Most inspections of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program occur without government officials ever visiting the actual worksites, raising concerns about oversight in a program critics already scrutinize for worker abuse, the Investigative Journalism Foundation found.
The findings come as Canada has doubled its temporary foreign worker population while simultaneously reducing inspections to prevent fraud and exploitation.
Worker advocates say the practice of conducting inspections without physical site visits makes the controversial program more vulnerable to abuse and undermines protections for foreign workers.
Canadian employers can recruit foreign nationals through the program to fill positions where no qualified Canadian workers are available. Critics from multiple quarters have targeted the program in recent months.
In January, Amnesty International released a report documenting widespread abuse of migrant workers under the program, including wage theft, excessive work hours, and physical and sexual abuse. The human rights organization said the program’s design, which ties workers’ visas to a single employer, enables exploitation. The UN released a similar report in 2024.
Read: UN Report Slams Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program as ‘Breeding Ground for Slavery’
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called in September for the program’s immediate termination, arguing it suppresses wages and reduces job opportunities for Canadians. The Conservative Party claims the government has exceeded its own cap of 82,000 new permits for 2025, issuing 105,000 in the first six months alone.
Read: Pierre Poilievre Calls for End to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The federal government has implemented several restrictions over the past year, including reducing the cap on low-wage foreign workers from 20% to 10% of an employer’s workforce and establishing a moratorium on processing applications in regions with unemployment rates above 6%.
As of 2024, approximately 80% of foreign workers in Canada hold permits under the International Mobility Program, with 20% under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The government has set a target to reduce temporary residents from 7% to 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2026.
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