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Canada is tightening its regulations on the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program as the federal government focuses on building lasting economic strength.

The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). In fiscal year 2024–2025, ESDC conducted 1,435 employer compliance inspections, during which 10 percent of employers were found to be non-compliant. During the same period, penalties more than doubled from $2,067,750 to $4,882,500, resulting in 36 employers being banned from the TFW Program —a threefold increase from last year.

The strict enforcement of the program has impacted all those employers who were trying to exploit the facility. A vast majority of those affected by the continuous surveillance allegedly come from the South Asian community, especially those who had tried to sneak into the system by paying huge amounts to the agents and the greedy employers.

In September, the ESDC hit the headlines when an employer in the fish and seafood sector was issued a penalty of $1 million and a 10-year ban from the Program for failing to provide proper wages and working conditions, failing to comply with federal and provincial labour laws, and failing to provide a workplace that was free of abuse.

To date, this is the biggest penalty ever issued by the Department, because any mistreatment of workers or misuse of the Program will not be tolerated. Employers who are found to be non-compliant with TFW Program conditions are also listed on a public-facing website managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, an employer in the agricultural sector was fined $212,000 and banned from the TFW Program for two years for failing to provide proper working conditions and for not providing the required documentation to inspectors.

Another employer in the residential building construction industry was fined $161,000 and banned from the TFW Program for five years for failing to provide proper wages and working conditions, as well as a lack of compliance with federal and provincial labour laws.

Yet another employer in the long-haul trucking industry was fined $150,000 for failing to genuinely operate a business and for not providing the required documentation to inspectors.

In a statement, the ESDC held that the “Canadians are always first in line. To be clear, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a last resort option for employers who cannot find qualified Canadians and permanent residents to fill job vacancies.

“There’s a stringent process in place to ensure that Canadian workers are always prioritised first. All employers seeking to use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must demonstrate that genuine attempts to recruit workers from within Canada were unsuccessful. They must also continue recruiting for the position while the application is pending. Workers under the TFW Program represent approximately 1% of the Canadian workforce and play important roles in key sectors, including agriculture, food processing, construction, and healthcare.

In the context of the tightening labour market in September 2024, several measures were implemented to reduce reliance on the TFW Program, resulting in a 50 percent overall reduction in applications to the Program and a 70 percent reduction in the low-wage stream.

Employers who hire temporary foreign workers are also required to provide safe, healthy, and dignified working conditions. The Government has a strong compliance regime to help ensure that the health and safety of temporary foreign workers are protected.

The employer compliance regime aims to verify employers’ adherence to program requirements and conditions through inspections. Employers who fail to respect these requirements could be issued administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) of up to $1 million per year and may be temporarily or permanently banned from the Program.

In fiscal year 2024–2025, ESDC conducted 1,435 employer compliance inspections, of which 10 percent of employers were found non-compliant. During the same period, penalties more than doubled from $2,067,750 to $4,882,500, resulting in 36 employers being banned from the TFW Program —a threefold increase from last year.

Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, says: "Building a stronger Canada means protecting those who work tirelessly, day in and day out. Workers in Canada deserve safe workplaces where their rights are protected from bad actors. The TFW Program is a last resort measure for businesses – it is no substitute for Canadian talent, and its misuse will never be permitted. Strengthening our inspection practices to weed out employers who misuse the program puts workers at the forefront and safeguards their well-being while we build, together, one Canadian economy that will benefit all generations."