SASKATOON — Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison is confident the recent changes to the temporary foreign worker program had no adverse effect on Saskatchewan's labour market as the province remained one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
According to Statistics Canada's released data on Friday, Sept. 6, Saskatchewan's unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, below the national average of 6.6 percent. The province's year-over-year full-time employment increased by 3.5 per cent or 17,800 jobs.
"The temporary foreign worker changes will not affect Saskatchewan substantially. The announcement will have a more significant impact in other jurisdictions," said Harrison, who emphasized the province's creation of nearly 20,000 jobs from August 2023 to August 2024.
"A limited number of temporary foreign workers are employed here in Saskatchewan, under 2,000 a year. They are primarily in the agriculture sector, exempted from the temporary foreign worker changes anyway."
Harrison said that he encourages Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller to prioritize the integrity of the country's immigration program, like what they did with the Immigration Services Act in the province, which took effect on July 1, 2024.
He added that the ISA shows the provincial government takes immigration issues seriously. The law provides the highest penalties in the country for immigration fraud and for employers who mistreat their employees who come through one of Canada's immigration streams.
"Any measures that will strengthen the immigration program's integrity framework, we will continue encouraging the federal government to take that very seriously. Fraud is what I mean by program integrity," Harrison said in an earlier interview.
"Canada is an incredibly desirable place. That is a good thing, but some would seek to enter the country illegally or through cultural representations; some employers would use the system to advance their interests or mistreat those who come through it."
Most who come to work in the province do so through streams that lead to permanent residency and then citizenship under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program, which can also be applied to international students.
"For our students here temporarily, we try hard to convert them to permanency. We encourage them to explore options in our nominee program or federal streams as well as their a student because that is a tremendous benefit for our province in the long term," Harrison said.
Harrison said businesses and other industries are also part of Saskatchewan's substantial employment numbers, as the partnerships forged by the provincial government resulted in a skilled labour force.
"It's a partnership between business and government. Businesses will be putting in resources in addition to the government, providing resources for training, which we do for those seeking to enter the labour market, or those who are upskilling," said Harrison.
"I always say that when everybody has a stake in a positive outcome, employee, employer, government, all pulling in the same direction, you end up with the best, optimal outcomes. And the job grant program is one of those programs as well."
He added that the province faces a positive challenge as there are more jobs in Saskatchewan than people to fill them. Therefore, with the help of businesses, employers, and job creators, the province introduced a labour market strategy to ensure a workforce fit for training.
"Saskatchewan residents can take advantage of the jobs that exist, be trained for the skills that are in demand, making sure we're tailoring that training to the skills and jobs that will exist now and into the future, and ensure newcomers can fully optimize their credentials if earned outside Canada or Saskatchewan," said Harrison.
"We set up an entire credential recognition service within my department to work individually with newcomers to ensure that a credential they may have obtained, say in the Philippines, would be recognized here in Saskatchewan; it's a big issue, so we've moved on that front. We're also working with employers to recruit people around the world."
