Canadian provinces are preparing for changes in TFW policies. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) notified on August 26th that the Low-Wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) will no longer be processing Labor Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in the interim. Also, employers in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with unemployment rates of 6% or above are subject to this ban.

For a CMA to be eligible, its population must be at least 100,000, with at least 50,000 living in its central region.

The ESDC did not identify which CMAs would be impacted by the program’s preventive measures in its release. Media has data from Statistics Canada that sheds light on the unemployment rates in different CMAs around the nation. Consequently, this information makes it easier to pinpoint the areas that are likely to be affected by the new policy.

Note: Although government organizations frequently use Statistics Canada, it is not possible to say with certainty which locations will be impacted by ESDC’s recent announcement based just on this data.

The CMAs having an unemployment rate of 6% or above are included in the following table as of September 6th, when the data was updated:

  • Abbotsford-Mission, British Columbia: 6.7%
  • Barrie, Ontario: 6.2%
  • Brantford, Ontario: 6.3%
  • Calgary, Alberta: 7.6%
  • Edmonton, Alberta: 8.5%
  • Greater Sudbury, Ontario: 6.2%
  • Halifax, Nova Scotia: 6.1%
  • Hamilton, Ontario: 7.4%
  • Kingston, Ontario: 6.6%
  • Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario: 7.6%
  • London, Ontario: 7.5%
  • Montréal, Quebec: 7.3%
  • Oshawa, Ontario: 8.5%
  • Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario: 7.1%
  • Ottawa-Gatineau, Quebec: 6.9%
  • Regina, Saskatchewan: 6.8%
  • Saint John, New Brunswick: 6.8%
  • St. Catharines-Niagara, Ontario: 7.5%
  • St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: 7.2%
  • Toronto, Ontario: 8.6%
  • Trois-Rivières, Quebec: 6.5%
  • Vancouver, British Columbia: 6.2%
  • Windsor, Ontario: 9.8%
  • Winnipeg, Manitoba: 6.3%

Understanding CMAs

A territory that is made up of one or more neighboring municipalities encircling a central population center is known as a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). The most current Population Census Program data is used to construct this classification. The included municipalities must demonstrate a high degree of social and economic integration with the core area in order to be eligible to be included in a CMA. This integration is usually measured by looking at patterns of travel between the municipalities and the core.

A significant difference between Census Agglomerations (CAs) and CMAs is that, once a territory is designated as a CMA, it stays that way even if its population eventually drops below the necessary threshold. As well as, this guarantees that the area’s long-lasting social and economic ties will be reflected in the CMA designation over time.

It is imperative to acknowledge that CMAs are not interchangeable with specific cities. For example, the Toronto CMA includes Mississauga, which is the seventh largest city in Canada by population, and Toronto, which is the first. Also, this illustrates how a CMA can include a number of cities and municipalities, underscoring the interdependence of Canada’s urban areas.

Canada’s Policy on Reducing Temporary Foreign Workers

An increasing amount of scrutiny has been directed towards the program and temporary resident levels, including those with work or study permits. Consequently, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has adjusted its policy regarding temporary foreign workers.

Furthermore, employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a big change in March at a huge joint press conference: temporary resident levels will now be included in the annual Immigration Levels Plan for the first time. The purpose of this modification is to address domestic issues with housing availability and affordability.

Minister Boissonnault unveiled several initiatives to lessen Canadian employers’ reliance on temporary foreign labor during the same press conference. He emphasized worries about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) rules not being followed. Moreover, he expressed concerns about the potential harm that an overabundance of the program could do to wages.

Furthermore, in light of the considerable modifications to Canada’s labor market subsequent to the conclusion of the epidemic, ESDC has been gradually reversing policies from the COVID era throughout the year.