Canada sees surge in temporary foreign workers applying to escape abusive employers

2025/05/28 Leave a comment

The positive news is that this pathway appears to be responding to the unfortunate need:

The number of temporary foreign workers applying for open work permits to escape abusive employers has jumped more than 800 per cent year over year, a surge advocates say highlights a growing crisis of abuse as immigration cuts and economic uncertainty deepen migrant workers’ vulnerability.

To address exploitation, the federal government in 2019 introduced the Vulnerable Worker Open Work Permit, allowing temporary foreign workers — whose status in Canada is tied to a single employer — to leave abusive jobs and apply for an open permit.

To qualify for one of these permits, migrant workers must show evidence of abuse.

In Ontario, open work permits for vulnerable workers soared to 435 in the first quarter of 2025, up from just 45 during the same period last year, according to the most recent data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — an 867 per cent increase.

In British Columbia, 650 permits were issued in the first quarter of 2025, a sharp rise from just 40 during the same period in 2024. Quebec and Alberta each saw 465 permits issued in early 2025, up from 65 and 30, respectively, during the same period last year.

As Canada increasingly relies on migrant workers to fill gaps in key sectors like agriculture, construction and health care, the surge in vulnerable worker open work permits underscores how the temporary foreign worker program leaves workers open to exploitation. Tied to a single employer, many are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their status or being deported.

Advocates say a looming recession and government efforts to cut immigration levels are exacerbating that precarity, and while more migrant workers are now seeking help, they warn the true scale of abuse is likely far greater than what’s being reported….

Source: Canada sees surge in temporary foreign workers applying to escape abusive employers

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Canada increasingly dependent on low-wage migrant workers, says report

2025/05/28 Leave a comment

Confirmation what many have been noting (chart below highlights shift before more recent reversal_:

The share of native-born Canadians in the labour force has dropped nearly 10 percentage points since 2006, according to a new Bank of Canada report documenting how the country’s economy is becoming increasingly reliant on low-wage migrant workers.

“Not only has Canada experienced an unprecedented surge in immigration, but the composition of recent newcomers has been markedly different than in the past,” reads a discussion paper published May 9 by the bank’s Economic Analysis Department.

The paper found that, driven largely by a surge in temporary migration, the average Canadian immigrant has now become younger, lower-skilled and more likely to hail from poorer regions such as India, sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East.

They’re also paid less. Particularly among Canada’s surging ranks of temporary migrant workers, wages have “reduced significantly relative to Canadian-born workers,” reads the paper.

Since 2015, “the average nominal wage gap between temporary and Canadian-born workers has more than doubled,” it read.

The authors calculated that the average migrant worker in Canada is now paid more than one fifth (22.6 per cent) less than a comparable Canadian-born worker. Prior to 2014, that gap was only 9.5 per cent.

The paper, entitled The Shift in Canadian Immigration Composition and its Effect on Wages, is one of the most definitive official documents as to the massive surge of migrant workers brought to Canada in the immediate wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting in 2022, Canada began accepting more than one million newcomers per year, mostly in “non-permanent” categories of immigrants ranging from international students, who are among those admitted under the international mobility program, to temporary foreign workers.

The Bank of Canada document shows that this wasn’t just unprecedented for Canada, but it went well beyond the pale of any comparable advanced economy.

Between 2019 and 2023, Canada charted population growth of more than six per cent. This was triple the rate seen in the United States, and double the rate seen in Switzerland, the only other developed economy analyzed by the paper whose demographic shift came anywhere close to those of Canada’s….

Source: Canada increasingly dependent on low-wage migrant workers, says report

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Immigration advocates take Ottawa to court over refugee treaty with U.S. 

2025/05/27 Leave a comment

As was expected and they have a case, no matter how inconvenient, as it gets stronger day-by-day with clear incidents of USA and ICE over-reach and undermining protections:

The federal government is facing a legal challenge arguing that its oversight of a two-decade-old refugee treaty with the United States is “fundamentally flawed.”

The bilateral agreement is premised on both countries being safe for asylum seekers. It prevents refugee claimants passing through the U.S. from seeking protection in Canada and vice versa. 

Canada is legally required to regularly review its neighbour’s human-rights record and refugee protections as part of the treaty, the Safe Third Country Agreement, or STCA. Ottawa has not publicized its findings since 2009. 

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a sweeping immigration crackdown that has heightened asylum seekers’ risk of detention and deportation. Immigration rights groups have asserted that migrants and asylum seekers have been held in “secret” detention at the northern border. 

In an application for judicial review, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) and the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO) argue that the lack of publicly available information about Ottawa‘s refugee monitoring process shields the government from accountability − and could violate the Constitution.

“This is so crucial because what we see happening at the Canada-U.S. border is quite troubling,” said lawyer Maureen Silcoff, who is representing CARL in the legal challenge.

Advocates in Canada have long maintained that cracks in American refugee protections leave asylum seekers at risk, raising concerns about the legality of the STCA treaty. Executive orders issued by the U.S. President in January, which initiated drastic immigration changes, have heightened fears over detention conditions for asylum seekers and rapid deportation without due process. 

Sujit Choudhry, who is representing SALCO in the case, said that without detailed evidence of how Ottawa determines its neighbour is safe for asylum seekers, it is impossible to know if Canada is complying with its legal obligations to refugee claimants.

An inaccurate designation – one that results in refugee claimants at the Canadian border being returned to the U.S. and then deported to a country where they would face torture – would violate the Canadian Constitution, he added. …

Source: Immigration advocates take Ottawa to court over refugee treaty with U.S.

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Rempel Garner: Canada’s immigration system needs massive, wholesale reform. 

2025/05/26 Leave a comment

Gives a strong sense of where the Conservative opposition will likely focus on immigration. Mainly overall levels and program integrity. Focus is on the impact on housing and healthcare for immigrants and non-immigrants alike, not values. She is right in stating the need for “wholesale reform” (or at least major reform) but silent on the need for some form of commission to lay out issues and options. Some of her assertions are excessively partisan or exaggerated but the issues are real.

And of course, is coy on what the right level of immigration would be, back to the last year of the Harper government, less or more:

…I am presently convinced that nothing short of wholesale reform of the entire system, starting with the process by which the federal government sets and counts immigration levels, will fix the mess the Liberals have created. With millions of people currently in Canada with temporary permits about to expire, the government must urgently entirely rethink the criteria by which people are allowed to stay and enter the country – and then consistently enforce the same. Overall immigration levels need to be drastically reduced and the problem of millions of people with no legal reason to be in Canada must be addressed head on, for there to be any future hope of program or system reform.

Having only been officially on the job for a couple of days, I will consult with stakeholders and our newly expanded Conservative caucus and appointed Shadow Ministers on how they feel we should hold the government to account on this issue. Immigration policy affects all of their communities and files, and not necessarily in a homogenous way. However, what I will be pitching to them as a starting point are the following principles – which the Conservative Party has already generally established as our macro-level position on immigration.

As a first principle, the government must be forced to take action on something that they’ve already acknowledged, that present overall immigration levels must be massively and immediately curtailed. What is the correct number to allow you to enter the country, you ask? Whereas academics and special interest groups have recently often the loudest voices on that front, the reality is that the lived experience of millions of Canadians have been ignored. And many of those Canadians, grappling with job losses, soaring housing costs, and lengthy healthcare wait times, believe the ideal immigration number is far less than what it is now, zero—or even negative. It falls to the Liberal government to justify any figure they propose by first validating these concerns – which have been long ignored – and addressing the systemic strains exacerbated by high immigration. Every parliamentarian must hold the government accountable on this front, demanding decisive action and transparent data.

As a second principle, the Liberals must be made to acknowledge that the immigration system is so strained that simple tweaks are insufficient and sidestep the core issue: Canada’s capacity to absorb newcomers successfully. Fraud, abuse, and massive backlogs now plague everyimmigration stream, with the unifying problem being unchecked inflow coupled with countless people living in the country without legal status. Without significantly reducing overall immigration, massively tightening temporary resident permit criteria, and promptly removing those with no legal right to remain, the pressure on the system will simply shift elsewhere—such as illegal border crossings leading to work permits or temporary residents with expired permits claiming asylum. The bureaucratic dysfunction underpinning Canada’s immigration system cannot be resolved while piling on more entrants, while unscrupulous actors manipulate the system, visa standards stay lax, asylum backlogs grow, and deportations are delayed.

Finally, parliamentarians must to have the courage to address head-on the uncomfortable questions that underpin both of these principles (of which there are many and will be the topic of future columns), while remaining compassionate. Every policy decision made on this file has a human face and story – for newcomers and long-standing Canadian citizens alike. So, the Liberals must be made to rethink the criteria and circumstances in which we will allow people into the country, but also when we won’t, and then held to account to strictly enforce those rules. Only then can our systems and processes make sound and expedited decisions on when to allow or deny someone entry, remove them, and prevent profiteers from profiting from failure.

Solving these challenges is integral to virtually every other area of government policy – from the economy to health care, housing, and more.

Failure is not an option. So giddyup, back in the immigration saddle again.

Source: Canada’s immigration system needs massive, wholesale reform.

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Processing times for some Canadian immigration applications have surged, but not others. Here’s why

2025/05/26 Leave a comment

Some interesting comparative data:

There are fewer applications in Canada’s immigration system and the backlog has shrunk in the past year. But why are applicants for some programs seeing a spike in processing times?

As of the end of March, the Immigration Department had 1,976,700 permanent and temporary residence applications in its queue, including 779,900 that surpassed service standards and are deemed backlogged. The total number was down by seven per cent compared to more than 2.1 million a year ago, when the backlog stood at almost 900,000.

Yet, processing time for permanent residence for spouses and common law partners from within Canada (but outside Quebec) has skyrocketed to 29 months from 10 months; sponsorships of parents and grandparents to 36 months from 24; skilled immigrants nominated by provinces to 20 months from 11; and candidates destined for Atlantic provinces, up to 11 months from seven.

Those seeking to extend their stay in Canada have also seen longer wait times: for visitor extension, to 161 days from 88 days; for study permits, to 236 days from 55 days; and for work permits, to 238 days from 101 days.

“If you submit an application, it could show 120 days, but all of a sudden it shoots up to 226 days,” said Tamara Mosher-Kuczer of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association. “The processing time is changing constantly, so it means absolutely nothing.” 

The Ottawa lawyer said these surging processing times are at least in part the results of the federal government’s reduced immigration levels announced last October, and they reflect its changing priorities.

In response to a public outcry over surging population growth that has contributed to the housing affordability crisis and strained government services, Ottawa has reduced its annual intake of permanent residents by 21 per cent to 395,000 this year, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

It’s also slashing the temporary resident population in Canada, including international students and foreign workers, by 445,901 this year and 445,662 in 2026, while increasing it modestly by 17,439 in 2027. The goal is to reduce its proportion in the country’s overall population from 7.3 per cent to under five per cent in three years. 

“They have these targets and they don’t want to exceed these targets,” said Mosher-Kuczer. “They’re slowing the flow, so that the next cohort goes into the next year.”…

Source: Processing times for some Canadian immigration applications have surged, but not others. Here’s why

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Canadian Immigration Tracker First Quarter 2025

2025/05/23 Leave a comment

My regular update on key immigration programs, now being updated on a quarterly basis.

Impact of government caps and restrictions can be seen for temporary workers and international students, with levelling off of new permanent residents.

Ministerial mandate letter and related public statements indicate that government likely to maintain current limits and levels until 2027.

This year’s levels plan, which will likely include temporary residents as was the case for last year, will provide confirmation of the government’s intention.

As usual, slide 3 highlights the changes by program.

Covid-19 Immigration Effects – Key Slides – March 2025Download

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Producer behind American citizenship reality show first pitched format to CBC with Jonathan Torrens

2025/05/23 Leave a comment

Of interest, less a survivor zero-sum approach than it first appeared:

Canadian-American producer Rob Worsoff has spent the past week being raked over the coals for pitching a reality TV show to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – one where immigrants would compete for a fast-track to American citizenship.

The British tabloid Daily Mail, which broke the story and reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was backing the idea, dubbed the concept “insane.”

American magazine The New Republic called Mr. Worsoff‘s idea “twisted” and “barbaric,” while a column in The Guardian declared: “We’ve entered the realm of the truly depraved.”

But Mr. Worsoff protests that The American, as his unproduced show is tentatively titled, is not a “Hunger Games for immigration.”

Instead, the Montreal-born producer, an American immigrant himself, says that he has long imagined a reality show that would humanize the immigration process – and, in fact, he first pitched the idea in a Canadian version to the CBC alongside TV personality Jonathan Torrens in 2006.

“The Canadian was a show that took place in every province and celebrated what it means to be Canadian,” recalls Mr. Worsoff, over the phone from Los Angeles, of the earlier unproduced version of the reality competition….

Source: Producer behind American citizenship reality show first pitched format to CBC with Jonathan Torrens

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ICYMI: Carney’s aim to cut immigration marred by undercounting of temporary migrants, economists warn

2025/05/21 Leave a comment

Important analysis regarding a highly dubious assumption:

…But economists who have analyzed immigration statistics say that any reductions would not reflect the true number of temporary residents living here and may mean that pressure on housing and services will not be eased to the extent expected. 

Official population figures also fail to capture undocumented migrants who last year Mr. Miller estimated could number about 600,000. 

The economists warn that Ottawa is overestimating the number of temporary migrants who leave the country once their visas expire. This could have a serious impact on planning, including for housing demand, they say.

“The undercounting of non-permanent residents is an issue that must be addressed in order for this policy to be effective,” said Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist of CIBC.

There are just over three million non-permanent residents in Canada, according to the latest Statistics Canada population estimates. 

Non-permanent residents include international students, work-permit holders, asylum claimants and family members of work- or study-permit holders. 

Population estimates by Statscan presume that visa holders whose permits to stay here have expired leave the country within 120 days, but many do not leave and remain and work in Canada, said Henry Lotin, a former federal economist and founder of the consultancy Integrated Trade and Economics. 

“We know that many, perhaps even half, of these expired visa holders are awaiting permanent residency or a renewal of their temporary visa,” Mr. Lotin said. “The population estimates as presented assume expired temporary residents leave the country − that is a fiction.” 

“Policy makers and planners need accurate population estimates to plan adequate housing, infrastructure, health care and other social services. No one plans for population you are told you do not have.”

An analysis published last month by Mr. Tal, with input from Mr. Lotin, also expressed concern that Statistics Canada is not counting people with extended Temporary Resident Visas who do not have work permits. …

Source: Carney’s aim to cut immigration marred by undercounting of temporary migrants, economists warn

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ICYMI: Canadian telecom firms blame immigration policies for mobile subscriber slowdown

2025/05/21 Leave a comment

An example of the how the corporate world became somewhat dependent of large numbers of permanent and temporary immigration:

…For years, Canada’s top telecom providers rode a wave of high immigration, collectively adding hundreds of thousands of new mobile phone subscribers most quarters. Those days are over. 

Canada’s three biggest wireless firms — BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. — all cited tighter immigration rules when explaining to investors over the past two quarters why subscriber growth has slowed. The trio recorded fewer than 54,000 net new mobile subscribers in the first quarter, the lowest number in four years. 

Two years ago, the country’s population grew 3.1%, a rate not seen since the 1950s, largely due to an influx of foreign students and temporary workers. But last year, as it became clear the housing supply and the health care system were straining from this growth, the federal government enacted measures meant to stem the tide. 

As a result, Canada plans to admit nearly 20% fewer permanent residents this year than its target in 2024, as well as fewer foreign students.

BCE saw a small decline in net mobile phone subscribers in the first quarter, which it said was partly due to “slowing population growth attributable to government immigration policies.” The company’s revenue is falling, which was a consideration in its decision to slash its dividend by over half — the first cut in 17 years.

Telus also said reduced immigration hampered its mobile subscriber growth when it reported earnings on Friday. And Rogers, which has the largest number of wireless customers, reported a weak quarter of growth on that metric and also cited “slowing population growth as a result of changes to government immigration policies.” 

Source: Canadian telecom firms blame immigration policies for mobile subscriber slowdown

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ICYMI: Foreign student asylum claims hit record high in 2024, set to grow in 2025

2025/05/21 Leave a comment

Of note. About 4 percent of all students is 2024:

International students filed a record 20,245 asylum claims last year, with 2025 on track to surpass that number, according to federal immigration data obtained by Global News.

The claims are rising, even as Ottawa cuts the number of study permits it issues, with Prime Minister Mark Carney pledging like his predecessor Justin Trudeau to return Canadian immigration to “sustainable levels.”

The newly released figures also suggest that 2025 could see an even greater number of claims by foreign students. In the first three months of the year, international students filed 5,500 asylum claims, a 22 per cent increase from the same period last year.

The data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada show the number of international students seeking asylum last year was nearly double the 2023 figures and six times higher than in 2019.

Immigration lawyers say the numbers will keep trending upwards, as the federal government restricts previously available pathways to permanent residence, and as the backlog for adjudicating cases continues to balloon.

“The government has closed a lot of doors for international students to apply for permanent residence through regular streams,” said Toronto-based immigration and refugee lawyer Chantal Desloges.

“As a result, it’s funneling people to look for other solutions.”

Pressure grows to ‘dial back’ levels

During his first news conference as prime minister, Carney repeated his pledge to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than five per cent of the Canadian population by the end of 2027, down from seven per cent.

“This will help ease strains on housing, on public infrastructure and social services,” said Carney on May 2.

Source: Foreign student asylum claims hit record high in 2024, set to grow in 2025

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