Canada will reduce the entry of temporary foreign workers, as part of a set of tougher rules announced Monday (26/08/2024) as part of a shift in its generous immigration policy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement and said the country would change its immigration policies in response to rising unemployment figures among immigrants and young people.

“We are adjusting the rules and limiting eligibility to reduce the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers with exceptions in certain sectors like health care, construction and food security,” Trudeau explained at a press conference.

“We will also explore changes for higher wages. So to those who complain about the lack of workers, here is my message: there is no better time to hire and invest in Canadian workers,” added the Canadian Prime Minister.

The measure, which will come into force on September 26, means that companies will not be able to recruit more than 10% of their workforce with foreign workers and that the duration of contracts will be reduced from two to one year.

Trudeau also said he would study unemployment rates in order to “make further adjustments this fall” to migration levels.

The government's announcement comes after several years of high inflation, rapidly rising costs of living and a severe crisis of affordable housing across the country that have caused the ruling Liberal Party to sink in the polls.

In addition, the Bank of Canada and the public agency Statistics Canada (EC) recently warned that immigrants and young people face unemployment rates several times higher than those of the rest of the population. In July, the country's unemployment rate was 6.4%.

Canada is the G7 country with the fastest growing population thanks to the high number of immigrants it welcomes each year.

In 2022, Canada allowed 431,645 immigrants to enter the country and in 2023 465,000 immigrants. In 2024, this figure will reach 485,000 and a year later, 500,000 immigrants. In 2015, when Trudeau came to power, Canada welcomed less than 300,000 immigrants per year.

In addition to these figures for permanent immigrants, there are temporary foreign workers.

Between 2018 and 2023, Canada doubled permits for temporary foreign workers, which reached 239,646 people last year. The use of temporary foreign workers is widespread in the Canadian economy.

gs (afp, efe)