From fast food to construction, employers turn more and more to temporary foreign workers

Businesses' demand for temporary foreign workers has surged across the country in recent years, with employers given the green light to hire more than double the people through the federal program last year as they did five years ago.

The program is designed to provide short-term relief to employers as a last resort, but has been scrutinized for its potential knock-on effects to the broader economy and the vulnerable position in which it can place workers.

Last year, employers were cleared to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers, about the population of Regina. That's up from 108,988 in 2018, according to figures published by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

The program's growth coincided with the government loosening hiring restrictions to help businesses with post-pandemic labour shortages. Some economists criticized that move, saying it undermined healthy competition for workers in a market economy.

«All we hear about are labour shortages, [but] we have to begin to recognize that this really is a self-serving narrative mostly coming from corporate Canada,» said Mikal Skuterud, a labour economics professor at the University of Waterloo.

As the program has expanded, there's been interest from a wide range of industries.

CBC News analyzed federal data about the number of positions on positive labour market impact assessments (LMIAs), a document proving there are no Canadians available to take a job.

The numbers show that while farm and greenhouse workers have consistently been the program's most in-demand roles, demand for other jobs is on the rise.

Across the economy, employers have turned to the program to fill roles ranging from administrative assistants (from 287 in 2018 to 3,337 in 2023), to light duty