End Canada’s temporary foreign worker program, Poilievre says

Canada must end the temporary foreign worker program, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Wednesday.

“It’s time to take decisive action to protect our youth and workers,” Poilievre said, with a press release urging the government to “immediately stop issuing new TFW permits, and end this wage-suppressing, opportunity-stealing program.”

“Under this urgently-needed plan, the temporary foreign worker program would be permanently abolished with a separate, standalone program for legitimately difficult-to-fill agricultural labour,” Poilievre said.

“For ultra-low-unemployment regions, there will be a transition period of, at most, five years while the program winds down, but no new permits will be issued anywhere in Canada.”

His proposal comes amid growing scrutiny of the temporary foreign worker program and concerns about whether access to less expensive labour through the program can hurt the potential for wage growth in communities.

The federal data shows Canada set a target to admit 82,000 new arrivals through the temporary foreign worker program this year.

Last year, the federal government announced it was introducing restrictions to the program.

The government said it will refuse applications for low-wage temporary foreign workers in regions with an unemployment rate of six per cent or higher.