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3. Foreign Workers

Roles and Responsibilities

Every year, Canadian employers hire thousands of foreign workers to help address skill and labour shortages. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Service Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency help ensure that foreign workers support economic growth in Canada. This information sheet is part of a series that provides information on hiring foreign workers and explores the role of Human Resources and Skills Development/Service Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada in managing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Procedures and responsibilities may vary between provinces/territories. For further information, contact the nearest Service Canada Centre.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Service Canada works with employers who want to hire foreign workers. Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency work with foreign workers who want to work in Canada.

What is the role of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Service Canada?

An employer who wants to hire a foreign worker must first apply to Service Canada for a “Labour Market Opinion.” This opinion assesses what impact the worker would have on Canada’s labour market or, in other words, how the offer of employment will affect Canadian jobs.

As part of this “Labour Market Opinion,” Service Canada works case by case to ensure the employer offers prevailing wage rates, acceptable working conditions and that the entry of the foreign worker will have a neutral or positive effect on the Canadian labour market. The employer is also expected to have made comprehensive efforts to try to fill the vacant position with Canadian workers or permanent residents. If these conditions are met, the employer receives a letter indicating that the Labour Market Opinion is positive.

There are cases when the employer does not require a Labour Market Opinion. For further information, visit Working temporarily in Canada.

What is the role of Citizenship and Immigration Canada?

A foreign worker who wants to work in Canada requires a work permit from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Following receipt of an application for a work permit and a copy of the letter confirming that an employer received a positive Labour Market Opinion (when required), Citizenship and Immigration Canada determines whether the foreign worker is eligible to receive a work permit. In certain circumstances, an application for a work permit may be made at a port of entry.

What is the role of the Canada Border Services Agency?

The Canada Border Services Agency screens foreign workers at Canadian border crossings and airports to ensure that they meet admissibility requirements before issuing work permits and allowing them to enter Canada. The Agency has the final say on who may enter the country.

Who is responsible for employment and labour standards?

Temporary foreign workers have the same rights as Canadian workers. Ninety percent of occupations are provincially/territorially regulated and employment and labour standards for those occupations are the responsibility of the provincial and territorial governments. The other 10 percent of occupations are federally regulated and the employment and labour standards fall under the Canada Labour Code. Standards vary between provinces and territories. For further information, contact your ministry responsible for labour and employment standards.

What is required of Canadian employers?

Employers make a job offer to a foreign worker, request a Labour Market Opinion from Service Canada and inform the foreign worker of the results of Labour Market Opinion assessments.

What is required of foreign workers?

Foreign workers who want to work in Canada must first obtain a job offer from a Canadian employer. They then apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a permit to work temporarily in Canada. Applicants must include a copy of the Service Canada letter confirming that their employer received a positive Labour Market Opinion.

How do Canadian employers apply for a Labour Market Opinion?

The process for hiring foreign workers is not the same for all occupations and sectors, or in all regions of the country. The following occupations and sectors have special hiring criteria:

Academics
Seasonal Agriculture
Film and Entertainment
Information Technology
Live-in Caregivers

Occupations requiring lower levels of formal training (NOC C & D)
Occupations Under Pressure

While hiring steps vary, they generally follow this pattern:

Step 1: An employer applies for a Labour Market Opinion from Service Canada and may be required to submit an employer-employee contract.

Step 2: Service Canada assesses the application based on program criteria and develops a Labour Market Opinion.

Step 3: Service Canada provides a written response to the employer with the results of the assessment. The employer then communicates the results to the foreign worker.

Step 4: In the case of a positive opinion, the employer sends a copy of Service Canada’s confirmation letter to the foreign worker.

Step 5: The foreign worker applies to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a work permit.

Employers must also apply for a Quebec Acceptance Certificate when they want to hire foreign workers to work in the province of Quebec. To learn how employers apply for an acceptance certificate, visit Immigration et Communautés culturelles.

For more information on the Government of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program and how to hire foreign workers, visit theTemporary Foreign Worker Program or Citizenship and Immigration Canada at Working temporarily in Canada.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program Home Page

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Date Modified:

2011-07-13