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Canada’s labor market has been experiencing significant changes, particularly in cities like Toronto. The influx of temporary foreign workers has raised concerns about the impact on young Canadians looking for employment.
According to Statistics Canada data, the number of unemployed people aged 15-24 in Toronto increased by 50% over two years. This trend is attributed partly to the large number of new immigrants arriving in the city. As a result, some companies are choosing to hire more experienced workers from abroad, which has led to fewer job opportunities for young locals.
For instance, 17-year-old Alexander Clarke spent months applying to various retail and food service jobs but received no responses from employers. He believes that older people are being preferred over youth in the hiring process.
In response to public pressure, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has taken steps to curb the use of temporary foreign workers. For example, it has limited the number of hours international students can work and promised stricter enforcement against companies that abuse the system.
However, under current rules, employers are still allowed to bring in foreign workers even in areas with rising unemployment. Last year, Canada approved around 240,000 temporary foreign worker positions, nearly double the amount from 2019. Approximately a fifth of these positions were in restaurants and retail stores.
Major restaurant and retail chains rely heavily on the program to hire workers, but their use of numbered companies makes it difficult to quantify their reliance on temporary foreign labor. Some companies, such as Tim Hortons, hired hundreds of temporary foreign workers last year, mostly through holding companies that didn’t bear the franchise name.
Critics argue that the program may be suppressing wages for entry-level positions by allowing employers to hire low-wage workers instead of paying a competitive wage. Economics experts suggest that labor shortages should be addressed through wage increases rather than relying on temporary foreign workers.
Sources:
- Statistics Canada
- Government data on temporary foreign worker program
- Peer-reviewed report by Christopher Worswick and colleagues