Alberta business groups say federal immigration plan could hurt employers

Alberta business groups say the federal government's newly reduced immigration targets may make it harder for employers to find new workers.

Ottawa announced a new strategy for immigration levels on Thursday in order to address rapid population growth and relieve pressures on the housing market. The federal government plans to cut the number of new permanent residents from 485,000 projected for this year to 395,000 in 2025, with further cuts down to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

It's a substantial change to Canada's previous plan for immigration, published November 2023, when the country was expected to admit about 485,000 permanent residents this year and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.

It's a change that has many advocates for Alberta employers concerned. 

"There is going to be major labour market implications of these changes," Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), told CBC News on Friday.

"There's a bunch of temporary foreign workers in Canada today, working for them, happy in their jobs, but whose visas are about to expire and they're going to be sent packing. This is such a waste of talent."

The CFIB represents about 10,000 small businesses in Alberta.

Since Thursday's announcement, Kelly says the CFIB is hearing from employers who are calling the agency "in tears" because of how this new immigration plan, coupled with the recent changes to Canada's temporary foreign worker program, will change their day-to-day operations. 

"Look, many employers will tell you that their new immigrant worker, their temporary foreign worker, is among their very best workers, because their orientation to come to Canada is to work, to make a better life for themselves," Kelly said.

He also says the roles temporary foreign workers and permanent immigrants occupy are often positions that have sat vacant for months, which he says suggests that employers are already struggling to find the people they need. 

Most of all, he says recruiting newcomers often benefits Canadian workers. Using restaurant staffing as an example, Kelly says those businesses often rely on foreign workers to staff kitchens and other back-of-house positions that would be otherwise difficult to fill, complementing the work of domestic employees who are already staffing the front of house.

When it comes to Alberta's restaurants, advocates for the business say staffing challenges in the province are facing a rural versus urban divide. 

Mark von Schellwitz, vice-president of Western Canada for Restaurants Canada, says a number of the organization's members are suffering from labour shortages, especially in rural Alberta communities.

"Let's face it, with the demographic labour shortages that we have that aren't going to go away any time soon, an increasing number of restaurants have been using immigrants, coming in through various programs, to help supplement their staff," he said.