Canada | Temporary Foreign Worker Program wage increase

The Canadian government announced an increase to the starting hourly wage for the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program high-wage stream.

Key Points:

• Effective Nov. 8, the starting hourly wage for workers in the high-wage stream will increase 20% to the median wage in the applicable province or territory of work.
• Applications that do not meet the new higher wage threshold will fall under the low-wage stream.

Additional Information: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials also announced that employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers under the TFW Program will no longer be able to use attestations from professional accountants or lawyers to prove their business legitimacy, effective Oct. 28.

BAL Analysis: As BAL reported, the government has taken steps to strengthen the integrity of the TFW Program recently to ensure it remains responsive to labor market needs and protect temporary foreign workers from fraud and abuse. Officials stated the TFW Program is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used when a qualified Canadian is not able to fill a job vacancy, and further adjustments will be made if needed to help ensure that only compliant employers with demonstrable labor needs can access the TFW Program. A greater number of jobs are expected to be subject to the stricter rules of the low-wage stream after this wage threshold change.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.