Poilievre Calls on Ottawa to End Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for the permanent elimination of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, arguing that it suppresses wages and blocks job opportunities for young Canadians. He criticizes the program for flooding the labor market with low-wage workers, which he says allows corporate elites to profit at the expense of Canadian workers. Poilievre proposes replacing the program with a more targeted initiative focusing on agricultural jobs that are difficult to fill, with a five-year transition period in areas with very low unemployment. His immigration critic, Michelle Rempel Garner, has begun publicly naming companies exploiting the program, highlighting what they describe as an egregious practice of maximizing corporate profits at the expense of Canadian youth. The federal government has already introduced some restrictions on the program, including caps on low-wage workers and limiting work permits to one year, while also reducing the number of international student permits. Poilievre's stance aligns with a broader government effort to reduce temporary immigration and address concerns about affordability and labor market impacts.