CFIB Report Highlights Labour Mismatch: TFW Program Fills Roles Canadian Youth Avoid — Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Event summary

90% of small businesses using the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program report inability to fill roles with local employees.
Nearly half of Canadian youth reject jobs requiring overnight shifts, heavy physical effort, or outdoor work exposed to weather conditions.
Harvesting labourers account for 32% of all TFW positions, followed by nursery/greenhouse labourers and food service roles.
Only 19% of youth would relocate for a service-sector job, with even fewer willing to move to rural or remote communities.
52% of small firms say the TFWP has helped them stay open, rising to 76% among hospitality businesses.

The big picture

The CFIB report underscores a structural mismatch between the jobs filled by Temporary Foreign Workers and the preferences of Canadian youth, particularly in physically demanding, irregular-hour, or rural roles. This dynamic highlights the critical role of the TFW Program in sustaining small businesses across agriculture and hospitality sectors, where labour shortages are acute. The findings suggest that policy changes aimed at restricting the program could exacerbate staffing crises rather than redirect jobs to local youth.

What we're watching

Policy Flexibility: Whether the federal government will introduce occupation-based flexibility in the TFWP to address persistently hard-to-fill roles.
Rural Labour Shortages: The pace at which rural businesses adapt to labour shortages as youth prefer urban employment opportunities.
Program Sustainability: How small businesses will sustain operations if access to TFW labor is further restricted without local workforce alternatives.