Conservative leader Pierre Poillievre says Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program should be scrapped and a standalone agriculture program should be created.
Poilievre announced Sept 3 in Mississauga, Ont., the party’s plan to permanently end the program, which accounted for over 78,000 employees across the agriculture sector in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
The current Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) allows primary agriculture employers to bring in seasonal workers from Mexico and the Caribbean. However, farmers and food producers may also hire workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
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“The time has come for decisive action,” he said. “To stop the Liberals from using our immigration system to pad the pockets of corporate elites and other insiders at the expense of Canadian jobs.”
“Conservatives are calling on the Carney government to permanently scrap the temporary foreign worker program and stop issuing any new visas for any new temporary foreign workers coming into the country.”
He cited Canadian unemployment as the main reason for the plan, accusing Liberals of taking jobs away from Canadians.
According to a party press release, the Conservatives would establish “a separate, standalone program for legitimately difficult-to-fill agricultural labour.”
The statement said there would be a transition period of at most five years while the program “winds down.”
Poilievre argued the workers themselves are not the problem, but said they are being exploited by elites looking to reduce costs.
The announcement comes as the TFW program has received considerable scrutiny and backlash over the past several years, including from the previous Liberal government.
Last year, the then Trudeau Liberals took steps to restrict the number of foreign workers employed in Canada, though agricultural jobs were exempted.
It’s an issue that certain sectors of agriculture are watching closely. Last year, Cam Dahl, general manager of the Manitoba Pork Council, wrote a letter to Canada’s immigration and citizenship minister, pointing to the sector’s need for access to skilled labour and success of targeted immigration programs like Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program.
That letter argued that immigration management should have more regional basis, with provinces on good footing to know and manage their labour needs.
