Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program should be scrapped and a standalone agriculture program should be created.
Poilievre has announced the party’s plan to permanently end the program, which accounted for over 78,000 employees across the agriculture sector in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
The current Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program allows primary agriculture employers to bring in seasonal workers from Mexico and the Caribbean.
However, farmers and food producers may also hire workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
He cited Canadian unemployment as the main reason for the plan, accusing Liberals of taking jobs away from Canadians.
According to a party press release, the Conservatives would establish “a separate, standalone program for legitimately difficult-to-fill agricultural labour.”
The statement said there would be a transition period of at most five years while the program “winds down.”
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