Last Updated On 30 July 2025, 8:46 PM EDT (Toronto Time)
In July 2025, internal documents from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the ministry overseeing the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) for work permits, revealed 6 new proposed changes.
These reforms, which include wage deductions, relaxed housing standards under TFWP, and a new sector-specific work permit for agriculture and fish processing, aim to address employer concerns while introducing limited worker mobility.
The Migrant Rights Network, a national advocacy organization, has been a vocal critic, releasing a report on July 30, 2025, that characterizes the sector-specific permits as a “cosmetic” change that maintains employer control under the guise of worker freedom.
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, a cornerstone of the nation’s labour market strategy, has long been a lifeline for industries, supporting approximately 106,000 migrant workers and 7,400 employers.
This article explores the 6 proposed reforms, their potential impacts, and the voices of workers, advocates, and employers shaping this critical moment.
Table of Contents
6 Major Proposed Reforms For Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The internal ESDC documents, obtained by the Migrant Rights Network through the government’s consultation process, outline six proposals to reform the TFW program.
These changes, developed based on feedback from employer associations and labour groups over the past year, address wages, housing, transportation, health care, and worker mobility.
Key elements include:
- Sector-Specific Work Permits: A significant proposal is the introduction of a new sector-specific work permit for the Agriculture and Fish Processing Stream.
- Unlike the current closed permits, these two-year permits would allow workers to move between employers within the same sector, provided they secure a new job offer.
- This change aims to address the lack of mobility that leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation, as losing a job currently results in the loss of a work permit.
- Unlike the current closed permits, these two-year permits would allow workers to move between employers within the same sector, provided they secure a new job offer.
- Wage Deductions: Employers, particularly in agriculture and fish processing, would be allowed to deduct substantial amounts from workers’ wages to cover costs like housing, utilities, and transportation.
- These deductions, potentially totaling thousands of dollars annually, are framed as a way to offset employer expenses but could significantly reduce workers’ take-home pay.
- Housing Standards: The reforms propose eliminating indoor temperature regulations designed to protect workers from extreme heat in workplaces like greenhouses and processing plants.
- These standards, introduced in recent years, were meant to address health risks, and their removal has raised concerns about worker safety.
- Transportation Arrangements: Changes to transportation requirements would give employers greater flexibility in how they provide transport to and from job sites. Critics fear this could lead to inconsistent or unsafe options, particularly for workers in remote areas.
- Health-Care Provisions: The proposals include ambiguous language about employer responsibilities for health care, raising concerns that workers may face barriers to accessing medical services, especially in rural regions with limited facilities.
- Streamlined Administrative Processes: The reforms aim to reduce bureaucratic hurdles for employers, such as simplifying the LMIA process, to make the program more responsive to labour market needs.
The government describes these changes as a way to modernize the TFW program while balancing employer needs and worker protections.
ESDC spokesperson Mila Roy stated that the department conducted extensive consultations with stakeholders throughout 2024 and 2025, focusing on the new Agriculture and Fish Processing Stream and sector-specific permits.
The consultation process recently concluded, and ESDC, in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), is reviewing feedback to finalize the reforms.
Roy did not provide a timeline for a decision.
The Migrant Rights Network’s Critique: A “Cosmetic” Change?
The Migrant Rights Network has emerged as a leading voice in opposition to the proposed reforms, arguing that they fail to address the program’s systemic flaws.
In a report released on July 30, 2025, the organization criticized the sector-specific work permits as a “rebranding exercise” that creates an illusion of worker mobility while maintaining employer control.
The report highlights several concerns:
- Employer Control and Blacklisting: Although the sector-specific permits allow workers to change employers, they require a new job offer, which the Network argues gives employers significant leverage. Workers who leave their jobs risk being blacklisted by other employers in the sector, as employers may share information about workers perceived as “difficult.”
- Lessons from the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers: The report points to the government’s Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers Program, which grants open work permits to workers who have experienced employer abuse. However, workers in this program often struggle to find new jobs in their sector, as employers typecast them as problematic, limiting the practical benefits of mobility.
- Failure to Address Permanent Residency: The reforms do not include pathways to permanent residency, a longstanding demand from workers and advocates. The Network argues that without permanent status, workers remain vulnerable to exploitation, as their legal status in Canada depends on their employment.
Syed Hussan, the Network’s executive director, described the proposals as “incremental” and insufficient. “These changes are likely to go through, but they don’t solve the core issues,” he said.
“The TFW program needs a complete overhaul, starting with open work permits and a direct path to permanent residency.”
Hussan and other advocates argue that tying workers’ legal status to employment creates a power imbalance that no amount of sector-specific mobility can fully address.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program: Origins and Challenges
Launched in 1973, the TFW program was designed to address labour shortages in sectors where Canadian workers were unavailable or unwilling to fill low-wage or seasonal roles.
Today, it operates through two primary streams: the Low-Wage Stream, which includes roles like farm labourers and fish processors, and the High-Wage Stream, covering skilled trades and professional positions.
In 2024, the program facilitated the employment of 106,000 workers, with the majority in low-wage sectors, and supported 7,400 employers across Canada.
The program requires employers to complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which verifies that no Canadian workers are available to fill the roles before foreign workers can be hired.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government expanded access to the TFW program to address acute labour shortages, leading to a surge in work permits issued between 2022 and 2024.
However, in response to growing concerns about the program’s impact on the labour market and temporary resident numbers, Ottawa has since tightened eligibility criteria as part of a broader policy to reduce temporary immigration.
A defining feature of the TFW program is its use of closed work permits, which tie workers to a single employer.
If a worker loses their job—whether due to termination, workplace disputes, or seasonal layoffs—they also lose their legal status in Canada, creating significant vulnerability.
Reports of substandard housing, wage theft, and unsafe working conditions have fueled criticism, with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery labelling the program a “breeding ground for modern slavery” in 2024.
In response, the government introduced protections in 2022, including stricter housing inspections and limits on employer deductions.
However, the latest proposals appear to roll back some of these safeguards while introducing new measures that have sparked intense debate.
The Path Forward: Toward a Fairer System
As ESDC and IRCC review stakeholder feedback, the future of the TFW program hangs in the balance.
Workers, advocates, employers, and policymakers agree that the current system is flawed, but their priorities differ.
Workers and advocates demand open work permits, permanent residency pathways, and stronger protections, while employers seek flexibility to manage costs.
The government must navigate these competing interests while upholding Canada’s commitment to human rights and economic stability.
One potential solution is a multi-stakeholder task force that includes workers, employers, unions, and government officials to design a more equitable system.
Pilot programs for open work permits or permanent residency pathways could test new approaches without disrupting the labour market.
Strengthening enforcement of labour standards and investing in rural health and transportation infrastructure could also address workers’ immediate needs.
For workers like Javier, Ana, Maria, and Carlos, the stakes are deeply personal. “We’re not asking for special treatment,” Ana said. “We just want to work with dignity and know we’re valued.”
Their stories underscore the human cost of the TFW program’s shortcomings and the urgency of meaningful reform.
The proposed changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program represent a defining moment for Canada.
As the government weighs employer-friendly reforms against the need to protect vulnerable workers, it faces a choice that will shape its labour market, immigration system, and global reputation.
The introduction of sector-specific permits is a step toward worker mobility, but without addressing employer control, wage deductions, and the lack of permanent residency pathways, the reforms risk falling short.
The 106,000 migrant workers in the TFW program are not just labour—they are people with families, dreams, and rights.
The 7,400 employers who rely on them are not just businesses—they are stewards of industries critical to Canada’s economy.
As advocates like Syed Hussan and the Migrant Rights Network continue their fight for justice, they remind us that migrant workers are essential to Canada’s success and deserve a system that reflects their worth.
Whether the government rises to this challenge will determine whether the TFW program becomes a model of fairness or a symbol of inequity.
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