Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Canada discontinued, potential impact on food supply chain illustrated.
Alright, let's straight up discuss this agri-food debacle Canada's been dealing with. Our buds in Ottawa ain't renewing the Agri-Food Pilot, a program that the agri-food industry has been hailing for providing a steady, permanent workforce for employers and safeguarding vulnerable workers. This thing, launched in 2020, was an olive branch offering permanent residence to full-time, year-round temporary foreign workers in the meat processing, mushroom, and greenhouse production industries.
Now, after a five-year run, the agri-food sector is feeling the burn as the program reached its cap in February 2025 and is a wrap. Since its inception, it approved 5,233 agri-food workers and family members and denied just 399, with 126 withdrawn.
Arnold Drung, president and CEO of Conestoga Meats near Kitchener, which has submitted 207 applications, with 72 already approved, ain't happy about it. "The program has proven effective," he said. "It's impacted our foreign workers, local employees, our business, farmers, and the local economy positively."
Things got worse when critics claim they've seen an increase in work permit and renewal applications being refused since late last year, after Immigration Minister Marc Miller started cracking down on foreign workers in Canada.
Canada's agri-food sector relies heavily on temporary foreign workers, with over 115,000 filling labor gaps in primary agriculture and food manufacturing alone in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. Now, the discontinuation of the Agri-Food Pilot leaves employers high and dry with labor shortages and no feasible way to retain workers, posing threats to food production from farm to grocery aisle during a trade war with the U.S.
The Immigration Department explained that economic pilots like the Agri-Food Pilot have a lifespan of up to 5 years only and cannot be extended, despite the expiration and replacement of the foreign caregiver pilots twice since 2014. They stated work permit refusal rates fluctuate due to various factors, but measures have been put in place to accommodate workers when changing jobs or employers, preventing them from overstaying.
During the pandemic, work permits for agriculture and agri-food workers were prioritized to maintain the food supply chain, but Janet Krayden, workforce specialist at the Canadian Mushroom Growers' Association, noted that this practice has since been overlooked.
"Although our job vacancies and labor shortage are recognized overall, we are caught in a dragnet of these restrictions reducing immigration numbers, which should not apply to farms and food processing, especially during the current trade war with the U.S," she said.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reported just over 70,000 temporary foreign workers working in primary agriculture industries in 2023, with another 45,000 employed in food and beverage manufacturing industries.
A report by Farm Credit Canada in December said a quarter of the labor force in the food and beverage manufacturing is aged 55 to 64 and set to retire within the next 10 years.
Lauren Martin of the Canadian Meat Council explained that jobs in meat processing aren't popular among Canadians because they are labor-intensive and mainly found outside major urban centers. The pathway for permanent residence helps businesses keep seasoned staff and ensure foreign workers receive the same protections as Canadians.
"Our plants are unionized," Martin said. "Employers aren't searching for cyclical workers; they want permanent employees to fill year-round, permanent positions."
Derek Johnstone, spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, agreed, emphasizing ongoing labor shortages in the agri-food sector and the increasing reliance on migrant workers to fill these roles.
"We're concerned as the United Food and Commercial Workers about this pilot essentially ending, and nothing, as far as we can tell, being planned to replace it," he said, adding, "There are major industries within the food production system that are now reliant on migrant workers, who are vulnerable to abuse because they don't have permanent status, and immigration pathways are the first step in addressing these issues."
Both Johnstone and Martin want to see the Agri-Food Pilot become a permanent program.
[1] The Agri-Food Pilot had a broader scope in terms of including meat processing, year-round roles, and was a direct pathway to permanent residency for qualifying workers.
[2] The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program targets workers from Mexico and Caribbean countries for specific agricultural commodities.
[3] The Agricultural Stream allows working for any country but is limited to the National Commodities List production.
[4] Wage thresholds for the High/Low-Wage Streams have been increased by 20%, effective November 2024.
[5] The Global Talent Stream focuses on highly-skilled positions but seldom applies to traditional agri-food job roles.
[^general^] Provincial streams may offer agri-food pathways but usually require employer sponsorship and cater to regional labor needs. Caregiver and permanent residency LMIA offer high-wage TFWP positions that can support permanent residency applications, although agri-food workers generally rely on employer-driven LMIA processes, lacking direct immigration pathways post-2025.
[1] Despite the discontinuation of the Agri-Food Pilot, alternative immigration pathways such as the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program or the Agricultural Stream might be considered for qualifying workers.
[2] The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is designed for workers from Mexico and Caribbean countries, focusing on specific agricultural commodities as compared to the broader scope of the Agri-Food Pilot.
[3] The Agricultural Stream allows individuals to work from any country but cater only to specific industries listed on the National Commodities List, unlike the Agri-Food Pilot which included meat processing and year-round roles.
[4] The wage thresholds for High/Low-Wage Streams have been increased by 20% as of November 2024, which may affect the employability of agri-food workers.
[5] The Global Talent Stream might not be a suitable option for traditional agri-food job roles, as it focuses on highly-skilled positions.
[6] Provincial streams may offer Agri-Food pathways, but they usually require employer sponsorship and cater to regional labor needs, unlike the Agri-Food Pilot which had a direct pathway to permanent residency.
[7] The Caregiver pathway might offer agri-food workers a chance at permanent residency, provided they meet the requirements and secure a position under the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
[8] It's worth noting that agri-food workers generally rely on employer-driven LMIA processes and lack direct immigration pathways post-2025, as opposed to other industries.
[9] In the midst of economic uncertainties, particularly with ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the U.S, it's crucial to explore potential solutions to address labor shortages and ensure the stability of the agri-food sector in Canada.
[10] Critics express concern over the increasing refusal of work permit and renewal applications, stating that these restrictions reduce immigration numbers unnecessarily, especially in the agri-food sector, and should be revisited to prevent potential threats to the nation's food security.
