Criticism surrounding temporary residents of Canada have been a longstanding and contested issue in both public discourse and federal politics. Under the
29th Canadian Ministry, public concern increased regarding immigration levels. A poll conducted by
Léger found that approximately 65% of Canadians believed the federal government was admitting too many temporary residents and prospective immigrants under its immigration plan. In January 2014,
Employment Minister Jason Kenney announced a second round of reforms to the TFWP, citing dissatisfaction among workers. On April 24, Kenney announced the suspension of the TFWP for the food-services sector. The program was later reinstated with modifications. In May 2014, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) became the subject of debate in the House of Commons between the
28th Canadian Ministry and the opposition
New Democratic Party (NDP). The NDP questioned the government over allegations that some employers were using the program to hire temporary foreign workers in regions where qualified Canadian workers were receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. Reporting by CBC highlighted claims of program misuse. In response during Question Period, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper stated that the government had addressed these concerns prior to 2013 through reforms to both the EI system and the TFWP. He also asserted that the NDP had not supported those reforms and that some NDP Members of Parliament had requested additional foreign workers for their constituencies. Following the
COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government under Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and the 29th Ministry expanded the admission of temporary foreign workers and increased permanent resident targets, announcing plans to admit up to 500,000 permanent residents annually by 2025. These decisions attracted significant public and political scrutiny. The Public Service of Canada reportedly raised concerns regarding insufficient housing supply and infrastructure capacity to support the increased population growth. As of 2021, Canada had more than 775,000 temporary foreign workers, representing approximately 4% of the national workforce. Many were employed in lower-wage or lower-prestige occupations, including food service and hospitality. Several economists have argued that temporary foreign workers and international students have become increasingly central to Canada’s low-wage labour market. Economist
Mike Moffatt of the
University of Western Ontario stated that a growing share of labour in sectors such as fast food is composed of individuals working under student permits or other temporary statuses. During his tenure as Prime Minister,
Mark Carney and the
30th Canadian Ministry pursued changes to Canada’s immigration policy aimed at reducing the number of temporary residents, including temporary foreign workers and international students. Carney’s government maintained and built upon existing immigration targets in the
2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which included specific caps on temporary resident admissions as part of efforts to address housing pressures and other infrastructure strains in Canada. Carney also stated publicly that the government intended to reduce the proportion of temporary residents to less than 5% of Canada’s population by 2027 and that the
Temporary Foreign Worker Program would adopt a more “focused approach” tailored to specific labour market needs.
Media investigations Since 2013, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) began reporting on issues surrounding the hiring of temporary foreign workers by companies who On 6 April 2013,
CBC News reported that Canadian
IT workers at the
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) were losing their jobs to replacement foreign workers, who were brought from India by outsourcing firm
iGATE. Existing RBC employees trained their replacements before they themselves were
laid off, causing their appeal to the media. RBC responded to the controversy by issuing a statement denying the charges and offering clarification of the situation. While a reported 45 employees lost their jobs, the bank nevertheless had indicated that they intended to expand this practice in the coming year. Additionally in 2013, CBC found that, in
Saskatchewan, 65% of recent newly created jobs were held by temporary foreign workers, and in
Nova Scotia over one thousand employers had requested foreign workers.
CBC also reported that a Chinese company that owns a mine in
British Columbia was attempting to import workers from
China. According to the
Huffington Post, one of the requirements of the job was the ability to speak
Mandarin Chinese. In October 2013, The
Huffington Post reported that the
Alberta Federation of Labour said foreign workers were displacing Canadian workers in
Fort McMurray. The report claimed that 270 Canadian workers employed by a
Toronto-based firm were to be replaced by foreign workers employed by an
Italian firm. On 23 October,
Global News reported that
Farmers of North America, in
Saskatoon, was helping farmers recruit TFWs in order to help them. The
Canadian Federation of Agriculture reportedly estimated that Canada was in need of 30,000 seasonal and longer-term farm workers.
Employment Canada acknowledged that there was a shortage of agricultural workers. In December 2014, CBC reported that
Microsoft Canada obtained an exemption from the federal government that will allow the company to bring in an unspecified number of TFW to
British Columbia. The trainee foreign workers (most of whom would be citizens of
India and
China) were to be hired without requiring Microsoft to look for Canadian workers who could fill the positions.
Issues with the Live-in Caregiver Program The exploitation of migrant labour has been a key issue amongst labour and civil society groups. Many have suggested that the structure of Canadian temporary migration programs, particularly the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), perpetuate social and economic inequalities in the long-term. There are little provincial employment standards regarding the recruitment and monitoring of the LCP, which leaves migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation. At present, only the province of British Columbia requires that workers be registered by their employers under the Domestic Workers' Registry. Employment agencies, on the other hand, are only regulated in two provinces, British Columbia, and Alberta, and their regulation only amounts to operating licensing requirements. The lack of systemic regulation makes it difficult for contract violations to be contested. Under the law, contracts should specify total work hours, vacation time, wages, and benefits. However, in a study conducted by a Montreal organization, PINAY, together with the
McGill University School of Social Work, it was found that in 25% of the 148 live-in caregivers studied, employers did not sign a contract at all, and 43% claimed that they weren't paid for overtime work. Another issue with temporary migrants is the limited mobility afforded to them within the confines of their stipulated contracts. What sets the LCP apart from the TFWP is that applicants are required to have a minimum secondary school education as well as domestic service training. Research has even found that a large number of those applying through the LCP program are overqualified and have post-secondary education, and training as registered practitioners and nurses from their origin countries. In July 2024, a report for the
United Nations Human Rights Council by the
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery described the program as a "breeding ground for
contemporary slavery". The report found many instances of
debt bondage,
wage theft, lack of
personal protective equipment,
abuse, and
sexual misconduct. The
Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller gave a statement to
Reuters saying that the program was "in need of reform" and that the low-wage stream needed to be examined. ==See also==