Temporary foreign workers in the Canadian labour market

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted challenges faced by temporary foreign workers, while also underscoring the importance of lower-skilled temporary foreign workers to the Canadian economy. There are still more higher-skilled workers among temporary foreign workers in Canada, but their share has been decreasing over the past two decades (from 58% to 44%), while the share of lower-skilled workers has been increasing (from 32% to 39%).

Out of the cohorts of temporary foreign workers who arrived in 2000 to 2004, 2005 to 2009 and 2010 to 2014, there were more higher-skilled workers, but the lower-skilled workers had a higher or equal rate of transitioning to permanent residency.

Once they were admitted, skilled trades principal applicants had a higher rate of employment than other principal applicants in the economic class in the first year after admission (10 percentage points higher for men and 7 points higher for women). However, by the 10th year, this advantage had narrowed to 6 percentage points for men and had become non-existent for women.

Earnings growth was much slower for skilled trades immigrants, too. While they had higher median annual earnings in the first year after immigration than other economic immigrants who did not intend to work in skilled trades, by year 9, immigrant men in skilled trades earned 14% less than other economic immigrant men, and immigrant women in skilled trades earned 23% less than other economic immigrant women.