Canada reduces foreign workers.
Canada says it is rebalancing its labour market by reducing the number of foreign workers and investing in capable citizens.
The overhaul reverses the expansions made to the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program in 2022, which resulted in an increase in economic principal applicants arriving in the country to fill one million vacancies.
Because of its low birth rate,required to sustain social spending on services such as education, health care, and other critical areas that contribute to the country’s high living standard.
Last year, the country unveiled new immigration policies for skilled workers, caregivers, families, and other groups.
Canada stated that it aimed to recruit 485,000 additional immigrants in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025 and 2026. However, in a tweet on Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country would reduce its TFW consumption.
We are lowering the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in Canada. The labor market has altered. “Now is the time for our businesses to invest in Canadian workers and youth,” he stated.
According to a statement issued on Monday by ESDC, the country’s employment ministry, the TFW was supposed to be utilized only when eligible Canadians and permanent residents are unable to fill job positions. “Unfortunately, the TFW Program has been used to circumvent hiring talented workers in Canada,” according to the ESDC.
Implications of the statementÂ
As part of the new regulations, firms will be limited to hiring no more than 10% of their overall staff through the TFW program.
Exceptions will be made for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in food security (primary agriculture, food processing, and fish processing), healthcare, and construction. Workers hired in the low-wage stream will also have their maximum job length lowered from two years to one.
Employers in Canada have a responsibility to invest in the whole variety of workers available in the country, including young people, newcomers, and people with disabilities, who are frequently an underutilized economic resource,” according to the statement.
“They must also invest in retraining or upskilling to ensure that those they currently employ can adapt to the economy of the future.”
According to Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, the changes will prioritize Canadian workers and ensure the Temporary Foreign Worker program meets the economy’s needs.
“The Temporary Foreign Worker program was designed to address labor market shortages when qualified Canadians were not able to fill those roles. Right now, we know that there are more Canadians qualified to fill open positions,” the ESDC quoted Boissonnault.
The changes will take effect from September 26, 2024
