On August 26, 2024, an announcement related to changes in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in the Low-Wage stream was made by the Minister. The following changes will be implemented (effective September 26, 2024):
- The Government will refuse to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for census metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher;
- Employers will be allowed to hire no more than 10% of their total workforce through the TFW Program; and
- The maximum duration of employment for workers hired through the Low-Wage stream will be reduced to one year (from two years).
The above changes will affect all sectors and regions with the exception of food security sectors (primary agriculture, food processing and fish processing), as well as construction and healthcare sectors. Employers operating in the Retail trade, Food Service, Hospitality and Transportation sectors are expected to be disproportionately affected, given their extensive use of the TFWP Low-wage stream.
At this time, it is not clear if the proposed changes will affect the LMIA Applications already submitted and being processed, though one should expect that to happen. Further updates related to these measures will be made online in the coming weeks.
Coupled with other recent announcements (E.g. August 6, 2024 announcement regarding new measures to address fraud in the TFWP), today’s changes signify a general hardening of the Government’s attitude towards the Canadian Employers’ extensive use of the TFWP. Recent news items suggesting increasing unemployment among Canadians seems to have pushed the Government of Canada to introduce measures to demonstrate that they are taking active actions.
Generally, at such time, the refusal rates for LMIAs also increase. In our opinion, one should expect increased scrutiny and difficulties in obtaining a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), in the Low-wage stream initially, but possibly in the High-wage stream as well.
