Ontario will not allow rural employers to hire more temporary foreign workers to fill low-wage jobs, says the province’s immigration minister.
Citing the high youth unemployment rate, David Piccini said the province is not interested in raising the cap on the ratio of low-wage, temporary foreign workers permitted from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of a rural employer’s workforce.
“We are putting Ontario workers first,” Piccini told the Star on Thursday. “The answer to filling in-demand jobs is not expanding access to low-wage temporary foreign workers — it is ensuring Ontario workers have the skills, experience and opportunities they need to succeed.”
In March, the federal government announced it would relax the rules because some rural communities continued to face acute labour shortages due to low unemployment rates, and ongoing challenges in attracting, recruiting and retaining workers. The changes took effect on April 1. So far, provinces participating in the temporary measures include B.C., Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
On Thursday, more than two months later, Piccini sent a letter to federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu to opt out. Hajdu is responsible for Employment and Social Development Canada, which oversees the temporary worker program.
“Over the past few years, the rapid expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has had a clear and damaging impact on opportunities for Ontario workers, particularly young people looking to get their start in the workforce,” Piccini wrote in the letter, obtained by the Star.
“At a time when youth unemployment exceeds 15 per cent across the province, people rightly expect governments to work together to create the conditions for businesses to invest, grow and create good-paying jobs for domestic workers, rather than continue policies that put employment further out of their reach.”
Piccini said the province would rather invest in long-term solutions through its regional and provincial permanent immigration pathways that help employers fill in-demand jobs and attract skilled workers to rural communities while protecting local workers.
“For many young people, jobs in sectors like food service and retail provide that critical first step into the workforce,” he said. “Our government will continue to invest in training, apprenticeships and pathways that connect Ontario workers with good-paying jobs while helping employers build the workforce they need for the future.”
The federal government in 2024 capped the percentage of low-wage foreign temporary workers a company could hire at 10 per cent in most sectors, except for those grappling with chronic labour shortages including health care, construction and food processing, which are subject to a 20 per cent cap. As a result, some companies feared they would lose employees.
In an email, Hajdu’s office said the federal government invests $925 million each year through Labour Market Development Agreements, so that Ontario can deliver localized supports directly to workers, including over 88,000 youth. It’s in addition to the recent $228.8 million top-up Ontario received through the Workforce Tariff response, helping up to 27,000 workers retrain, upgrade their skills, and stay competitive.
“Canadians are always first in line when it comes to jobs,” it said. “The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is an extraordinary, last resort measure, used to fill critical employment gaps, when qualified Canadians and permanent residents are not able to fill job vacancies. It is not a substitute for Canadian talent.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is urging the Ontario government to “reconsider its decision and help small businesses across the province access the labour they need to keep their doors open.”
In an emailed statement, CFIB president Dan Kelly said small businesses are not choosing temporary foreign workers over local youth. While youth unemployment is a challenge in Ontario, it argued that “it does not guarantee there will be a readily available local workforce for every type of job, particularly in rural areas.”
Many youth “are unwilling to look for jobs that require regular overnight shifts or jobs that require frequent and heavy physical effort” and “jobs that are mainly outdoors and exposed to weather conditions, or jobs that pay at or near minimum wage,” the group said.
Restaurants Canada — the industry’s largest lobby group, representing nearly 30,000 members across the country — said that while TFWs represent just 1.5 per cent of the food service workforce, they have been vital in keeping many businesses operational.
The group in an email said it has “encouraged all provincial governments to accept the federal government’s offer to temporarily increase the TFW cap … in rural and remote areas experiencing persistent labour shortages.”
According to Restaurants Canada, the foodservice sector currently has 58,000 job vacancies, which is projected to grow to 105,000 by 2030, with shortages felt more acutely in rural areas.
David Pierce, vice-president of government relations at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said supporting youth employment is important, but that a range of factors influence employment gaps.
“As our research shows, it’s not as simple as the pervasive narrative that temporary workers are taking jobs away from Canadians who want them,” he said. “Every opportunity already must be offered to Canadians and permanent residents first.”
