Ottawa would extend low-wage temporary foreign worker stays to two years, add early educators to exemptions

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The federal government says it is making changes to the low-wage temporary foreign worker program that would extend the maximum duration of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) approval to two years, up from one year.

Ottawa said restrictions on hiring temporary foreign workers in cities with unemployment rates above six per cent would remain in place. It is also adding early childhood educators to the list of occupations exempt from those restrictions, a list that already includes certain jobs in health care, construction and food processing.

The government is proposing additional measures for low-wage LMIA applications that are set to take effect on March 1, 2027, including a measure that would let provinces and territories add or remove occupations from the exemption list for the six-per-cent rule.

Ottawa is also proposing that provinces and territories be able to raise the share of a workforce that can be made up of low-wage temporary foreign workers to 15 per cent, up from the current limit of 10 per cent.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab said Monday the government intends to work more closely with provinces and territories to tailor the temporary worker program to regional needs during remarks in Stellarton, N.S. She said the government recognizes some regions do not have Canadians applying for certain roles, while maintaining that all jobs should be made available to Canadians first.

Diab said the raised percentages would be decided by provinces and territories, adding, “This is again working in partnership with the provinces in territories who will decide whether that is the right thing to do for their provinces, and if so, where in the regions.”

Diab announced during the same visit that the Rural Community Immigration Pilot is being made into a permanent government program and a permanent residency pathway. The government said the initiative involved more than 1,950 vetted employers in 14 rural communities facing labour shortages that could not be filled solely with local workers.

The government said about 5,500 permanent residency slots are assigned to the program in the latest immigration levels plan, and it said it plans to expand the program to more communities in the future.

The reporting also notes that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argued Friday the temporary foreign worker program should not be an option in communities where the unemployment rate is above 5.5 per cent, while Statistics Canada reported a national unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent in October.