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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