hired under the low-wage stream has been reduced from two years to one year. There will be some exceptions to the regulations for some industries, such building and healthcare.

“To those who would complain about worker shortages, here’s my message: there is no better time to hire and invest in Canadian workers,” Trudeau stated.

Recent years have seen significant immigration-driven population growth, which has raised housing demand and, according to economists, made housing less affordable.

The program for temporary foreign workers has also come under criticism for allowing in cheap labor into the country

In 2022, the Canadian government relaxed program limits, resulting in over one million job openings nationwide and a record-low 4.9% unemployment rate. Since then, the number of job openings has drastically dropped, and the unemployment rate is rising as high interest rates impede economic expansion.

The unemployment rate was 6.4% in July.

The federal government has been under fire from economists for keeping the lenient regulations in place, claiming that they deter companies from making innovative investments and drive down employee wages.

Mike Moffatt, an economist with the Smart Prosperity Institute who is set to speak to cabinet Tuesday morning about the state of Canada’s middle class, called the move a great first step — “But only a first step.”

“Today’s changes basically roll us back to where we were in April 2022. I think there’s a lot more to do,” he said.

Moffatt said there are more streams of foreign workers that could be restricted, adding there’s been a massive increase in high-wage administrative assistants hired from abroad.

“We’re moving in the right direction. We’re just not doing so far enough or fast enough to address this crisis.”

Despite defending its decision to loosen the regulations, the Liberal government is now admitting that it is time to tighten them once more.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada released data that shows 183,820 temporary foreign labor permits went into force in 2023. That was an 88% rise from 98,025 in 2019.

Later, Trudeau’s remarks regarding possibly decreasing the nation’s goals for permanent residents were reiterated by Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

“All options are on the table,” Miller said.

“I’ve heard directly from Canadians about where they see the direction of immigration going, and I think they’re asking us to adjust.”

Miller said cabinet has not yet discussed lowering immigration targets, but that over the next few weeks it will consider a wide range of options.

Canada is currently set to welcome 500,000 permanent residents in both 2025 and 2026, up from 485,000 this year.

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman said the Liberal government’s announcement amounted to a reversal of its own policies.

She also attacked Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who was previously responsible for the immigration file.

“Today, they’ve walked back the disastrous policies of Sean Fraser, who at the time was immigration minister, who broke our immigration system and is now responsible for fixing housing. Canadians don’t buy it anymore,” Lantsman said.

As immigration minister, Fraser increased permanent resident targets and argued that Canada needed more people to grow the economy and help build more homes.

Historically, there have been no targets for temporary residents and the temporary foreign worker program is overseen by the employment minister.

However, Miller announced in March the federal government will begin including targets for both temporary and permanent residents in its immigration levels plan this fall.

Miller also pledged to decrease the share of temporary residents in the country to five per cent of the population over the next three years.

According to Statistics Canada data, temporary residents represented 6.8 per cent of the population as of April 1.

For more details & questions, Kindly contact us and one of our Immigration Consultants & Immigration Lawyers will respond to you.

Latest Immigration News

All Posts
Immigration News
Latest News
最新动态
最新動態
移民新聞
移民新闻