Temporary foreign worker growth in Canada exceeded job creation last year

March 4, 2024   Front Page, Government, Labour, Politics

By Rohana Rezel

The increase in temporary foreign workers in Canada outpaced job creation in 2023, according to an analysis of Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data.

During the calendar year 2023, Canada added 417,500 jobs according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey[1]Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410028701.

The number of work permit holders in Canada grew by 502,835 during the same period, according to datasets published in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Open Data Portal[2]Temporary Residents: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP) Work Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates (Record ID: bed6c44f-1cc7-47c2-9483-9b467c3c0f97)[3]Temporary Residents: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP) Work Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates (Record ID: 8d4c4240-88ea-421d-b80d-6cc6a3d28044).

In other words, the growth of temporary workers exceeded jobs creation by 85,335.

During the same period, an additional 203,300 individuals joined the ranks of the unemployed.

By how much did the increase in temporary foreign worker numbers contribute to unemployment in Canada?

It’s not possible to answer that question based on available data. 

Firstly, Statistics Canada’s Number of temporary residents with positive employment income in Canada dataset does not go beyond 2020.

Secondly, Statistics Canada has not published any current figures on the number of international students who are working in Canada. 

The number of study permit holders increased by 236,615 over the past year. At the same time, the federal government decided to permit all international students in Canada, numbering 1,040,985, to work fulltime off-campus[4]Temporary Residents: Study Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates – Canada – Study permit holders on December 31st by province/territory and study level (Record ID: b663a97c-61d4-4e17-af51-0cba01ef3a44).

Once Statistics Canada publishes these datasets, we should be able to get a clearer understanding of how the increase in temporary foreign workers is contributing to unemployment in Canada.

Labour force characteristics20222023Difference
Employment19,907,40020,324,900417,500
Temporary foreign workers767,5251,270,360502,835
Unemployment1,040,5001,243,800203,300

Contact the Author
You can reach Rohana Rezel at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook and Github.

References   [ + ]

1. ↑ Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410028701
2. ↑ Temporary Residents: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP) Work Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates (Record ID: bed6c44f-1cc7-47c2-9483-9b467c3c0f97)
3. ↑ Temporary Residents: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP) Work Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates (Record ID: 8d4c4240-88ea-421d-b80d-6cc6a3d28044)
4. ↑ Temporary Residents: Study Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates – Canada – Study permit holders on December 31st by province/territory and study level (Record ID: b663a97c-61d4-4e17-af51-0cba01ef3a44)