Which regions in Canada could see a reduction of temporary foreign workers?
On the 26th of August, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) announced that they would temporarily suspend the processing of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) under the Low-Wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)—for employers that are located in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with an unemployment rate equal to, or higher than 6%.
To qualify as a CMA, an area must have a total population of at least 100,000, with at least 50,000 residing in the centre (known as the core).
While the news announcement from ESDC detailed the steps the department would be taking to curb misuse of the program, the announcement did not confirm which CMAs would be impacted by name.
CIC News has received data from Statistics Canada regarding the unemployment rate across various CMAs across Canada, to better understand which parts of the country may be impacted by this new policy.
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Note: Though Statistics Canada is a resource used by many government agencies, this data cannot be used to say definitively which areas will be impacted by ESDC’s most recent announcement.
Updated on September 6th, the following table lists the CMAs with an unemployment rate equal to, or higher than 6%:
What are CMAs?
A CMA is a region formed by one or more adjacent municipalities around a core population center.
This classification is based on data from the most recent Census of Population Program. Municipalities included in a CMA must demonstrate a high degree of economic and social integration with the core, as measured by commuting patterns. Unlike Census Agglomerations (CAs), once an area is designated as a CMA, it retains this status even if its population falls below the population threshold.
Note: that CMAs are not the same as cities. For example, while Toronto and Mississauga are Canada’s first and seventh largest cities by population respectively, they are both included in the CMA for Toronto.
Why is Canada pursuing a policy of cutting back temporary foreign workers in certain areas?
ESCD’s recent policy change around temporary foreign workers in Canada comes in the wake of increased scrutiny on the program in particular, and on temporary resident (those on a work/study permit) levels in general.
In March, both Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and Immigration Minister Marc Miller held a joint press conference to announce the inclusion of temporary resident levels within the annual Immigration Levels Plan—a first for Canadian immigration—to help address domestic issues around affordability and housing stock.
At this same press conference, Minister Boissonnault announced more measures in reducing Canadian employers’ reliance on temporary foreign workers. He cited issues with their compliance to TFWP standards, and the artificial depression in wages that rampant use of the program could bring.
ESDC’s continued roll-back of COVID-era TFWP policies has also been a theme throughout the year, with labour market realities in Canada changing greatly since the end of the pandemic.
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