IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2019: Temporary Workers

Area at a Glance

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issues work authorizations (with or without a work permit) to foreign nationals seeking to work temporarily in Canada.

“Work” as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulationsis an activity:

• for which an individual is paid a wage or commission; or,
• that competes with activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market.

Work without a work permit

• Business visitors
• Foreign diplomats
• Visiting military personnel
• Emergency service providers
• Performing artists
• Sporting event participants
• Transportation crew

Work with a work permit

• Temporary Foreign Worker Program - Two-step process:
  • Labour market test
  • Work permit
• International Mobility Program - One-step process:
  • Work permit (exempt from the labour market test)

Work permits are a demand-driven area; there are no set levels or limits on the number of foreign workers admitted to Canada; work permits are issued in response to employers’ labour needs or to support broader immigration goals.

Scope of Impact

Alongside permanent immigration and a domestic supply of potential workers (e.g., Canadian graduates), temporary foreign workers are a longstanding source of labour and talent for Canadian employers.

Employers tend to rely more heavily on temporary foreign workers to meet demand:

• in some industries experiencing difficulties attracting Canadians (e.g., agriculture);
• when overall market conditions are tight (e.g., low unemployment, high job vacancy rate); and/or
• in certain niche, fast-moving sectors (e.g., information technology).

Canada’s facilitative pathways for foreign workers are a competitive advantage for employers looking to attract talent: 

• Canada’s openness to temporary immigration (as evidenced in initiatives like the Global Skills Strategy) can be a catalyst for attracting foreign investment and job-generating enterprises. This, in turn, promotes economic growth (“money follows talent”).

Permanent Residents of the Future

Increasingly, temporary workers are seen as a promising pool of talent to transition to permanent residence.

• Canadian work experience, labour market attachment, language skills, and social/cultural integration are known to lead to good long-term outcomes.
• In 2018, about 62% of the approximately 82,000 principal applicants outside Quebec admitted in economic permanent residence programs previously held a temporary work permit.

Current Programs

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

• Objective: “Last resort” measure to fill temporary skills shortages
• Labour Market Test: Yes – Labour Market Impact Assessment
• Requirements: Employers must demonstrate that no Canadian labour is available
• Department: Employment and Social Development Canada administers the program with IRCC
• Type of work permit: Employer-specific
• Employer compliance: Yes
• Cost:
  • $1,000 Labour Market Impact Assessment application fee (includes compliance) +
  • $155 work permit application fee +
  • $85 biometrics fee
• Sample occupations: Caregivers, cooks, food processors, service supervisors, truck drivers.

International Mobility Program

• Objective: Support broader policy goals (e.g., talent attraction)
• Labour Market Test: No
• Requirements: Foreign nationals must demonstrate that their work will result in significant economic, social or cultural advantages or reciprocal benefit to Canada
• Department: Administered by IRCC, with the Canada Border Services Agency at the border.
• Type of work permit: Employer-specific and open
• Employer compliance: Yes – only for employer-specific work permits
• Cost:
  • $230 employer compliance fee or $100 open work permit fee +
  • $155 work permit application fee +
  • $85 biometrics fee
• Sample occupations: Senior managers, engineers, information technology professionals, business consultants, physicians, athletes, professors

Work Permit Holders in Canada in 2018

Total: 338,000^{Footnote *} work permit holders

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

• 84,000 permit holders, a 24% decrease since 2009

International Mobility Program

• 254,500 permit holders, a 109% increase since 2009

Spotlight on International Experience Canada

Under the International Mobility Program, International Experience Canada issues work permits based on bilateral, reciprocal mobility arrangements.

The Minister of IRCC is responsible for signing new arrangements, adjusting current ones, and deciding on quotas.

• Canada has arrangements with 35 countries and territories spanning Europe, East Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.
• Eligible youth are between the ages of 18-35 (or 18-30 under some agreements), and are able to travel and work for one or two years.

International Experience Canada facilitates international work and travel opportunities for Canadian and foreign youth.

• Arrangements promote cross-cultural adaptability, enabling Canadian youth to build language, life, and leadership skills, and are an important diplomatic tool to strengthen bilateral relationships.

While each arrangement is unique, International Experience Canada has three categories of participation which vary in purpose:

• Working Holiday (Travel and Work)
  • Participants are eligible to apply for an open work permit to allow them to work for any employer or location in Canada for up to one year.
  • Eligibility criteria vary by country
• International Co-op (Internships for Students)
  • Students are eligible to apply for an employer-specific work permit to complete a work placement as part of their studies.
• Young Professionals (Career Development)
  • Participants are eligible to apply for an employer-specific work permit to help them gain professional work experience in their field by way of a fixed-term employment contract.

Recent Developments

Growing demand for work permits has dominated the immigration landscape in recent years. 

• This may be due in part to market/employer response to tight labour market conditions in some sectors/regions.
• The primary driver, however, is demand for open work permits to support other immigration programs (e.g., to attract students and to retain them post-graduation).

The Government has facilitated the work of certain foreign nationals in Canada as a means to drive economic investment and create opportunities for Canadians abroad:

• Global Skills Strategy: Expedited work permits and a dedicated service channel for select companies
• Global Talent Stream: Expedited labour market test processing
• Trade agreements: Negotiating reciprocal access to foreign labour markets for Canadians

Increasingly, temporary work permits are being issued as part of permanent residence programming (e.g., Atlantic Immigration Pilot, Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot) to assist in the early integration of foreign nationals into their community of destination, and to encourage successful establishment and long-term retention.

Several measures have been put in place to address worker vulnerability and strengthen program compliance:

• Open work permits for vulnerable workers: Launched in June 2019, foreign workers with employer-specific work permits who are experiencing, or at risk of, employer abuse now have a means to transition to a new job while they seek out a longer-term solution.
• Employer compliance:
  • Under the employer compliance regimes of both the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program, employers may be inspected up to six years after employing a foreign national.
  • If found in non-compliance, an employer could face a range of consequences such as administrative monetary penalties and program bans.

In June 2019, a consultation process was initiated on a proposal to create occupation-specific work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to explore whether offering greater labour mobility may mitigate vulnerability risks for some foreign workers.

Key Takeaways

Issuing work permits to foreign nationals, as evidenced by growth and demand, is central to Canada’s economy, especially in the context of tight labour markets.

These programs and pathways respond to a variety of economic objectives; recent focus has been on facilitating the movement of high-impact talent into the labour force and addressing worker vulnerability.

The area consistently has high visibility with stakeholders (predominantly pushing for greater efficiency and facilitation) and the public (concerned about fairness and impacts on Canadian jobs). Issues in this area can colour views about the immigration system as a whole.