N.B. largely exempt from temporary foreign worker reduction

The measures to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers announced by the federal government Monday will have little effect in New Brunswick.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a cap on the percentage of low-wage foreign workers an employer can hire, and an automatic rejection of applications in some metropolitan areas on Monday. The announcement came after the national unemployment rate reached 6.4 per cent in June.

However, these measures do not apply to agriculture, food processing, fish processing, construction and health-care sectors. They also do not apply to metropolitan areas with less than six per cent unemployment rates, and do not apply to rural areas at all.

The goal is "to better capture urban centres with higher population densities, while avoiding potential negative impacts on rural areas with genuine recruitment challenges," said a federal government spokesperson Friday.

Seafood industry accounts for majority of TFWs

The majority of temporary foreign workers in New Brunswick work in the seafood and agriculture industries.

According to figures from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, New Brunswick businesses hired about 8,400 temporary foreign workers in seafood processing since 2021, making up 65 per cent of all temporary foreign workers in the province.

The second-highest number is for farm workers, at 1,300 since 2021, or 10 per cent.

Nat Richard, the executive director of the Lobster Processors Association, said the businesses he represents rely heavily on these seasonal workers and are relieved that these measures won't affect them.

"I've been involved in the industry for 14 years and labour availability remains a challenge," he said in an interview. "Our international workers make a critical contribution to the sector, complementing our Canadian workers."

Richard said he is concerned about the "nature and tone of the discussion" around the impact temporary foreign workers have on the labour market or housing, especially going into the election season.

"I find those discussions are not always anchored in fact," he said. 

He said temporary foreign workers make up a small number of temporary residents in New Brunswick, and employers have to prove they aren't able to find local workers before they're allowed to hire from outside the country.

"I think the housing issue is a lot more complex," he said.

Richard also said he's been seeing other changes to the program in recent years around clarifying employer responsibilities, and putting in place more worker protections. He said he welcomes those changes.

Advocates have said much more needs to be done to reduce exploitation and rights violations of temporary foreign workers in Canada, some singling out New Brunswick's seafood industry.

Saint John the only area affected

A spokesperson for the federal government said the only census metropolitan area above the six per cent unemployment threshold in New Brunswick is Saint John.

According to data from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, 77 low-wage temporary foreign worker positions were approved in Saint John in all of 2023. Some of those positions may be granted again this year because they have to do with agriculture, but others, like estheticians, hotel front desk clerks and administrative assistants, may be automatically rejected.

Trudeau also said the government is considering a reduction to the number of permanent residents Canada accepts each year.

According to Statistics Canada, New Brunswick gained 50,000 people in total in 2022 and 2023. Permanent international immigrants make up 40 per cent of that number, data shows.