New data suggests growing demand for temporary foreign workers in several Canadian industries

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) reports that the number of people approved to work as temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in Canada has doubled compared to five years ago.

According to publicly available ESDC data, in 2023, employers were cleared to hire just less than 240,000 (239,646) TFWs. Five years prior, this number was less than half of the 2023 figure – at 108,988 TFWs in 2018.

Note: This data reflects only TFWs working in Canada on closed work permits - those that require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The number of foreign nationals working in Canada is still higher due to a higher number of open work permits.

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This illustrates the continuation of an upward trend – save for 2020, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic – that has persisted since at least 2016. That year, ESDC data indicates that employers were approved to hire just over 90,000 TFWs (90,314).

However, it is important to note that the data presented in this article does not correlate, necessarily, to a higher number of TFWs in Canada. This is because, although the number of TFW approvals is rising, this does not account for employers who later change their minds and decide not to hire a TFW.

Instead, what this data shows is that an increasing number of employers are pursuing the hiring of TFWs to fill vacant jobs in their organizations.

The overall growth of TFW approvals across Canada

The following data outlines the number of positions approved to be filled by TFWs across Canada since 2016.

2016: 90,314

2017: 98,146

2018: 108,988

2019: 130,457

2020: 125,279

2021: 133,196

2022: 222,847

2023: 239,646

The growth in TFW approvals by industry

Furthermore, additional data showcases that these 10 industries have seen the highest percentage increases concerning the number of TFW approvals between 2018 and 2023.

Note: Under each occupation, this article will list its National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021 code.

1. Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

NOC 2021 code: 33102

Number of approvals (2018): 16
Number of approvals (2023): 2,514

Percentage increase: 15,613%

2. Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations

NOC 2021 code: 65201

Number of approvals (2018): 170
Number of approvals (2023): 8,333

Percentage increase: 4,802%

3. Construction trades helpers and labourers

NOC 2021 code: 75110

Number of approvals (2018): 132
Number of approvals (2023): 5,353

Percentage increase: 3,955%

4. Light duty cleaners

NOC 2021 code: 65310

Number of approvals (2018): 201
Number of approvals (2023): 3,043

Percentage increase: 1,414%

5. Administrative assistants

NOC 2021 code: 13110

Number of approvals (2018): 287
Number of approvals (2023): 3,337

Percentage increase: 1,063%

6. Retail sales supervisors

NOC 2021 code: 62010

Number of approvals (2018): 570
Number of approvals (2023): 2,999

Percentage increase: 426%

7. Transport truck drivers

NOC 2021 code: 73300

Number of approvals (2018): 1,584
Number of approvals (2023): 7,297

Percentage increase: 361%

8. Food service supervisors

NOC 2021 code: 62020

Number of approvals (2018): 2,358
Number of approvals (2023): 10,409

Percentage increase: 341%

9. Cooks

NOC 2021 code: 63200

Number of approvals (2018): 3,162
Number of approvals (2023): 11,977

Percentage increase: 279%

10. Fish and seafood plant workers

NOC 2021 code: 94142

Number of approvals (2018): 1,556
Number of approvals (2023): 4,529

Percentage increase: 191%

Why is this increase occurring?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data suggests that temporary residents made up 6.2% of Canada’s population – up to 2.5 million people – in 2023.

As a point of comparison, Statistics Canada data released last year said that just “924,850 non-permanent residents (NPRs) were [included] in the [2021] Census, making up 2.5% of Canada’s total enumerated population.”

Note: Of these 924,000+ NPRs, 40.1% of them had only a work permit while an additional 14.2% had a work permit and study permit simultaneously.

This increase, both last year and over the last half-decade can be attributed to temporary measures put in place by the Canadian government “to help ease labour market conditions [especially] during the pandemic.”

In other words, many Canadian employers, especially those hiring for the low-wage positions that dominate the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), needed help filling vacant positions and the government responded by increasing the number of TFWs given a permit to work in Canada.

Other examples of TFWP changes introduced during the pandemic include:

Exemptions that allowed TFWs to continue travelling to Canada
Extended validity periods for some LMIAs
Expediting the processing of certain TFWP applications

Conversely, in the words of Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, now that Canada is “in a different economic picture ... [where] the gap between unemployment and job vacancies [is] closing”, the government has decided that “some of these measures are no longer needed.”

Accordingly, back in March this year, Canada announced a set of changes coming to the TFWP, designed to stabilize the total number of TFWs in Canada.

“We want every new family and resident to be set up for success and ... [have] access [to] the services they need [while ensuring] a well-managed, sustainable immigration system based on needs”, said Immigration Minister Marc Miller, adding specifically that Canada is “targeting a decrease in our temporary resident population to 5%* over the next 3 years.”

*This figure is based on the 6.2% of Canada’s population made up by TFWs in 2023.

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