Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) permits Canadian firms to temporarily hire foreign nationals to fill labour shortages in Canada. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) collaborate to run the TFWP (ESDC).

The TFWP assists Canadian firms in hiring international talent. It also ensures that these international employees receive the rights and protections they require to work safely in Canada. Employers may engage temporary foreign workers under the TFWP using the following channels:
- High-Wage Workers
- Low-Wage Workers
- Global Talent Stream
- Foreign Agricultural Workers
- In-Home Caregivers
- Foreign Academics

The requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment is a crucial feature of the TFWP (LMIA). Any company who wishes to hire a foreign national under TFWP must first get an LMIA indicating that they were unable to fill the position with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Only after acquiring an LMIA would an employer be able to officially hire a foreign national, allowing the foreign national to apply for a work permit or permanent residency in Canada.
There are a number of temporary worker solutions available that allow firms to hire workers without the need for an LMIA. These possibilities are grouped under the International Mobility Program, which is responsible for processing LMIA-exempt work permit applications.

Labour Market Impact Assessments

A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document published by ESDC that evaluates the impact of hiring a foreign worker on the Canadian labour market. A positive LMIA shows that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available to fill a post, allowing a company to hire a foreign national.
A negative LMIA suggests that a position be filled by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Find out more about Labour Market Impact Assessments, including the requirements and application process.

International Mobility Program

The International Mobility Program (IMP) allows Canadian firms to hire temporary overseas workers without first conducting a labour market impact assessment (LMIA). While the majority of firms hiring foreign labour will require an LMIA, there are some exceptions. The following restrictions apply to certain LMIA exemptions:
- Canada's broader economic, cultural, or other competitive advantages; and
- reciprocal benefits received by Canadians and permanent residents.

A Canadian employer must complete three procedures in order to hire a foreign worker through the IMP:
- Confirm that the position or person in question is eligible for an LMIA exemption;
Pay the $230 CAD employer compliance fee;
- Submit the official job offer through the IMP’s Employer Portal.

Only when these three processes have been completed will the foreign national be eligible to apply for their own work permit. If their position is NOC Skill Level A or 0 and they are applying from outside of Canada, LMIA-exempt workers may be eligible for accelerated work permit processing through the Global Skills Strategy.

Global Talent Stream

The Global Talent Stream (GTS) is a two-year trial initiative established in June 2017 by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) (ESDC). The GTS helps select Canadian firms attract highly trained global workers, allowing them to compete on a worldwide scale. Employers who are successfully referred to the programme will be able to speed up the hiring of foreign nationals thanks to the Global Skills Strategy.

Low-Wage Workers

If a company seeks to engage a temporary foreign worker who will be paid less than the province or territory's median hourly rate, the employer must apply through the TFWP low-wage worker stream. The first stage in this process is for the company to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) indicating that they were unable to fill the post with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
Companies should be aware that LMIAs for low-wage workers impose certain requirements on employers in order to guarantee the workplace rights and safety of low-wage non-resident workers. When a business receives a positive LMIA for a low-wage skilled occupation, they must tell the foreign worker of the results and inform them that they must apply for their authorization to work in Canada before the LMIA expires.
Once a low-wage worker receives a good LMIA from an employer, in addition to their official signed employment contract, they may apply for authorisation to work in Canada via a work permit application or a permanent residency application, depending on their eligibility.

Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP)

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) allows firms to engage temporary foreign employees to fill temporary agricultural production tasks for up to eight months at a time. The general conditions for hiring foreign agricultural workers must be met by all roles. Foreign workers must also be citizens of Mexico or one of the Caribbean nations that have signed the bilateral agreement that facilitates the SAWP. If an employer meets the SAWP requirements, they can apply for an LMIA that includes the SAWP specifications.
Employers who hire through the SAWP must meet certain requirements including worker transportation to and from their country of home, worker housing during the work period, and sufficient workplace health and safety conditions. Mexico, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are among the countries taking part in the SAWP.

Foreign Academics

Hiring foreign academics in postsecondary institutions can improve education quality in Canada while also allowing Canadian universities to compete globally in academic research. As a result, IRCC and ESDC have devised a number of protocols to make it easier to hire foreign academics in Canada. Foreign nationals hired in research roles at post-secondary schools may be excused from the need for an LMIA, a work permit, or both in many situations. Academics who do not qualify for a work permit exemption or an LMIA exemption must guarantee that standard processes for employing personnel through the TFWP are followed.