Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has urged the federal government to permanently end Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, citing concerns that it suppresses wages and limits opportunities for Canadian workers. He proposed immediately halting new TFW permits and phasing out the program over a transition period of up to five years in low-unemployment regions, while retaining a separate program for hard-to-fill agricultural jobs.
Poilievre emphasized that Canada’s youth unemployment is at its lowest in over 25 years outside of the pandemic and argued that the program undermines local employment and wage growth. The federal government currently aims to admit 82,000 new temporary foreign workers this year and plans to reduce the proportion of temporary residents in Canada from 6.5% of the population to under 5% by 2026.
The federal government has already introduced measures to restrict low-wage foreign workers in regions with high unemployment and placed caps on the proportion of employees coming from the TFW program. Employers must also now limit employment duration for low-wage foreign workers and obtain Labour Market Impact Assessments to justify hiring.
Prime Minister Mark Carney defended the program’s role in the Canadian economy, saying the government is taking steps to ensure it works effectively. Migrant rights groups, however, criticized Poilievre, accusing him of scapegoating foreign workers and failing to address broader issues like housing, wages, and corporate practices. Experts have also raised concerns that the program allows employers to rely on cheaper labor, potentially suppressing wages for Canadians.
