IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2023: Temporary Foreign Workers
Context
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) authorizes foreign nationals to work in Canada temporarily. Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) play a vital role in critical sectors of the Canadian economy and society.
This is an area that is jointly administered by Employment Social Development Canada (ESDC) and IRCC.
Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP):
Objective: “Last resort” measure to fill temporary skills and labour shortages
Labour market test: Yes – labour market impact assessment (LMIA)
Requirements: Employers must demonstrate that no Canadian labour is available
Department: ESDC administers the program with IRCC, with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) verifying admissibility at the border
Type of work permit: Employer-specific
Employer compliance regime: Yes
Cost: $1,000 LMIA application fee (includes compliance); plus $155 work permit application fee; and $85 biometrics fee
Sample occupations: Caregivers, cooks, food processors, service supervisors, Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program
International Mobility Program (IMP):
Objective: Supports broader policy goals (e.g. Canadian economic competitiveness, international agreements, 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 CBSA verifying admissibility at the border.
Type of work permit: Employer-specific and Open.
Employer compliance regime: Yes – only for employer-specific work permits.
Cost: $230 employer compliance fee or $100 open work permit fee; plus $155 work permit application fee; and $85 biometrics fee.
Sample occupations: Senior managers, engineers, information technology professionals, business consultants, physicians, athletes, professors, International Experience Canada youth mobility agreements.
The volume of TFWs has grown significantly in the past several years.
In 2015, 248,590 TFWs came to Canada compared to 597,075 in 2022, representing an increase of 240%.
During this time, the number of workers that came through the IMP also increased, with 77% of temporary foreign workers coming through the IMP compared to 71% in 2015.
The TFWP saw a corresponding decrease from 29% to 23% of all TFWs.
Under the employer compliance regimes of both the TFWP and the IMP, employers are required to be compliant with regulatory conditions such as providing proper wages and an abuse-free work place. If non-compliant, an employer could face a range of consequences including a warning letter, administrative monetary penalties and/or program bans.
IRCC (in partnership with Global Affairs Canada), negotiates and manages the facilitative labour mobility provisions (Temporary Entry Chapters) within Canada’s free trade agreements. These tend to facilitate a range of workers, investors and spouses, on a reciprocal basis covering over 40 countries.
Impacts
Employers tend to rely more heavily on TFWs to meet workforce demands:
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.
Increasingly, temporary workers are seen as a pool of talent to transition to permanent residence, and to help meet francophone immigrations targets.
Canadian work experience, labour market attachment, language skills, and social/cultural integration are known to lead to positive long-term outcomes.
There are a number of existing pathways that provide opportunities for TFWs to stay in Canada permanently such as:
Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot,
Atlantic Immigration Program,
Provincial Nominee Program,
And programs via Express Entry.
Additionally, the Agri‑Food Pilot launched on May 15, 2020, and offers pathways to permanent residency specifically to temporary workers in the agriculture and agri‑food sectors.
Recent Developments
Recent Facilitation Measures:
IRCC has developed a number of new or expanded facilitation measures to support employers and workers alike. The recent measures include:
Open work permit public policy for Hong Kong: IRCC recently extended and broadened eligibility under this public policy.
Study authorization for foreign nationals with a work permit: A temporary public policy came into force on June 27, 2023, for a period three years, to allow eligible work permit holders to study as full-time or part-time students without having to obtain a study permit.
Francophone Mobility Stream: IRCC announced a 2-year pilot project on June 15, 2023, which exempts employers from the LMIA requirement for workers in all occupations, except primary agriculture, when hiring a foreign national who can provide proof they meet a moderate level of speaking and listening in French, equivalent to a Canadian language benchmarks (CLB) level 5.
Tech Talent Attraction (H-1B): IRCC launched a new facilitation measure on July 16, 2023, for specialty occupation H-1B visa holders. Applications have closed now that IRCC has reached the program cap of 10,000 principal applicants. Approved applicants will receive an open work permit of up to three years in duration, allowing them to work for any employer anywhere in Canada.
Open Work Permits for Family Members of TFWs: In January 2023, Canada announced the expansion of work permit eligibility for the spouses and dependents of workers through a phased approach.
Phase 1 was implemented on January 30, 2023, and enables family members of workers under the IMP and the High-Wage Stream of the TFWP to be eligible for open work permits.
Phase 2 has not yet been implemented but would enable family members of workers coming to Canada through the Low‑Wage Stream of the TFWP to be eligible for an open work permit.
Phase 3 includes consultation with agricultural partners to assess the feasibility of expanding this measure to family members of agricultural workers, including the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program.
Extension of the Visitor to Worker and Changing Employers Public Policies: These public policies allow visitors to apply for a work permit from within Canada, and workers to change employers more quickly.
Global Skills Strategy: Launched in June 2017 and provides companies with access to global talent by getting highly skilled workers into Canada faster.
Recent Worker Protection Measures:
Open work permit for vulnerable workers:
Launched in June 2019, TFWs with valid employer-specific work permits who are experiencing, or at risk of, employer abuse now have a means to quickly leave the abusive situation and look for new work with a different employer.
Budget 2021 announced $6.3M over three years for this program to support faster processing and improved service delivery for vulnerable migrant workers to safely and quickly exit abusive situations. Budget 2022 committed additional funds for worker protections.
Specialized training was delivered to IRCC officers on trauma-informed approaches to assessing applications for workers claiming abuse in the workplace.
Promoting Fair Recruitment:
The Government strengthened its regulation of licensed immigration and citizenship consultants under its new College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. This includes the creation of a Code of Professional Conduct for Immigration Consultants, which came into force in June 2022. The Code of Conduct includes a provision on recruitment activities that licensed consultants must follow if they provide recruitment services.
IRCC is collaborating with international partners, such as the International Organization for Migration, to support ethical recruitment projects around the world including supporting the development of the Global Policy Network on Recruitment, and strengthening recruitment practices in sending countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica.
Worker Protection Regulations:
IRCC and ESDC amended regulations pertaining to the employer compliance regime to further enhance worker protections. The 13 new regulatory amendments include new employer conditions such as prohibiting employers from charging recruitment fees to workers and requiring employers to provide workers with information about their rights.
In September 2022, the new regulatory measures came into force, protecting TFWs and helping to prevent mistreatment and abuse.
Upcoming Milestones
Issuing work permits to foreign nationals is central to Canada’s economy, as evidenced by growth and demand year after year.
The pandemic drew attention to the critical role of migrant workers in Canada, particularly in the health care and agricultural sectors, and shed light on the vulnerable circumstances that many workers face.
The area consistently has high visibility with stakeholders (predominantly pushing for greater efficiency and facilitation) and the public (concerned about fairness, protection of foreign workers and impacts on Canadian jobs).
