The 2024 federal budget’s decision to cut back on temporary immigration could have negative consequences for the Canadian agriculture sector and agricultural businesses, owing to the fall in temporary foreign workers resulting from such an action.
Ottawa is set to “reduce the share of temporary residents in Canada to five per cent of the total population over the next three years,” as stated in the government document on the matter.
This will lead to 600,000 fewer temporary residents in comparison to current numbers.
Canada’s agricultural sector’s reliance on temporary foreign workers could cause problems in light of these changes to temporary immigration.
According to Janet Krayden, Canadian Mushroom Growers’ Association workforce specialist, there is an unfair grouping of temporary foreign workers with international students.
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“They’re lumping in primary agriculture, temporary foreign worker program usage, with the international student program,” she said.
“So, there’s two completely different programs. One is run out of Immigration Canada, the other is run out of the Temporary Foreign Worker program, (from) ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada).”
She further elaborated on the unfair blame being put on immigrants for the country’s housing crisis.
“We continually are hearing the temporary foreign worker program now becoming sort of a bit of a scapegoat by ministers and the minister of immigration, minister of ESDC, as well as the prime minister for the housing costs and the rise of rent.”
A Canadian Press story from January wrote that Ottawa was warned by IRCC about the positive correlation between immigration and housing pressures two years ago.
“In Canada, population growth has exceeded the growth in available housing units,” according to the document.
“As the federal authority charged with managing immigration, IRCC policy-makers must understand the misalignment between population growth and housing supply, and how permanent and temporary immigration shapes population growth.”
“Rapid increases put pressure on health care and affordable housing.”
“Settlement and resettlement service providers are expressing short-term strain due to labour market conditions, increased levels and the Afghanistan and Ukraine initiatives.”
Fewer Homes Keep Prices High
However, many experts have criticized the claim that immigrants are causing the housing shortage.
Toronto Star contributors Syed Hussan and Mary Gellatly wrote that investors and builders building fewer homes to keep prices high is the real cause of the crisis.
Moreover, they wrote that temporary immigrants are not putting a strain on housing.
“Note that the majority of temporary workers and students are housed by their employers — bunkhouses for agricultural workers, hotels for workers in tourism, etc. Similarly, international students are in campus housing, or are living in cramped conditions, with five students in a home built for one.”
“Migrants are not competing for housing in the same way as citizens. Most of the housing discussions focus on idealized notions of housing and the people who live in them and don’t factor in the struggle of migrants and new immigrants. Low-waged migrants are not buying single-family homes.”
In the context of agriculture, Krayden noted that “these are sparsely populated areas, where the workers either are provided with employer paid housing that mostly already exists, or they’re comfortably settled.”
Moreover, she highlighted that TFWs in farms are all “vetted as filling a job vacancy.” This is not to be confused with the international students coming to live in urban centres.
According to the Canadian Mushroom Growers’ Association, a “full and thorough consultation with farmers and food processors, similar to what was conducted in 2017” needs to be done before decisions affecting TFWs in agriculture and agri-food processing are taken.
