The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is designed to respond to changes in the labour market. It helps Canadian employers fill labour and skills shortages on a temporary basis when Canadians and permanent residents are not available.

In 2022, the TFW Program experienced a surge in demand due to the post-pandemic economy, low unemployment rates, and record-high job vacancy rates. To address labour shortages, the Program adopted a series of policy changes under the Workforce Solutions Road Map which focused on seven sectors:

• Food Manufacturing
• Wood Product Manufacturing
• Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
• Accommodation and Food Services
• Construction
• Hospitals
• Nursing and Residential Care Facilities

With changing labour market conditions and declining job vacancies, the Government has announced it is adjusting the TFW Program to ensure that it continues to only be used in cases where there are no workers here in Canada that can fill the necessary role.

Effective May 1, 2024:

• The validity period for new Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) will decrease from 12 months to 6 months to ensure accurate labour market needs.
• A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document that an employer in Canada needs to obtain before the foreign national can apply for a work permit through the TFW Program
• All employers identified in the 2022 Workforce Solutions Road Map will have a reduction from 30% to 20% of their total workforce that can come in through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, under the low wage stream, with an exception for the construction and health care sectors.
• Employers will need to explore every option before applying for an LMIA — including recruiting asylum seekers with valid work permits here in Canada.

In addition, as of January 1, 2024, employers are required to annually review the wages of temporary foreign workers to ensure they reflect increases to prevailing wage rates for their given occupation and region of work.

Through wage increases, these reviews will ensure that employers continue to pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage level throughout their period of employment.

For the vast majority of cases, when wages are reviewed, they are increased for the workers. If not, they remain the same and cannot go down upon review.

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