Number of temporary worker applications falls as fines rise, government says

By Canadian Press on October 6, 2025.

OTTAWA — Ottawa says the number of temporary foreign worker applications has dropped by half since September 2024, when new rules were introduced to make it harder to get a permit.

Employment and Social Development Canada also says it collected nearly $4.9 million in fines for non-compliance, including the largest penalty ever imposed under the temporary foreign worker program.

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

The reasons cited by the federal government for imposing the penalty include 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.

Under new rules introduced last September, Ottawa will refuse applications for permission to hire someone through the temporary foreign worker program in any area where unemployment is higher than six per cent.

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

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

David Baxter, The Canadian Press