OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to scrap the temporary foreign worker program, arguing it has caused an employment crisis among young Canadians.
"The Liberals have to answer why is it that they're shutting our own youth out of jobs and replacing them with low-wage, temporary foreign workers from poor countries who are ultimately being exploited," Poilievre told a news conference Wednesday morning in Mississauga, Ont.
"We want Canadian workers to have Canadian jobs. We want to bring back high wages."
Data released by the federal government last month showed 33,722 new visas for temporary foreign workers were issued in the first six months of this year, and about 70,000 more were renewed for workers already in Canada. Canada set a target to admit 82,000 new temporary foreign workers this year.
Poilievre called out fast-food chains he claimed are hiring foreigners over locals. He cited Tim Hortons' use of the TFW program and took aim at Booster Juice over a job posting he said calls specifically for temporary foreign workers.
In a media statement, Tim Hortons said that less than five per cent of its workers are hired through the program, "generally in small towns and communities where local candidates are not available."
The company said temporary foreign workers are not a "cheaper option" and that restaurant owners "pay competitive wages and often cover additional costs such as travel when using the program."
The Canadian Press has contacted Booster Juice for comment but has not yet heard back.
The Conservative leader said his party will be showcasing "the most egregious cases of corporate elites profiting by shutting Canadians out of jobs in favour of low-wage, temporary foreign workers."
He accused the government of creating conditions that frustrate the efforts of young people to start their working lives.
"The time has come for decisive action to stop the Liberals from using our immigration system to pad the pockets of corporate elites and other insiders, at the expense of Canadian jobs," he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said later Wednesday that he is committed to reducing immigration but is not scrapping the program, as it's popular with employers — particularly in Quebec, where it has provincial support.
"That program has a role. It has to be focused in terms of its role, and it's part of what we're reviewing," he told reporters in Toronto on the sidelines of a cabinet retreat.
"It's clear that we can improve our overall immigration policies. We're working on that and we're setting clear goals to adjust."
Last year, for the first time, the federal government imposed limits on Canada's intake of temporary foreign workers. The government made the move partly in response to a housing affordability crisis driven in part by rapid population growth.
The government's current goal is to get the number of temporary residents down to five per cent of the total population. The share of the population made up of non-permanent residents was 7.1 per cent as of April 1.
Aissa Diop, a spokesperson for the Office of the Minister of Jobs and Families, said in an email that Canada remains on track to sustainably manage temporary resident levels. She said work to reduce the reliance of Canadian employers on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is part of that plan.
"The Conservative Party is purposely choosing to target newcomers in his remarks," Diop said, noting that temporary foreign workers represent approximately one per cent of the total labour force.
Diop said that companies that apply to hire a temporary foreign worker must demonstrate there was not a worker in Canada who could fill that job.
"Eliminating a program that helps fill specific gaps in the labour market would hurt our economy," Diop said. "While Conservatives work to demonize hard working people and businesses, we will focus on protecting workers and growing the strongest economy in the G7."
Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, called Poilievre's proposal "absolutely ridiculous."
He told The Canadian Press it's "completely understandable and reasonable to question" aspects of the program, such as its size and scope, and that it's appropriate for Ottawa to limit the program.
"But to shut off the instrument is foolish and the Conservatives know better," Kelly said.
He noted that the Conservatives are promising to end the temporary foreign worker program while creating a stand-alone program for agricultural labour.
Kelly said that if the Conservatives can understand the need for those workers in agriculture, "then they should be able to understand that those challenges also exist in many rural and remote communities, also in many sectors of the economy, including the hospitality sector."
Kelly said ending the program would "gut the labour pool" in many rural and remote communities and could shut down resort communities like Banff and Whistler.
Restaurants Canada said in a press release that temporary foreign workers make up only three per cent of the food service workforce, but "play a vital role in sustaining operations in underserved areas."
In a media statement, Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada said any move to get rid of the existing program would create uncertainty and risk making shortages worse.
"Labour shortages are one of the most acute threats to the availability, affordability, and diversity of Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables and by extension to Canadians’ food security," said the group's executive director, Massimo Bergamini.
He said "throwing out a program that has served Canadian growers, their workers, and their families well for almost half a century would be ill-advised at any time and reckless today given the current risk exposure of our sector."
— with files from Anja Karadeglija and David Baxter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
