Feds loosen foreign-worker cap for desperate Quebec companies

The federal government is making it easier for Quebec employers to hire temporary foreign workers in key industries like food and health care, the latest attempt at easing one of the most acute labor shortages in the country.

Canada is making it easier for Quebec employers to hire temporary foreign workers in key industries like food and health care, the latest attempt at easing one of the most acute labor shortages in the country. 

Starting Monday, temporary workers from outside Canada can make up as much as 20 per cent of the workforce for low-wage positions in certain sectors, up from 10 per cent previously, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a news release. The measure is part of a pilot project announced in August that also loosens some recruiting requirements.

The moves won praise from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which conducted a survey of small firms in November that showed Quebec as the province hardest hit by labor shortages.   

While permit approval to bring in workers takes time, it’s still “a major improvement,” Francois Vincent, Quebec vice-president for the business lobby group, said in an interview. “Temporary foreign workers is one of the solutions.”

With unemployment in Quebec at 4.6 per cent last month and job vacancies up 73 per cent over two years, the provincial government has made the job market a priority of 2022. In a November budget update, it pledged almost $3 billion (US$2.4 billion) over five years to help train or attract workers in crucial sectors. 

Like firms across North America, Quebec companies have had a hard time filling low-paying jobs after the economy emerged from pandemic lockdowns. But the province’s predicament, which pre-dates the crisis, is also shaped by aging demographics, a tougher approach to immigration and a skills mismatch.