Temporary foreign workers clamored for by Quebec employers are causing controversy in the Canadian business community. There are voices calling for their numbers to be limited, while almost everyone here wants the opposite.
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“Without these people there is no economic development and no growth,” explains the representative of Quebec factories, Véronique Proulx, at the head of Manufacturiers & Exportateurs du Québec.
Canada's population growth already appears “extreme,” said Stéfane Marion, chief economist at the National Bank, which falls under the Federal Banking Charter, this week. Desjardins, the Quebec institution, however, believes that the immigration floodgates must be opened.
“We don't see that often,” laughs Alexandre Gagnon, vice-president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec, about the deep disagreement between the two banking giants.
Much of Quebec's business community agrees with Desjardins. The situation is critical, it is said, because companies are currently refusing contracts and delaying investments.
“Foreign temporary workers are very popular. We don't have enough people to keep the economy going,” notes Quebec business representative Karl Blackburn of the Employers' Council.
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Jobs everywhere
Our factories – Quebec's manufacturing sector – have increased from 4,000 to 16,000 temporary foreign workers since 2021, when Ottawa relaxed the rules of its program.
These people make the kayaks we sail, the doors and windows that protect us, and the car parts that transport us. Almost all sectors of the economy need them.
“We are even short of $250,000-a-year boat captains or $80,000-a-year laborers and carpenters,” says Karl Blackburn.
Whether in aviation, accounting, wood and forestry, the battery industry, tourism or retail, there are numerous positions to fill. Not to mention education and RPAs.
In the health sector, Quebec provided 30 positions for 100 retirements in 2019. Thanks to the arrival of more foreign workers, the system was able to maintain its workforce for three years.
“Thanks to them, we survived the pandemic. A pension replacement rate of 100% is extraordinary,” emphasizes Alexandre Gagnon on the topic of “Guardian Angels” by François Legault.
The hole gets bigger
The needs of the labor market are known: Quebec needs 1.6 million workers by 2030. The gap is widening quickly as the population ages – only Japan has fewer young people than us.
The government predicts these positions will be filled 50% through schools, 25% through “remote groups” such as women and indigenous peoples, and 25% through immigration.
The goal is therefore 400,000 foreign workers within seven years or 60,000 per year. Depending on who you talk to, the future of Quebec more or less depends on it.
Some in the Canadian business community are calling for the program to be “radically scaled back” and limited to sectors with “critical needs,” such as agriculture.
“Businesses should not be subsidized by importing cheap labor,” said a Jan. 13 Globe and Mail editorial.
The reality couldn't be more different, claims Véronique Proulx, because hiring temporary foreign workers is an expensive and time-consuming process – the deadlines are currently 12 months.
Let us also not forget that those who work here for two or three years contribute to the richness of our culture, says Alexandre Gagnon. They don't just fulfill an economic need.
“Who will work in our restaurants, our museums and our theaters, three big users of the program since 2021,” he asks? It is thanks to immigrants that our cities and villages remain attractive.
–In collaboration with Francis Halin
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