Conservative MP Jamil Jivan has launched a petition calling on the Liberal government to end the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Jivani argues that the program suppresses Canadian wages and worsens the labour market.
In his first official statement after being sworn in on Thursday, Jivani launched the petition, demanding the government to scrap the program entirely.
“No more cheap labour programs that take Canadian jobs and suppress wages,” Jivani wrote on social media.
The petition claims the TFWP is a major contributor to “unsustainable immigration levels” and is directly harming Canadian workers.
“Youth unemployment in Canada rose from about nine per cent in 2022 to over 14 per cent in 2024 the highest level in more than a decade, excluding the COVID-19 period,” the petition reads.
“In Toronto alone, the number of unemployed youth jumped 50 per cent in two years, surpassing 120,000.”
Jivani pointed to rising numbers of foreign workers in youth-dominated sectors like food service and retail.
According to the petition, Tim Hortons hired at least 714 temporary foreign workers in Ontario in 2023, a dramatic increase from just 58 in 2019.
Jivani’s petition claims “The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is taking jobs away from Canadians and holding down the wages of Canadian workers.”
The petition also cites labour concerns raised by the Ironworkers Union (Local 97), which has called on Ottawa to end the program and focus instead on training and hiring domestic workers.
“Canadian economists have observed that the availability of temporary foreign workers provides an opportunity for businesses to hire foreign workers for lower wages and unfavourable working conditions,” Jivani wrote.
The petition makes an exception for seasonal agricultural workers, calling for their program to be treated separately to support Canada’s farming industry while ending the broader TFWP.