New report shows downtrend of US temporary foreign workers in Canada
The number of temporary foreign workers that are US citizens coming to Canada on a work permit has been trending downward from 2010 to 2023, according to a new report published by Statistics Canada.
On the other hand, the number of US residents (who are not US citizens) obtaining work permits to enter the Canadian labour market has steadily increased.
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The following table shows the number of US citizens and non-citizens from the US who held work permits in Canada each year.
Number of US citizens and non-citizens in Canada per year
| Year | U.S. citizens | U.S. non-citizen residents |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 61,698 | 3,728 |
| 2011 | 63,485 | 5,124 |
| 2012 | 68,309 | 6,317 |
| 2013 | 70,420 | 6,770 |
| 2014 | 67,953 | 6,134 |
| 2015 | 63,699 | 5,977 |
| 2016 | 59,093 | 6,022 |
| 2017 | 56,375 | 6,652 |
| 2018 | 55,114 | 8,638 |
| 2019 | 54,936 | 11,939 |
| 2020 | 42,710 | 11,749 |
| 2021 | 36,586 | 12,315 |
| 2022 | 37,486 | 15,467 |
| 2023 | 38,867 | 17,353 |
A far larger number of US citizen temporary workers were in Canada on a work permit than US non-citizen residents in each year featured in the table above.
Within this time frame, the number of US citizen workers in Canada reached its highest point in 2013 at 70,420, with numbers in subsequent years continuously declining until 2021 (36,585).
From 2021 to 2023 (38,867), the number of US citizen temporary foreign workers strayed from this downward trend, reflecting a gradual increase year-over-year.
In 2020, US citizen temporary workers began to stabilize.
As of 2023, there were 22,831 fewer US citizen temporary foreign workers in Canada than in 2010.
But while US citizen temporary workers (on the whole) continued to decrease from 2010 to 2023 (from 61,698 to 38,867), the number of US non-citizen workers almost continuously increased—from 3,728 to 17,353.
The highest number of US non-citizen resident temporary workers from 2010 to 2023 was seen in 2023, but the largest increases occurred from 2016 to 2019, then again after 2020.
In 2023, temporary workers who were US non-citizen residents made up 31% of the US worker total, a significant rise from just 6% in 2010.
Overall number of US temporary foreign workers in Canada by year
The table below shows the joint total for the number of US citizens and US non-citizen residents in Canada on a work permit in each year from 2010 to 2023.
| Year | Total number of US workers in Canada per year |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 65,426 |
| 2011 | 68,609 |
| 2012 | 74,626 |
| 2013 | 77,190 |
| 2014 | 74,087 |
| 2015 | 69,676 |
| 2016 | 65,115 |
| 2017 | 63,027 |
| 2018 | 63,752 |
| 2019 | 66,875 |
| 2020 | 54,459 |
| 2021 | 48,901 |
| 2022 | 52,953 |
| 2023 | 56,220 |
The total count of temporary workers coming from the US has dropped since 2010, while Statistics Canada noted in their report that those from other nations have significantly increased.
There were a total of 9,206 fewer temporary foreign workers from the US in Canada in 2023 than there were in 2010.
2013 saw the highest number of temporary workers from the US in Canada out of any given year.
Total makeup of Canada’s temporary workers from the US
| Year | Total share of temporary foreign workers from the US by percentage |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 16.6% |
| 2011 | 16.6% |
| 2012 | 16.4% |
| 2013 | 15.5% |
| 2014 | 14.6% |
| 2015 | 14.5% |
| 2016 | 13.6% |
| 2017 | 12.3% |
| 2018 | 11% |
| 2019 | 9.9% |
| 2020 | 8.1% |
| 2021 | 7.7% |
| 2022 | 5.9% |
| 2023 | 4% |
In 2010 and 2011, the number of work permit holders in Canada that were from the US (citizens and non-citizen residents) accounted for 16.6% of Canada’s total temporary foreign work force population.
This percentage has been steadily trending downwards since the initial two-year percentage of 16.6%.
By 2023, only 4% of Canada’s temporary foreign work force came from the US, with the remainder of work permits being issued to temporary workers from other nations.
US temporary foreign workers by program
In this section, you can find the total number of US citizen and US non-citizen residents with work permits in Canada from 2010 to 2022, as well as the percentage of individuals in each category obtaining them through the
- Temporary Foreign Worker Program;
- International Mobility Program (international agreements); and
- International Mobility Program (other categories).
A table outlining the admittance of temporary foreign workers in Canada from other countries, and the percentage of these workers admitted through each program will be featured for comparative purposes.
Note: In each table, counts for total of temporary foreign workers are rounded to the nearest 100.
US citizen foreign workers
Nearly half of all US citizen temporary workers in Canada arrived under international agreements over the course of this study period.
In 2023, only about 5% were admitted through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), while around 48% entered Canada on a work permit via the International Mobility Program—not counting those covered by international agreements.
| Year | 2010 | 2019 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of US citizens | 61,700 | 54,900 | 37,500 |
| Temporary Foreign Worker Program | 28.5% | 5.1% | 5% |
| International Mobility Program, international agreements | 46.2% | 56.3% | 47.3% |
| International Mobility Program, other categories | 25.3% | 38.6% | 47.8% |
US non-citizen resident foreign workers
Just over half of US non-citizen residents arrived through the International Mobility program (excluding international agreements) in 2010, which grew to nearly 90% in 2022—showing this to be the primary method of admittance.
Those entering through IMP international agreements (IMP), remained lowest in any given year featured.
While admittance through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program sat at almost 40% for US non-citizens in 2010, a sharp decline of program usage can be seen by this group of temporary workers by 2022: just over 8%.
| Year | 2010 | 2019 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of US non-citizen residents | 3,700 | 11,900 | 15,500 |
| Temporary Foreign Worker Program | 37.4% | 9.3% | 8.3% |
| International Mobility Program, international agreements | 10% | 4.2% | 2.8% |
| International Mobility Program, other categories | 52.6% | 86.5% | 88.8% |
Temporary foreign workers from other countries
The number of temporary foreign workers from countries other than the U.S. more than doubled from 329,000 in 2010 to 848,100 in 2022.
The share of non-US workers entering through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program dropped by more than half from 2010 (45.6%) to 2022 (21.5%)—though it remained the second most used route to working in Canada.
Most temporary foreign workers from other countries were admitted through other categories of the International Mobility Program (not through international agreements) throughout this study period: from more than 50% in 2010 to just over 76% in 2022.
| Year | 2010 | 2019 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of temporary foreign workers from other countries | 329,000 | 610,000 | 848,100 |
| Temporary Foreign Worker Program | 45.6% | 20.5% | 21.5% |
| International Mobility Program, international agreements | 1.7% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| International Mobility Program, other categories | 52.7% | 77.1% | 76.2% |
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Which occupational skill level saw the highest level of admittance per group?
In 2023, 76% of US citizen temporary workers held work permits for managerial, professional, or technical occupations, surpassing the 67% rate among their US non-citizen worker counterparts.
US non-citizen temporary workers more frequently received permits without specified skill-levels (32.3%), largely due to the widespread issuance of open work permits under various International Mobility Program sub-streams. In 2022, only 1% of US non-citizens held work permits for lower-skilled occupations.
Comparatively, temporary foreign workers from countries other than the US primarily received work permits with unspecified occupations in 2022 (around 68%), up from almost 44.4% in 2010. About 2% were in managerial occupations, while 15.3% were in professional or technical occupations in 2022.
The following breakdown is used by Statistics Canada when outlining the occupational skill levels of temporary foreign workers admitted:
- Managerial occupations;
- Professional or technical occupations;
- Lower-skilled occupations; and
- Occupations not specified.
Industrial distribution of workers with T4 earnings
In 2022, a significantly smaller share of US citizen temporary foreign workers reported T4 earnings (almost 35% compared to US non-citizen workers (almost 69%).
The lower rate of T4 earnings among US citizen temporary workers can be attributed to their greater presence in international agreement streams, which typically had lower rates of T4 earnings.
Employment sector concentration differed sharply between groups with T4 earnings in 2022.
One-third of US citizen temporary workers with T4 earnings were employed in the following two sectors:
- Professional, scientific, and technical services; and
- Educational services.
When it came to US non-citizen resident workers with T4 earnings, 55% were employed in professional, scientific, and technical services.
As for temporary foreign workers from countries other than the US, the industrial distribution was more evenly distributed, with a greater share working in lower-paying jobs such as those in:
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; and
- Wholesale trade and retail trade.
Highest median earnings
In 2022, U.S non-citizen residents had the highest median full-year equivalent earnings.
| US citizens | US non-citizen residents | Temporary foreign workers from other countries | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median full-year earnings | $75,900 | $107,600 | $42,500 |
Earnings by percentile
In the table below, you can find T4 earnings by percentile for each temporary foreign worker group in 2022:
| Percentile of earnings | US citizens | US non-citizen residents | Temporary foreign workers from other countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile | $343,200 | $266,000 | $116,700 |
| 75th percentile | $152,500 | $167,100 | $67,900 |
| 25th percentile | $37,300 | $67,300 | $28,100 |
Note: Available sources used to obtain T4 earnings only contain income tax data up to 2022.
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