Poilievre Calls on Ottawa to End Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to permanently end the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program, saying it has shut young Canadians out of employment and allowed some businesses to take advantage of newcomers.

“It is a very exploitative system that has allowed corporate elites to profit off of driving wages down and driving jobs out, and we’re going to put an end to it,” Poilievre said during a Sept. 3 press conference in Mississauga, Ont. 

Under the Conservatives’ proposal, no new TFW permits would be issued for any new workers entering Canada until the program is “entirely eliminated,” with those jobs instead going to Canada’s youth, Poilievre said. He noted a separate, standalone program for “legitimately difficult-to-fill” agricultural labour would be created.

Poilievre said Canada’s young people make up the first generation that are unable to afford a home and have the worst unemployment numbers of any group since the 1990s.

Statistics Canada reported in June that the unemployment rate for Canadians aged 15 to 24 had reached 14.6 percent, compared to the national average of 6.9 percent.

Poilievre said that nearly 75 percent of TFWs that come into Canada are for low-wage positions, “which means they compete with working class and young people that ultimately drive down wages and drive away jobs.” 

The number of TFWs in Canada rose from 356,000 in 2011 to 845,000 by 2021, according to StatCan data, with close to 140,000 being employed in accommodation and food services.

In October 2024, the federal government announced it was reducing the number of temporary residents—which TFWs are a subset of—from 6.5 percent of Canada’s population to 5 percent over the next three years. Then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the country had gotten “addicted to temporary workers.”

A recent federal labour department briefing note dated June 18 indicated that permits were being sold on the black market, and that there had been “unethical recruitment and exploitation of vulnerable foreign nationals for personal and financial gain.”

Poilievre said while the federal government had promised to cap the TFW program at 82,000 new permits in 2025, there were already 105,000 permits given out in the first six months of the year. Poilievre said if this trend were to continue, the number would surpass previous years.

Poilievre argued that many Canadian businesses do not need TFWs, but merely “hire them because they can pay them less.” He called the program a “very exploitative system that has allowed corporate elites to profit off of driving wages down and driving jobs out.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked about the TFW program prior to a cabinet meeting on Sept. 3, and said the government will be discussing its role and how well it is operating. Carney said the Liberal government has implemented policies to ensure the overall level of immigration declines, and said TFWs make up a small proportion of immigration.

Carney also said that when he has spoken to businesses in Canada, particularly in Quebec, the top issue they are concerned about is U.S. tariffs, while their number two issue is acquiring TFWs. “So we can’t just erase this program, but we can definitely improve it as a whole,” he said.

Canadian Federation of  Independent Businesses CEO Dan Kelly commented on the Conservatives’ proposal by saying permanently scrapping the program “makes no sense at all” and that no employers use it simply to acquire “cheaper labour.” He said businesses must pay thousands in fees, fund return overseas travel for their workers, and help with accommodation in order to participate in the program.

“I take no issue with making changes to the TFW program. CFIB has long suggested there be an ongoing pathway to permanent residency for entry level workers after a year or two in Canada. But suggesting the program be permanently scrapped is putting politics ahead of sensible policy,” he said.