Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging businesses to hire Canadians as his government announces new restrictions to limit the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at the Sunday evening cabinet retreat dinner at the Halifax Convention Centre on Sunday Aug. 25, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
But the economic situation is different now, he said, and Canada "no longer needs as many temporary foreign workers." When asked whether the federal government is also considering restricting the number of permanent residents, the prime minister said those were "ongoing conversations." Workers hired through the low-wage stream will be able to work a maximum of one year, down from two years.
The temporary foreign worker program has also been criticized for allowing cheap labour into the country at a time when the economy is slowing down. "Today's changes basically roll us back to where we were in April 2022. I think there's a lot more to do," he said. According to public data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 183,820 temporary foreign worker permits became effective in 2023. That was up from 98,025 in 2019 — an 88 per cent increase.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman said the Liberal government's announcement amounted to a reversal of its own policies.
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