Question Period Note: TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKER PROGRAM: TEMPORARY MEASURES TO SUPPORT EMPLOYERS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

The Government has announced temporary measures under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in recognition of the economic difficulties and pressures faced by rural communities. Recent labour market analysis and engagement with rural stakeholders show ongoing unique labour market pressures in rural areas, including labour shortages, limited labour mobility, and challenges attracting and retaining workers.

In 2025, rural areas in Canada faced a tighter labour market, with an unemployment rate of 5.5% compared with 7.0% in urban areas (Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs)); while also having an older workforce, with an average age of 44 versus 41 in CMAs.

The Government of Canada is taking action and introducing facilitative, time-limited measures for employers in Canada’s rural communities.

From April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, provinces and territories can opt-in to measures that will enable employers with rural worksites (located outside of CMAs) to retain their existing low wage temporary foreign workforce hired under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and hire additional low wage workers beyond the standard 10% program cap.

These measures could result in a maximum of approximately 23,000 retained or additional temporary foreign workers, resulting in a minimal 0.05% increase to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) targets for temporary residents by December 2027.

These measures build on IRCC’s recently announced one-time Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) pathway for 33,000 temporary residents in rural areas in 2026 and 2027.

The Government of Canada is committed to fostering economic growth in every region of the country, including rural communities, and is working with our provincial and territorial partners to do so.

These new measures will ensure that rural employers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program can continue to meet their labour needs, while still requiring them to meet all program requirements, including demonstrating that they have made efforts to recruit and hire domestic workers first.

To ensure these measures reflect regional labour market priorities, provinces and territories can choose to opt-in to this one-year initiative, which will enable rural employers to retain and hire low wage workers beyond the standard 10% cap. These measures will be implemented within two weeks of a positive response by any province or territory, starting as early as April 1, 2026. In parallel, the Government of Canada will continue to explore long-term solutions to address local labour market needs.

IF PRESSED (Immigration)

The measures announced will have negligible impacts on Immigration Level Plan targets for temporary residents, maintaining the Government of Canada’s commitment to decreasing temporary resident arrivals and stabilizing permanent resident admissions.

In response to high unemployment rates, the Government of Canada introduced a suite of tightening measures between October 2023 and November 2024 to restrict access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and enhance program integrity. These measures included, among others:

a refusal to process (RTP) policy for low wage positions in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) with a 6% or higher unemployment rate (with exemptions for certain positions in healthcare, food manufacturing, and construction);

a decrease of the cap on the percentage of low wage foreign workers an employer can hire relative to their total workforce from 20% to 10%; and

a reduction in the maximum employment duration of low wage work permits to one year.

As of September 30, 2025, early results from these measures indicated a nearly 70% reduction in applications for the low wage stream from the previous year, while overall program applications saw a 50% reduction in the same time period.

The RTP policy is restricted to CMAs to account for the different labour market realities between rural and urban areas. This distinction of urban (CMA) and rural (non-CMA) is consistent with Statistics Canada’s definitions, which rely on consistent, nationally recognized thresholds for population size and commuting patterns.

Recent data has shown that, while these measures have been effective, many rural communities continue to experience lower unemployment rates; tight labour markets with limited labour mobility; a more rapidly aging population; and difficulty attracting, recruiting and retaining workers, when compared to urban areas. This suggests that more severe labour shortages in rural areas are likely driven by structural demographic and geographic factors, rather than short-term economic conditions.

To address the unique challenges faced by rural employers, the Government of Canada has announced one-year measures that will allow employers in rural areas (outside of CMAs) to retain their existing low wage temporary foreign workforce beyond the current 10% cap (benefiting up to approximately 23,000 currently employed foreign workers). It also increases the low wage cap to 15% (up from 10%) for key sectors in rural areas (benefiting up to 1,600 currently employed foreign workers).

Starting April 1, 2026, provinces and territories (P/T) will have the opportunity to opt-in to these measures, which will be in place until March 31, 2027. While the same measures are available to each P/T, the implementation of the measures may differ based on each P/T’s request. This will ensure the measures adequately reflect the regional economic and labour market realities in their rural communities.

The new measures will have a negligible impact on Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan targets, which for the first time in 2025 included specific targets for temporary residents, including temporary foreign workers. These measures align with the Government’s commitment to decrease temporary resident arrivals and stabilize permanent resident admissions.

With the implementation of these measures, employers will still need to meet all program requirements. This includes the need for prospective employers to submit a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to the Government of Canada, and to demonstrate that they have made efforts to first hire Canadians and permanent residents.

To further reinforce the priority given to Canadian workers, the TFW Program will strengthen recruitment and advertising requirements for employers seeking to fill low-wage positions. Employers will be required to extend their advertising period from four to eight weeks, and to target advertising to the youth before applying to the Program.

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