Canada to require firms hiring ‘high-wage’ foreign workers to pay more

Canada is planning to put new limits on a program that allows companies to recruit high-wage foreign labour by forcing firms to offer higher compensation, according to a senior government official with knowledge of the matter.

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that businesses looking to hire workers from the high-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program will need to offer pay that’s at least 20% higher than the median wage in each province, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

Currently, firms can offer the median provincial wage to take advantage of the program, after completing a so-called “labour market impact assessment” to prove that it’s too hard to find Canadians to fill the roles.

The higher wage floor marks a further adjustment to the country’s regulations on temporary workers. The government is trying to curb population growth after the number of non-permanent residents in Canada rapidly increased in recent years.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been criticized for the flood of newcomers that have driven population gains to some of the highest in decades, straining public services and exacerbating a housing shortage.

With the labour market steadily loosening since the start of last year, questions are also mounting as to why firms should continue to use foreign labour. The unemployment rate in the country is 6.5% — and 13.5% for the youngest workers.

In August, the federal government moved to restrict the use of temporary workers in low-wage positions, reducing the limit to 10% of a firm’s workforce, with exceptions for some harder-to-hire sectors.

In the first quarter of this year, truck drivers were the profession most likely to be hired through the high-wage stream of the foreign worker program, representing 15% of jobs approved.

In Ontario, the country’s most populous province, the median wage used as a threshold for the high-wage temporary worker program is currently at C$28.39 ($20.57) an hour. After the changes, the floor will increase to C$34.07.

The government official said the changes may affect as many as 34,000 workers.

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