Canada is making it harder for immigrants to help build much-needed homes — despite the construction industry’s growing reliance on them

Of note:

…Recognizing the need for migrant workers, the federal government in 2024 exempted the construction sector, along with agriculture and health care, from new restrictions that limit most employers to hiring a maximum of 10 per cent of their workforce through the low-wage temporary foreign worker program.

The exempt industries employ the largest number of temporary foreign workers.

In March, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada under then minister Marc Miller announced that up to 6,000 undocumented construction workers would be given a pathway to gain legal status in Canada, acknowledging that “these undocumented migrants are already living and working in Canada, and are contributing to the sector.”

This announcement came more than two years after the federal government said it would be expanding a small-scale pilot project that offered permanent residence for out-of-status construction workers already working in the sector.

In a statement, the immigration department acknowledged “there are undocumented migrants already living and working in Canada” contributing to the construction sector. It added that “creating a pathway for them to be here legally would ensure that they can continue to work and support Canada’s labour market needs, such as building the homes our communities need.”

Asked whether the pathway is being implemented, the department said the government is still “considering potential approaches to support Canada’s construction industry.”

While migrant workers and newcomers have become essential to keeping construction sites running, they are also disproportionately assigned the most precarious, low-paid and hazardous jobs in the sector. These roles often come with the highest rates of injury and the least protection.

Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), said immigrants will often end up in “informal trades, more of what you call menial tasks,” typically unlicensed jobs assisting other trades. These include work in concrete, tile, bricklaying, stonework, drywalling and painting….

Source: Canada is making it harder for immigrants to help build much-needed homes — despite the construction industry’s growing reliance on them