Insights and Stories on Temporary Foreign Workers

Apr. 9, 2020 at 11:15 pm CDT

The Alberta and Ontario governments hope to set up “land armies” of available domestic workers to deploy on their provinces’ farms, in the event that seasonal and temporary foreign workers are unavailable. Both provinces this week announced they have set up online portals where residents can connect with farmers in […]

By GFM Staff

Apr. 6, 2020 at 6:52 pm CDT

Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Mandatory coronavirus quarantines of seasonal foreign workers in Canada could hurt that country’s fruit and vegetable output this year, and travel problems related to the pandemic could also leave U.S. farmers with fewer workers than usual. Foreign labour is critical to farm production in both countries, […]

By Christopher Walljasper, Rod Nickel

Mar. 21, 2020 at 12:47 pm CDT

Canada now plans to seek authorizations for flights to get foreign temporary and seasonal farm workers into the country, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Saturday. The federal government said this week that temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and workers coming to Canada under the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) will be […]

By GFM Staff

Mar. 20, 2020 at 7:53 pm CDT

Teams of livestock and government officials are quickly creating plans and policies to keep the sector functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, says the executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “Our primary objective obviously is to insure there is stable beef production and trade that can continue under the situation […]

By Alexis Kienlen

Mar. 20, 2020 at 4:43 pm CDT

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will allow temporary foreign workers with valid visas to enter the country, officials said on Friday, offering possible salvation to the agriculture industry even as Ottawa moves to limit the spread of a coronavirus outbreak. Canada’s labour-strapped farms rely heavily on nearly 60,000 temporary foreign […]

By Kelsey Johnson