Changes intended as 'short-term response to immediate labour pressures’
British Columbia will allow certain rural employers to keep more existing low-wage temporary foreign workers (TFWs) for an extra year, while rejecting a wider federal move that would have enabled businesses to bring in larger numbers of new temporary workers.
On March 13, the federal government announced time-limited changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to address immediate labour shortages in rural communities. Provinces were given the option to adopt two measures: a variance allowing rural employers to retain existing low-wage TFWs above the current 10% cap, and an increase in the low-wage cap to 15%, which would permit additional new temporary foreign workers to be hired.
B.C. has confirmed it will opt in only to the first measure, permitting some rural employers outside census metropolitan areas to retain their existing low-wage TFWs for an additional year, provided all other TFWP requirements are met.
In March, Ottawa’s Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) announced targeted, time‑limited measures that will allow eligible rural employers to increase the share of low‑wage temporary foreign workers in their workforce from 10% to 15%, at the request of provinces and territories.
The changes took effect this month, and will remain in place until March 31, 2027.
Province rejects higher cap on low-wage TFWs
The B.C. government has made clear it does not support a broader expansion of the TFWP and will not opt in to the proposed increase of the low-wage stream cap to 15%, which would allow employers to bring in larger numbers of new low-wage temporary foreign workers. Seasonal, short-term and primary agriculture positions will remain exempt from the caps.
“The Temporary Foreign Worker Program policy changes are intended as a short-term response to immediate labour pressures,” said Jessie Sunner, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. “B.C. is calling on the federal immigration minister to focus on long-term workforce solutions, not stopgaps, that reflect provincial needs and help communities, especially in rural and remote areas, recruit and retain skilled workers for the long term.”
In a previous report from The Canadian Press (CP), the ministry said: “While we acknowledge that employers and businesses in rural communities can find it challenging to recruit workers, the province believes the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is not a long-term solution to these labour market challenges.”
The province stated that by choosing only the first policy, it is “supporting rural employers outside of the census metropolitan areas to retain their existing workers for an additional year, if all other requirements of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are met.”
Impact on rural employers and local labour markets
The federal department of Employment and Social Development Canada estimates approximately 585 employers in British Columbia located outside census metropolitan areas currently exceed the 10% cap on low-wage TFWs. Those organisations are most likely to feel the immediate impact of the provincial decision to permit retention of existing workers but not expansion of new low-wage TFW hires.
Census metropolitan areas in British Columbia include Vancouver (Metro Vancouver Regional District), Abbotsford–Mission, Chilliwack, Victoria (Capital Regional District), Nanaimo, Kelowna and Kamloops. Employers outside these centres will be eligible for the flexibility, subject to meeting federal TFWP rules.
Randene Neill, MLA for Powell River–Sunshine Coast, said the decision balances short-term needs with longer-term reform. “While we are advocating for more permanent solutions that benefit workers, employers and communities in the long term, opting in to this section of the federal policy will help provide immediate help and short-term stability in rural areas like the Sunshine Coast and communities across the province,” Neill said.
Meanwhile, leaders in some of British Columbia’s rural communities have called on the provincial government to support changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Businesses will have to start shutting down if the provincial government does otherwise, the leaders said, according to a CP report.
“We do not have the [worker] numbers we need. My own personal experience, we will go six months, eight months, 10 months even between receiving applications from local residents, Canadians, permanent residents,” said Kyle MacDonald, a Dawson Creek city councillor who owns and operates two Tim Hortons restaurants, according to the report.
Focus on youth employment and skills development
The B.C. government said its priority is to connect people living in the province with available job opportunities, with a particular focus on young people, alongside continued investment in employment and skills training programmes.
B.C. has committed to continuing work with the federal government on long-term workforce development measures that reduce youth unemployment, strengthen skills development and support employers in moving away from ongoing reliance on temporary labour.
“Supporting employment opportunities for people living in B.C. remains a government priority and aligns with provincial efforts to build a strong, skilled workforce and connect people to good jobs,” the B.C. government said.
Earlier this month, Canada expanded its freeze on processing low‑wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications to Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax.
