If you follow the news in Canada at all, you’ve likely seen the debate around ending the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) dominating headlines in recent weeks. In this post, we dig into the debate to tease out whether it’s realistic for Canada to end its temporary foreign worker program -- and what the changes (if any) might look like for those hoping to immigrate to Canada.
One of the very interesting elements of this debate is that it isn’t just one political party calling for an overhaul. It seems to be finding approval with some politicians across Canada’s Conservative party and even the NDP. Meanwhile, a new Abacus poll suggests around 44% of Canadians want the TFWP to be eliminated to reduce Canada’s historically high youth unemployment.
Key Takeaways
Canada’s youth unemployment rates are historically high – higher than any other time since 2010, excluding the pandemic.
Some politicians are calling to end the TFWP to ‘solve’ the youth unemployment crisis.
Ending the temporary foreign worker program will cause other issues – likely higher consumer costs, which will be politically unpopular. It may not solve the youth unemployment problem, either.
Other solutions will be needed to encourage Canadian workers to consider lower-wage roles, and to encourage employers to hire Canadian talent.
Are Foreign Workers Causing Canada’s Youth Unemployment Crisis?
The reality is that Canada is experiencing a very real and heartbreaking surge in youth unemployment. Canada’s youth unemployment rates in July and August 2025 are the highest since 2010 (outside of the pandemic years) -- at 14.5%. It’s even higher for return students, at 17.9% on average between May and August.
However, high unemployment amongst Canadian youths does not automatically mean temporary foreign workers or the TFWP are to blame.
Like with housing, the causes behind high youth unemployment are extremely complex – and it’s our strong belief that simply eradicating the TFWP won’t automatically solve the issue. In fact, it may worsen Canada’s affordability crisis.
A recent Desjardins report suggests that the youth unemployment crisis is caused by:
Current economic weakness.
The changing nature of work, particularly the gig economy.
Rising labour costs prompting investment in labour-saving technologies.
AI-advancements impacting entry-level work.
Finally, the increase in young, temporary residents.
Anecdotally, we also think that many international workers are ready and willing to work for wages that aren’t attractive to Canadian workers. Faced with the option of paying a local worker significantly more than a temporary foreign worker, employers are incentivized to choose cheaper labour – especially since many of those temporary workers will have gained previous experience elsewhere. This is where the increased cost of living risk comes in.
If Canadian employers are forced to hire Canadian workers at higher rates, that cost will most likely be passed onto the consumer. That, or the employer will hire fewer workers (or both!). We seriously doubt that the popularity of the call for the TFWP to end would continue if Canadians knew it would likely mean higher costs they’d need to pay across many sectors, including for groceries.
Will Canada Get Rid of The TFWP?
We don’t think so.
We think that the most likely outcome is some public policy changes to Canada’s LMIA-supported temporary worker programs in the near future – particularly the low-wage LMIA stream. So, if your future plans to stay in Canada hinge on getting an LMIA in a low-wage role, we’d suggest keeping an eye out for potential changes (no need to panic at this stage, though!).
However, the economic reality is that Canada needs immigration – so we wouldn’t expect the TFWP to be entirely eliminated. At most, we predict it would be ‘re-launched’ under a different name. Both the liberal and conservative party leaders are stating that Canada does need temporary workers and immigration in Canada, so we don’t foresee sweeping changes that make immigration significantly more challenging for skilled workers, especially those filling labour shortages.
Does Moving2Canada See Any Potential Solutions?
Briefly, we think the following solutions may help ease youth unemployment in Canada (though, we aren’t economists or experts in this sphere:
Reforms to Canada’s low-wage LMIA stream, particularly to increase the prevailing wage to 20% higher than current wages listed on Job Bank.
Minimum wage changes across Canada, including age-based minimum wages that incentivize employers to hire and train young Canadian workers.
Consider further restricting work hours for international students as a temporary public policy, through to 2027. We know this one won’t be popular for international students – and we don’t love that it would make studying in Canada even more expensive (and therefore inaccessible) for some international students. But it’s important that Canada’s young workers can find summer employment to maintain support for Canada’s immigration system.
We’ve outlined these in more detail in our full article on this topic.
