Overview
- Eligible rural employers can lift the low-wage Temporary Foreign Worker share from 10% to 15% for a time-limited period running through March 31, 2027.
- Opt-in requests from provinces or territories can be approved within two weeks, allowing rapid rollout where local labour gaps are most acute.
- Sector safeguards stay in place, including a 20% cap for health care, construction and food processing, while seasonal sectors keep existing cap exemptions and agriculture remains uncapped under separate streams.
- Industry groups welcomed short-term relief, with Restaurants Canada urging provinces to include foodservice in priority sectors, as labour advocates and political critics renewed calls for broader program reform.
- TFW permit holders account for roughly 1% of Canada’s workforce (about 220,000 at end-2025) as Ottawa pursues a plan to lower the share of temporary residents to 5% of the population by 2027.