Canada Announces Amendments to Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Labor Minister Randy Boissonnault announced changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

During the Corona period, Canada initiated a series of temporary measures to help ease labor market conditions. But now Canada has begun to lift these temporary measures.

Minister Boissonault said: “We are now in a different economic situation. With the gap between unemployment and vacancies closing, the labor market has become more difficult and some of these measures are no longer needed.”

Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is designed to help fill gaps in the Canadian labor market and issue work permits to foreign nationals. Businesses in Canada interested in hiring foreign nationals through the TFWP must review their application with a Labor Market Needs Analysis (LMIA) verification to demonstrate that there are no qualified Canadians or permanent residents for the role.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, to help ease labor market conditions, Canada temporarily extended the validity period of the LMIA approval to 12 months. But from May 1, 2024, the validity period of LMIA will be returned to 6 months. Please note that employers who are part of the Recognized Employer Pilot Program will not be affected by this change.

If workers are employed through the TFWP, they must not constitute more than 20% of the workforce of a Canadian business. In 2022, Canada temporarily increased this cap to 30% for certain sectors only. As of May 1, 2024, only the construction and health care sectors will be allowed to have up to 30 percent of their workforce on low-wage TFWP work permits.

The changes announced to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) do not affect the exemption cap for agricultural and seasonal employers, which remain unchanged.

The changes have been announced as Canada works to strengthen the integrity of its immigration system, which plays a central role in the country’s economy. Recently, Canada has introduced restrictions on study permits and changes to its Post Graduate Work Visa Program (PGWP) due to the rapid and unsustainable increase in the number of international students.

Immigration Minister Mark Miller has announced: “The number of temporary residents in Canada has increased dramatically, reaching 2.5 million in 2023, or 6.2% of Canada’s total population. We plan to over the next three years “Reduce the temporary resident population to 5 percent. Our goal is to ensure that every family and new resident can access the services they need. Our ultimate goal is to create a sustainable and well-managed immigration system based on the needs of the country.”