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As the federal government reviews its Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, an unlikely alliance of Conservative and NDP politicians, trade unions and construction associations is calling for it to be scrapped or see major changes, claiming it provides little benefit to Canada and exploits the vulnerable.   

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for the program’s demise as the Liberals have issued 105,000 TFW permits in six months and are on track to issue the most TFW permits in Canada’s history, a move that is hindering younger workers from entry level jobs. 

The issue goes deeper for B.C.’s construction industry.

Chris Atkinson, president of the B.C. Construction Association, isn’t willing to scrap the program but it needs a major overhaul. The TFW program can provide some project labour relief, but it is not a solution, he says.

He believes immigration programs should be aligned better with the long-term needs of the construction industry.

“Our focus and priority both federally and provincially is a progressive system where immigrants can remain on a permanent basis,” he said.

Companies do not want to invest in up-skilling temporary employees when there is no clear commitment or path to remain in Canada. As well, Atkinson points out, the TFW program does little for the economy as those earned dollars leave with the workers.   

B.C.’s NDP Premier David Eby has aligned his TFW views with the Conservatives calling for the program to be scrapped or revamped as it is taking away jobs from youth employment.

In 2023, employers were cleared to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers – about Regina’s population – and up from 108,988 in 2018, according to Employment and Social Development Canada figures. Construction trade helpers and labourers have grown from 132 in 2018 to 5,353 in 2023.

In 2024, the BC Building Trades (BCBT) released its own TFW report and figures, claiming over the last five years, just 7,020 tradespersons have obtained permanent residency in B.C.

Meanwhile, 7,160 temporary work permits were approved across 11 construction trades in B.C. during that same period.

Canada needs to prioritize permanent pathways for trades people, it said, and halt its significant over-reliance on temporary programs.

“Indeed, the share of temporary workers in the construction industry in B.C. is more than double the national proportion,” BCBT’s report said.

Jordan Bateman, vice-president of marketing and communications for the Independent Contractors and �ȵ����es Association, said: “We think it needs a major reform.” 

The ICBA wants to see immigration focus on individuals with trade skills.

“Unskilled workers we don’t need,” he said, adding in the long-term, the TFW program is not a sustainable solution to the industry’s growing skills shortage.

Abuse has flourished in the program. For a TFW permit to be issued, an employer must do a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) showing the company was unable to find Canadian workers. The LMIA is submitted to the government and if approved it can be directed to the temporary worker wanting to enter Canada.   

In October 2024, CBC and the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) found Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji individuals openly selling real and fake positive LMIAs to foreign buyers for $25,000 to $45,000. In May 2025, a Surrey, B.C., immigration consultant Neera Agnihotri discovered her firm had been used on employment documents without her knowledge on foreign workers supposedly bound for B.C.  

In January 2025 Amnesty International issued its report on TFW worker abuse as employers control living conditions and able to cancel a permit.

B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon acknowledged some employers have built business plans around the TFW program and cases of fraud have occurred.

Validity of LMIA searches remains an issue.  In September rules were changed and now prospective employers must advertise on the federal government’s Job Bank when advertising TFWP positions.

But, Ironworkers Local 97 business manager Doug Parton doesn’t see that changing anything as employers use TFW employees as low-cost labour.  The job post wages being offered are below what Canadians expect and with no applicants, employers can claim a shortage of workers, he said.  

“This is not a skills shortage. This is about lower wage supply and demand,” said Parton, a vocal 15-year TFW program critic.  

Rates posted are 40 to 45 per cent lower with TFWs coming from South America, Mexico and the Caribbean where the rates are still attractive.   

 “It is a fallacy that they can’t find Canadians,” he said, pointing to his own union, which has taken in 132 young men and women recently and “102 are still with me.”

Parton sees the TFWP as not only undercutting wages but its failed immigrant pathways for those wanting to stay, bringing additional problems. Some are “on the lam” as their permits have expired and they are now vulnerable to exploitation where employers will hire illegal workers, he said.   

The Canada Building Trades Unions (CBTU) supports the federal TFW program review but wants change.

In a press release it urges restoring mandatory union consultation on the LMIA process, TFW program wage requirements with the prevailing wage under the Income Tax Act, rather than outdated Job Bank figures and expanding the definition of “employer” within the program to include unions or union-contractor joint entities, improving oversight and ensuring proper support for workers.