Nine in 10 small businesses using Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program say they cannot fill those positions with local employees, according to new research from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The CFIB said in a release Tuesday that many of the jobs most commonly filled by temporary foreign workers involve overnight shifts, heavy physical labour, outdoor conditions, seasonal schedules or rural locations — work conditions many young Canadians are reluctant to accept.
Nearly half of surveyed youth said they would not seek jobs requiring regular overnight work or frequent heavy physical effort. More than one-third said they would avoid mainly outdoor positions or jobs paying at or near minimum wage, the CFIB release said.
Harvesting labourers account for about 32% of temporary foreign worker positions in Canada. Other common occupations include nursery and greenhouse workers, cooks, livestock labourers and food service supervisors.
Location is another major barrier. Only 19% of youth said they would relocate to another city or town for a service-sector job, while 8% would move to a rural community and just 3% would consider a remote location.
Labour shortages remain particularly severe outside major cities. In June, 46% of rural small businesses reported staffing shortages, compared with 38% of urban firms.
More than half of businesses using the program said it helped them remain open and continue employing Canadians. That figure rose to 76% in the hospitality sector.
The CFIB is urging Ottawa to create more flexible rules for consistently difficult-to-fill jobs and to adopt more consistent national standards. The organization argues that temporary foreign workers support Canadian employment by filling essential roles that keep businesses operating.
