Seasonal Agricultural Workers

Every year, Canadian employers hire thousands of foreign workers to help address skill and labour shortages. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Service Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada 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 Canada/Service Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada in managing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Procedures and responsibilities may vary among provinces/territories. It is important to check with representatives of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program at the nearest Service Canada Centre.

What is the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program?

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program allows for the organized entry of foreign workers into Canada to meet the temporary seasonal needs of agricultural producers during peak harvesting and planting periods, when there are traditionally shortages of qualified Canadian workers. The Program currently operates in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Seasonal employees are guaranteed work for at least 240 hours within a period of six weeks or less. They can stay in Canada for up to a maximum of eight months. Employers can access the program between January 1 and December 15.

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program operates according to signed bilateral agreements (between Canada and the participating country) which set out administrative arrangements and responsibilities. Agreements are currently in place with Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad-Tobago, the Eastern Caribbean (Antigua, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vand Montserrat) and Mexico.

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

At the request of an employer, Service Canada assesses the likely impact the seasonal foreign worker would have on Canada’s labour market. As part of this assessment or “Labour Market Opinion,” Service Canada works case by case to ensure employers offer prevailing wage rates and acceptable working conditions. They also ensure the employer has first tried to fill vacant positions with Canadians or permanent residents.

What is the role of Citizenship and Immigration Canada?

Seasonal workers must apply for a work permit from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Following receipt of a positive Labour Market Opinion and a complete work permit application, Citizenship and Immigration Canada determines who is eligible to receive a work permit.

What is the role of Canada Border Services Agency?

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

What is the role of the foreign governments of the source countries?

Temporary foreign agricultural workers who come to Canada from one of the participating countries are represented by their country’s national government. The source countries are responsible for assisting in recruiting, selecting and documenting workers, and appointing agents at their embassies or consulates in Canada to serve as a contact point for foreign workers in Canada.

Who is responsible for labour standards?

The working conditions of temporary foreign workers are the responsibility of the department or ministry responsible for labour standards in each province or territory. Temporary foreign workers are covered by the same labour legislation and 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/territorial governments. The other 10 percent of occupations are federally regulated and the employment and labour standards fall under the Canada Labour Code. It is important to note that standards vary among provinces/territories. Please check with your ministry responsible for labour and employment standards. In addition, agricultural workers have different rights from other workers in many Canadian provinces/territories.

What must employers do?

Employers request a Labour Market Opinion from Service Canada. In order to receive a positive opinion, employers must meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrate efforts to hire Canadian agricultural workers at least eight weeks before the start of the work;
• Make efforts to hire unemployed Canadians through Human Resources and Social Development Canada/Service Canada and provincial/territorial employment programs;
• Offer the foreign worker the same wages paid to a Canadian agricultural worker doing the same work, in the same region, and offer working conditions consistent with Canadian standards;
• Pay part of the foreign worker’s airfare to and from Canada based on the agreement between the worker’s country of residence and the Government of Canada;
• Provide free housing to the foreign worker (which has been approved by the appropriate provincial/territorial or municipal body);
• Pay the immigration visa cost-recovery fee for the worker (this cost is recoverable from the foreign worker);
• Ensure the foreign worker is covered by workers’ compensation;
• Ensure the foreign worker is covered under private or provincial/territorial health insurance while in Canada;
• Sign an employer-employee contract outlining wages, duties, and conditions related to the transportation, accommodation, health and occupational safety of the foreign worker;
• In some provinces/territories, employers are required to pay a fee to a non-profit organization that represents the workers; and
• Other documents may also be required, such as proof of housing inspections, evidence that workers are covered by worker’s compensation and medical insurance, and/or results of recruitment efforts in Canada.

What is the application process?

Step 1: The employer contacts Service Canada to confirm the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program covers the agriculture and agri-foods sector in their province or territory. If it is not covered, Service Canada conducts a comprehensive labour market study.

Step 2: The employer applies for a Labour Market Opinion from Service Canada; the employer submits an employer-employee contract for the foreign worker, except in British Columbia.

Step 3: Service Canada reviews the application according to criteria noted above, and provides a Labour Market Opinion to the employer.

Step 4: Service Canada sends written results of the assessment to the employer and the employer informs the foreign worker.

Step 5: In the case of a positive Labour Market Opinion, the employer sends a copy of the confirmation letter to the foreign worker.

Step 6: The foreign worker applies to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a work permit with the assistance of his/her government.

Employers are also able to request agricultural workers from countries other than Mexico and the Caribbean. They should review Service Canada’s pilot project for occupations requiring lower levels of formal training (National Occupational Classification levels C and D). 

Employers must also apply for a Quebec Acceptance Certificate when they want to hire foreign seasonal agricultural workers to work in the province of Quebec. For further information, visit Immigration et Communautés culturelles.

What must foreign nationals do if they wish to work temporarily in Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program?

Foreign nationals request a permit to work temporarily in Canada from Citizenship and Immigration Canada and provide a copy of the Service Canada letter confirming that their employer received a positive Labour Market Opinion.

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

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