Ontario will not be participating in a federal initiative that would allow rural employers to hire more temporary foreign workers, with the province saying the jobs should be going to unemployed youth instead.
In a letter to federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini laid out his reasoning Thursday, saying the Temporary Foreign Worker Program “has had a clear and damaging impact on opportunities for Ontario workers,” particularly young workers.
“At a time when youth unemployment exceeds 15 per cent across the province, people rightly expect governments to work together to create the conditions for businesses to invest, grow and create good-paying jobs for domestic workers, rather than continue policies that put employment further out of their reach,” Piccini said in the letter.
The Carney government has enacted temporary measures from April 2026 through March 2027 to allow rural employers to retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers above the cap. Those employers can also benefit from a 15 per cent cap—higher than the usual 10 per cent—on the proportion of temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions.
The measure were meant to help fill vacancies in needed positions across the country.
However the measures require provincial sign-on.
So far, B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Quebec Have signed on to one or both measures. Alberta and Nunavut have said no. The other provinces have yet to decide.
Youth unemployment in Ontario sits at more than 15 per cent.
“Ontario businesses are well positioned to recruit, train and retain the many young people who are available and eager to work, and our focus should be on helping them succeed before expanding access to temporary foreign labour,” Piccini wrote.
He said Ontario remains supportive of agricultural streams.
But in a statement Thursday, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) President Dan Kelly said the jobs that need to be filled in rural areas will not necessarily be attractive to many young people looking for work, and urged the government to reconsider.
“A young worker living in Toronto is not going to move halfway across the province to take a job at a diner in Timmins, but the diner still needs the role filled to stay open,” Kelly said.
He said small businesses are “committed employers of young Canadians,” but the work they offer is not always a match. Kelly pointed to statistics indicating many young people are not interested in jobs that require overnight hours, are outdoors in the elements, and which are physically demanding.
“We’re urging the Ontario government to reconsider its decision and help small businesses across the province access the labour they need to keep their doors open and Ontarians employed,” Kelly said.
