Number of temporary worker applications fell as fine total increased, government says

By Canadian Press on October 6, 2025.

OTTAWA — Ottawa issued almost $5 million in fines to companies for not complying with the rules that accompanied the temporary foreign worker permits they received, new government data shows.

The Employment and Social Development Canada report also said that after new rules kicked in last year making it harder to get a temporary foreign worker permit, the number of applications made under the program was cut in half.

The drop included a 70 per cent drop in low wage stream temporary worker applications, says the federal government.

The temporary foreign worker program is split into low- and high-wage streams, reserved for jobs either below or above the provincial median income.

Employment and Social Development Canada said it collected about $4.9 million in fines for non-compliance in the 2024-25 fiscal year, compared with $2 million in 2023-24.

Bolero Shellfish Processing Inc. of New Brunswick was fined $1 million — the maximum financial penalty — and was banned from the program for 10 years on Sept. 17.

The federal government says Bolero was fined for breaking federal or provincial hiring laws, paying less than the listed offer and not doing enough to ensure the workplace is free of physical, sexual, financial and/or psychological abuse.

The new rules introduced last September, Ottawa refuses applications for permission to hire someone through the temporary foreign worker program in any census metropolitan area where unemployment is above six per cent.

There are exceptions to this rule for jobs in certain sectors, like agriculture, construction and health care, and for jobs with a duration of less than 120 days.

The rules also limit the number of low-wage temporary workers an employer can hire to 10 per cent of the workforce, or 20 per cent for certain sectors, including health care, construction and food manufacturing.

Of the roughly 260 non-compliance fines posted publicly since the start of September 2024, about 44 per cent were solely for employers not producing necessary documents to inspectors.

High national youth unemployment has put more political pressure on the temporary foreign worker program, which the government says accounts for only about one per cent of the national workforce.

The Conservatives recently began to call for an end to the program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press