The results indicated that the majority of Canadians emphasized the importance of temporary foreign workers, considering them crucial for the nation’s economy.
The results indicated that the majority of Canadians emphasized the importance of temporary foreign workers, considering them crucial for the nation’s economy.
More than half of Canadians expressed support for temporary foreign workers, according to a recent survey conducted by Nanos Research.
The online survey and a hybrid telephonic survey involved 1,006 Canadians. The survey specifically delved into various aspects, including the significance of temporary foreign workers to the Canadian economy, support for employers hiring them to fill vacancies, their potential pathway to becoming citizens or permanent residents, the influx of temporary foreign workers seeking employment in Canada, and the flexibility for them to switch employers.
Nearly half of Canadians (48 percent) perceive temporary foreign workers as crucial to the country’s economy, and an additional 34 percent regard foreign workers as somewhat crucial.
Older Canadians strongly agree
Approximately 56 percent of older Canadians expressed stronger agreement compared to 38 percent of younger Canadians.
Eight out of ten Canadians either fully support (49 percent) or somewhat support (30 percent) firms hiring temporary foreign workers to fill positions that cannot be filled by Canadians.
Noteworthy is that the Atlantic area and Quebec in Canada exhibit higher levels of support for this practice.
Additionally, concerning the permission for temporary foreign workers to switch employers, Canadians demonstrated a more approving stance, with a majority (31 percent) expressing support compared to those (17 percent) who were against it.
In terms of regional differences, individuals in Quebec were more inclined to support the idea of permitting temporary foreign workers to switch employers in Canada compared to those in the Prairies and British Columbia.
Nik Nanos, Chairman of Nanos Research, noted that while Canadians are becoming more opposed to increased overall immigration, there is greater support for migrants arriving to perform specific jobs.
“When it comes to people coming to Canada for a purpose, such as temporary foreign workers, there’s pretty good levels of support and acceptance,” he said.
Changes to TFW Solutions Roadmap
Canadian Minister for Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages Randy Boissonnault recently outlined significant changes to the Temporary Foreign Workforce Solutions Roadmap.
The initiative serves as a foundational part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which has been increasingly vital for Canadian employers grappling with persistent labor shortages. The TFW Program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to fill temporary jobs when qualified Canadians are not available.
The program is regulated through the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and is administered in partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.
Employment and Social Development Canada, operating via its Service Canada processing centers, evaluates applications from employers seeking authorization to employ temporary foreign workers. They also conduct labor market impact assessments to gauge the potential impact of these workers on the Canadian labor market.
Foreign workers in Canada
According to a recent report by Statistics Canada, the count of temporary residents declaring income in Canada witnessed an almost 150 percent increase from 2010 to 2020, propelled by postgraduate work permit holders and international students possessing study permits.
The Canadian federal government oversees two essential initiatives for temporary foreign workers and residents, namely, the TFW program and the International Mobility program.
During the same period, the number of postgraduate work permit holders increased by 900 percent from 23,300 workers to 226,000.
Study permit holders reported income increased sevenfold, from 18,100 at the start of the decade to 153,000 at the end. The number of TFW program participants reporting income decreased by 12 percent over the same timeframe.
