Across Quebec, our companies are running out of steam and addicted to temporary foreign workers (TEF). Last year there were five times more of them working in several key sectors of the economy than in 2021.
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Overall, the number of foreign workers (TET) in the simplified component alone has increased fivefold, from 4,370 in 2021 to over 22,798 in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Immigration, Francisification and Integration (MIFI).
This acceleration means that TFWs are no longer just found in our areas. They are in our slaughterhouses cutting meat, in our sawmills making 2X4s, or even in our machine shops.
Last year, more than 296 professions were eligible for simplified treatment and the list will be updated next month, MIFI says. But we still need to find these valuable candidates.
In construction we would take much more, as Le Journal reported last September.
“It is now an extremely heterogeneous group. Employers everywhere, not just in agriculture, need it,” summarizes Emna Braham, director general of the Institut du Québec (IDQ).
“We not only have to rely on them, but also on automation to be less dependent on them,” she analyzes.
Emna Braham, Director General of the Institut du Québec (IDQ), welcomes the contribution of TETs, but believes that our SMEs also need to focus on innovation to drive their growth. Photo provided by the Institut du Québec
In Guadeloupe, in Beauce-Sartigan, the Olivier Automobile Group can count on the meticulous work of Frank Anderson Mongnei, recently arrived from Ivory Coast.
“For me it's not a team, it's a family,” the 32-year-old auto mechanic, who arrived here last September, spontaneously told the Journal.
“I have a flat. I like everything here,” says the man who practiced his profession in Africa and Turkey before landing in the land of winter.
“We need these workers”
At Groupe Automobile Olivier, human resources coordinator Isabelle Blanchard doesn't want anything in the world to slow down immigration.
Isabelle Blanchard, human resources department at Groupe Olivier Automobile, has hired many temporary foreign workers across Quebec. Photo provided by Isabelle Blanchard
“We need these workers in several regions of Quebec,” emphasizes the person who did business with the company ISA Immigration et Recruitment.
“In Sept-Îles we hired a mechanic from Morocco. His wife, a nurse, became a beneficiary here,” she explains. She also denounces the inconvenience of the bureaucratic process. “We don’t have enough mechanics,” she whispers.
According to François Paradis, who runs the job website Mécanicien.ca, mechanics can easily earn between $65,000 and $95,000 per year.
14% jump at Desjardins
In recent days, Le Journal has asked several companies what they think about TETs. The answer was unanimous: we cannot afford the luxury of doing without it.
At Quebec's largest private employer, Desjardins, they increased by 14% to 1,670 between 2021 and 2023, particularly to fill IT positions.
Since 2021, there have been more than 154 chefs, chefs and sous chefs working in the kitchen at La Cage (from Tunisia, Mexico and France), and we still expect a good 166 (from Mauritius and Peru).
“The problem right now is clearly not TFWs. Once they arrive, they help keep our companies and entrepreneurs afloat,” said Régis Michaud, President of RM Recruitment International.
If immigration is “completely improvised and insanely ridiculous,” he believes it's because Ottawa and Quebec have welcomed too many people with no real experience in the labor market.
At Montréal International (MI) we aim for expertise. In recent years, more than 30 missions have been carried out to attract 2,208 workers that Quebec needs, mostly TFWs.
According to the organization, their average salary in 2022 was around $76,610. They came mainly from France, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon and Belgium.
Photo provided by MIFI
–In collaboration with Julien McEvoy, Mathieu Boulay and Sylvain Larocque
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