By Mata Press Service

Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) has never been greater, with new Statistics Canada data showing they are now essential to hospitals, care homes, farms, and restaurants.

But as their numbers rise, so does the political fight over whether the TFW program should be overhauled or scrapped entirely.

In health care and social assistance, more than 130,000 positions were vacant nationally in 2024, with B.C. alone facing shortages in nursing and long-term care that experts warn are at “critical levels.”

The food service industry reported nearly 70,000 unfilled roles, while agriculture continues to battle chronic shortages during peak harvest seasons.

Ryan Mitton of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) said the reality is stark: “Without foreign labour, parts of our health-care system and food supply chain would grind to a halt.”

Not everyone sees the program as a solution—both federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and B.C. Premier David Eby has framed it as a problem, though for different reasons.

Eby argues that the TFW system and international student programs are putting unbearable pressure on housing, schools, and social services, while contributing to youth unemployment.

“We can’t have an immigration system that outpaces our ability to build schools and housing,” he said. “Nor can we have one that results in high unemployment among young Canadians.”

His comments came as a Food Banks BC report revealed that 39 per cent of food bank users in the Vancouver coastal region identify as immigrants or refugees, illustrating the strain on support networks.

Poilievre, meanwhile, has vowed to dismantle the TFW program entirely, claiming it depresses wages and pushes young Canadians out of the job market. Citing data showing a 1,131 per cent increase in TFW hires at Tim Hortons over four years, Poilievre said, “It’s time to take decisive action to protect our youth and workers.”

His plan would phase out the program everywhere except for a narrow carve-out for seasonal farm labour, arguing that companies are using foreign labour to pad profits while leaving Canadian graduates struggling to find work.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has taken a more cautious stance, acknowledging the program’s role while stressing the need for reform.

  “Businesses tell me their top issue is tariffs, and their second issue is how to get more foreign workers,” Carney said during a cabinet meeting in Toronto. “The program has a role, but it needs to be focused and managed carefully.”

Meanwhile, a new Statistics Canada report shows just how deeply the program has become embedded in the system.

  In 2000, just 3,200 TFWs were employed in healthcare. By 2022, that number had skyrocketed to 57,500, a nearly 17-fold increase. The most dramatic jump came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospitals and long-term care homes were desperate for staff. From 2019 to 2020 alone, the number of foreign workers in health care jumped 50 percent, reaching 39,300. Nursing and residential care facilities now rely on TFWs for almost five per cent of their total workforce, while home health services sit even higher at nearly eight per cent.

Ontario employs the largest share of these workers at 43 per cent, followed by Quebec at 26 per cent and B.C. at 13 per cent. Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia both have nearly four percent of their health-care workforce filled by temporary workers. Even with these numbers, it’s not enough to close the gap.

The Canadian Nurses Association pegs the shortfall of nurses at 117,600 nurses in Canada by 2030, with retirements accelerating and Canadian graduates unable to meet demand.

The CFIB has warned that scrapping the program entirely would devastate small businesses, especially in rural and remote areas. “Without it, many B.C. restaurants, farms and care providers would shut down, displacing Canadian workers too,” Mitton said, calling the program a last resort to keep doors open.

In primary agriculture, farms report tens of thousands of unfilled jobs during harvest seasons, with Canadian workers increasingly unwilling to take on physically demanding, seasonal labour. Despite this need, fewer than 10 per cent of TFWs in agriculture become permanent residents within five years. Even among those who gain permanent status, 80 per cent leave the sector within five years, forcing farmers to start the hiring cycle all over again. “Without foreign workers, crops would rot in the field and livestock operations would shut down,” said B.C. agriculture advocates.

The restaurant and accommodation sector faces similar challenges. In 2024, vacancies topped 68,000 nationwide, forcing many businesses to cut hours or close locations. While lower-skilled TFWs initially fill these roles, retention collapses after they gain permanent residency, with fewer than 30 per cent remaining in the sector five years later.

Health care, by contrast, stands out as the only sector where the TFW pathway reliably builds a permanent workforce. Fifty-eight per cent of healthcare TFWs eventually become permanent residents, and two-thirds remain in the sector. By contrast, agriculture, hospitality, and food manufacturing act as revolving doors, with high turnover and limited retention.

In total, there were 845,000 TFWs in Canada in 2021, more than double the 356,000 a decade earlier. In just the first half of 2025, Canada issued 105,000 new permits, already surpassing its target of 82,000 for the year. These numbers illustrate how vital the program has become, but also highlight why critics fear its consequences for housing, wages, and youth unemployment, said an immigration advocate.

“For now, one fact is clear. Without temporary foreign workers, thousands of jobs would remain empty, shelves and fields would go unstocked, and patients in hospitals and care homes would face even longer waits,” she said.