Facts and key messages about international farm workers

Canadian farmers hire Canadians first. When Canadians are unavailable or unwilling to apply for farm jobs, farmers need international workers to help grow and harvest food for our tables. Seasonal paid workers make up 53% of Canada’s paid agricultural workforce. Furthermore, on-farm agriculture has the highest job vacancy rate of any industry at 5.4 percent.

They are integral to the Canadian agriculture and agri-food value chain which employs 2.3 million Canadians across the country, providing safe and sustainable Canadian grown fruit, vegetables and other Canadian products for our grocery shelves, as well as helping Canadian farmers feed the world.

Unfortunately, the critical and chronic labour shortage on Canadian farms and the mutually beneficial relationship between international farm workers and Canadian producers is poorly understood by the majority of Canadians. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is governed by very strict rules with two primary agriculture streams for international farm workers: the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) and the Agricultural Stream. Unless specified, the facts below apply to all international farm workers and employers in both streams.

*please note that the facts below are based on the most recently available data.

FACT: There aren’t enough Canadians willing to work in agriculture. Expand

Canadian farmers spend significant time and effort trying to recruit and retain Canadian workers. However, seasonal farm work does not provide permanent year-round jobs, and the positions are usually located in rural areas, so they are incredibly difficult to fill.

Research conducted by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) shows a critical gap between the demand for workers and the supply of available Canadian workers. This gap has doubled in the past 10 years to approximately 60,000 workers. By 2025, the labour gap is expected to grow to 114,000 workers. The job vacancy rate for the industry is higher than any other industry in Canada, at 7%. These vacancies result in $1.5 billion in lost sales annually.

The jobs are also critical and time-sensitive, as they revolve around seasonal crop cycles, fluctuating weather conditions, and the handling of live plants. All these considerations mean that growers need seasonal employees during peak periods to avoid devastating losses. International farm workers help to fill this critical labour need.

Feedback received in consultations with producers suggests that there would be no horticulture production in Canada without these programs.

FACT: Farmers follow the rules. Expand

There are many rules farmers must adhere to and which they are regularly inspected/audited on. Farmers want to do the right thing. If a grower breaks the rules, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program fines or bans the employer from the program. In 2019, there 114 employers deemed non-compliant in 2019, and only 8 were farms.

FACT: Farmers are subject to integrity inspections. Expand

Canadian growers who participate in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program are subject to integrity inspections at any time chosen by the Federal Government’s Integrity Services Department. If a grower breaks the rules, the employer is penalized, fined or banned from the program.

FACT: Workers’ rights are protected. Expand

The TFWP Primary Agriculture Streams include carefully constructed rules protecting Canada’s seasonal workers. The program includes formal signed contracts that outline expectations of growers and benefits to seasonal workers. Additionally, international governments employ liaison officers in Canada who support SAWP workers in a number of areas, including non-workplace personal medical care, worker compensation, and personal issues. These local liaison officers are supplied by the workers’ home countries and they work with Canadian officials to care for SAWP workers while they are in Canada.

FACT: Workers have access to Canadian health care. Expand

All international farm workers have mandated access to health care in Canada. Just as it is for all Canadians, health care falls under provincial jurisdiction and specifics differ from province to province. See health and workers compensation regulations for: Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia.

Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, employers must provide private insurance, at no cost, until the worker becomes eligible for provincial health insurance.

FACT: Farmers support workers getting their pension benefits. Expand

Farmers support long term international farm workers getting their pension benefits. It is very important that the Government of Canada inform international farm workers of how they can access these benefits. How to access their benefits should be an important part of worker protection training.

FACT: Farmers support a pathway to immigration for international farm workers. Expand

As the majority of fruit and vegetable farm jobs are seasonal in nature, most workers aren’t eligible for immigration. However, some permanent, year-round jobs are available in supervisory roles for workers with the right skills and experience. Greenhouses also provide other year-round job opportunities. The federal and provincial governments should recognize the labour shortage, prioritize international farm workers, and allow an immigration option if someone has a permanent, year-round job offer on a farm.

On May 15, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began accepting applications to the Agri-Food Pilot.

The 3-year pilot will test an industry-specific approach to help employers in the meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production, and livestock-raising industries fill ongoing labour needs for full-time, year-round employees. It will provide a pathway to permanent residence for many temporary foreign workers already in Canada.

A total of 2,750 applications will be accepted annually throughout the pilot, which applies primarily to people who are already in Canada.

FACT: International farm workers are paid the same wages as Canadians. Expand

International farm workers and Canadians are paid the same wages for the same work, as regulated by law.

FACT: International farm workers actually create full-time jobs for Canadians. Expand

According to this 2015 study, each international farm worker employed in Canadian agriculture creates two full-time jobs for Canadians further up the value chain.

FACT: Income sent home by workers is 11 times what Canada sends these same countries in foreign aid. Expand

The partnership between seasonal farm workers and Canadian farmers is an important part of Canada being a good global citizen.  Approximately $337 million in remittances are sent home by SAWP employees every year to the 12 participating countries, including poor regions of Mexico and the Caribbean. This amount is over 11 times Canada’s annual aid budget to these countries, as Canada’s aid budget to the Caribbean and Mexico is only $29 million. These significant remittances bolster the local economies of the 12 participating countries, helping to change the lives of workers, sending their kids to good schools, and lifting them and their families out of poverty. [CAHRC Research: Canadian aid and SAWP remittance comparison]

FACT: Workers are important contributors to the Canadian Economy. Expand

Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) employees contribute over $113.5 million to the Canadian economy. (based on 35,000 SAWP workers who worked in Canada in 2014). These are SAWP employees who have been returning to Canadian farms for over 50 years who bolster the Canadian economy when they purchase items like rice, flour and high-tech merchandise to bring home to their families as well as contributions to Canadian EI, CPP and the Canadian tax base. [CAHRC Research: Canadian aid and SAWP Remittance per worker source, Page 145]

FACT: The Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) recognizes Canadian farmers’ unique workforce challenges Expand

The SAWP recently celebrated a half century of integrity. Predating the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the SAWP was created to recognize Canadian farmers’ unique workforce challenges, such as producing seasonal crops, farms being located in remote, rural areas where few people live, and difficult, strenuous labour needed to harvest and bring fresh fruit and vegetables to our tables.

The program has been developed in cooperation with, and is reviewed annually by, Canadian authorities, growers and participating countries. These stakeholders work together on an ongoing basis to improve the program and safeguard labour rights for seasonal employees.

FACT: 85% of international workers from Mexico evaluate their employer as good or excellent. Expand

The Mexican government interviews its workers upon their return to Mexico. 85% of international workers from Mexico evaluate their employer as good or excellent according to the AtocTli newsletter for migrant workers