Just The Facts: TFW Program Hurts Canadian Youth
Ottawa, ON – Yesterday, Conservatives called on the government to finally abolish the wage-suppressing, opportunity-stealing Temporary Foreign Workers program. Carney chose to double down, defending corporate conglomerates who support this program that harms Canadian workers and youth.
A new Desjardins report confirmed this, finding the Liberals’ massive increase in non-permanent residents, including Temporary Foreign Workers, led to a “deluge of available labour well [outpacing] demand, putting upward pressure on the youth unemployment rate.”
It’s also something Canadians – especially youth and their families – can readily see for themselves. 17.5 percent of students are returning to school this fall having failed to secure a summer job. For those aged 15 and 16, the unemployment rate rose to a dire 31.4 percent.
Meanwhile, wages for young Canadians who were able to secure employment “grew at a slower pace than some key expenses such as food and rent, which eat up a disproportionate share of young people’s monthly budget.”
While young people are increasingly locked out of jobs and – when they do get them – forced to accept lower wages, Carney backs self-interested lobby groups, some of whom claim to pay upwards of $8,600 to bring in Temporary Foreign Workers.
That could easily be used to pay for Canadian mobility to in-demand communities. In fact, 30 percent of working-age Canadians are willing to move to another province for a suitable job.
In addition, there were 306,756 interprovincial migrants in 2023/24, proving that Canadians are willing to move when given the opportunity. That has been true throughout Canada’s history, and it comes as no surprise considering Temporary Foreign Workers travel from across the globe to fill these positions.
Our immigration system doesn’t exist to suppress wages and pad the bottom line of predatory multinationals. Conservatives will always put our youth and workers first by ensuring Canadian jobs are for Canadian workers.