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Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Hiring Foreign Agricultural Workers in Canada

Agricultural foreign workers can help producers meet their labour needs during peak agricultural periods when Canadian workers and permanent residents are not available.

Employers can hire seasonal agricultural workers from Mexico and certain Caribbean countries through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). Note that this stream is limited to on-farm primary agriculture.

Employers may also hire agricultural temporary foreign workers (TFWs) through the new Agricultural Stream of the NOC C and D Pilot Project. Unlike the SAWP this stream is not restricted to TFWs from Mexico and the Caribbean countries.

This Agricultural Stream features some of the SAWP requirements in order to provide similar working conditions for the TFWs coming under the SAWP or the Agricultural Stream of the NOC C and D Pilot Project.

It applies to all TFWs from any country entering Canada to work in sectors included under the national SAWP commodities list. The occupations must be listed under the National Occupational Classification C and D (NOC C and D Pilot Project) and they normally require at most a high school diploma or a maximum of two years of job-specific training.

Employers are free to choose between the SAWP and the Agricultural Stream of the NOC C and D Pilot Project. However, all employers hiring agricultural TFWs for SAWP-commodity occupations are required to abide by the rules of this new Agricultural Stream.

The regular NOC C and D Pilot Project remains available for employers who wish to hire agricultural TFWs in commodities not listed under the SAWP.

To hire workers for managerial, technical or professional occupations go to Hiring Foreign Workers in Canada or contact the nearest Service Canada Centre.

Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program

SAWP allows you to hire agricultural workers to work in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in specific agricultural commodity sectors. Other provinces and territories do not participate in SAWP.

Under the program, you can hire workers from Mexico, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and Tobago.

You must offer a minimum of 240 hours of work within a period of six weeks or less, for a maximum duration of eight (8) months between January 1 and December 15.

Non-profit organizations can assist employers in hiring seasonal agricultural workers and applying for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO).

SAWP is governed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada assesses what impact the entry of foreign workers would have on Canada’s labour market or, in other words, how the entry of foreign workers would affect Canadian jobs. It issues LMOs.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) makes the final decision as to whether individual foreign workers will be allowed to enter and work in Canada. It issues work permits. For further information visit CIC’s Website.

The Canada Border Service Agency screens foreign workers at border crossings and airports. It can deny entry to foreign workers if it believes they do not meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations.

Foreign governments assist in the recruitment and selection of foreign workers, make sure workers have the necessary documents, maintain a pool of qualified workers and appoint representatives to assist workers in Canada.

Guidelines for Hiring Seasonal Agricultural Workers

Before you (or a non-profit organization acting on your behalf) apply for a LMO, you must:

Undertake recruitment efforts to recruit Canadians or permanent residents.
Provide a human resources plan (eight weeks before the worker starts) describing efforts made to hire unemployed Canadian workers and permanent residents through HRSDC/Service Canada and provincial employment programs.
Include in the advertisement the employment conditions (i.e., duties, wages and working conditions) that will be offered. These advertised conditions must be the same as those offered to a temporary foreign worker.
Offer the wage rate paid to Canadian agricultural workers doing the same work or the prevailing wage rate set by HRSDC/Service Canada, whichever is higher. In a unionized environment, pay the wage rate established under the collective agreement.

When you apply for an LMO, you must agree to:

Pay for round-trip airfare to bring the foreign worker from the source country to Canada and ground transportation to the place of work (a portion of this cost can be recovered through payroll deductions in all provinces except British Columbia).
Pay the worker’s immigration visa cost-recovery fee, which can be recovered through payroll deductions.
Provide free seasonal housing (except in British Columbia where a portion of the costs can be deducted from the workers’ wages) that has been approved by the appropriate provincial/municipal body or private inspection service.
Register the worker with workers' compensation and a private or provincial health insurance plan, whichever is applicable.
Make payroll deductions and submit remittances to Royal Bank of Canada Insurance for supplemental health coverage for Mexican workers.
Prepare and sign an employment contract outlining wages, duties, and conditions related to the transportation, accommodation and health and occupational safety of the foreign worker.

How to meet the above mentioned guidelines varies from province to province. For further information, consult British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Hiring Steps:

To hire agricultural foreign workers under the SAWP, you (or a non-profit organization) must:

Complete and submit an LMO application and the Employer Declaration Form - (PDF, 26 KB, 2 pages).
Employers using a third party representative must complete the "Annex to the Appointment of Representative" form and send it with the LMO application.
Send documents to the Service Canada Centre in your area or call the nearest Centre for assistance.
You must sign the application form and make sure the information provided is accurate.
Complete a human resources plan eight weeks before the worker starts to demonstrate your efforts to hire Canadians or permanent residents.
Prepare a SAWP employment contract which must be signed by you, the worker and foreign government representative before CIC will issue a work permit.

HRSDC /Service Canada will inform you and, if applicable, the non-profit organization or third-party representative of the results of the assessment by mail.

If the LMO is positive, Mexico or the Caribbean country will recruit the agricultural worker and help him/her apply for a work permit from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The worker may be issued a permit for a maximum of eight (8) months as long as he/she has an employment contract and meets the criteria to work and reside temporarily in Canada.
If your application is denied, HRSDC/Service Canada will provide you with the necessary information to recover the immigration cost recovery fee.