A profile of temporary foreign workers in F&B manufacturing

In a new paper, StatsCanada looks into the make-up of temporary foreign workers in the food manufacturing industry, including where they came from, how long they continued working in the food manufacturing industry after their arrival and how many ultimately became permanent residents of Canada.

According to the paper, more than 40,000 temporary foreign workers arrived in Canada to work in the food manufacturing industry from the beginning of the millennium to early 2020. It found that half to four-fifths of the temporary foreign workers were employed in lower skilled positions such as general labourers. Approximately three in four of the workers were aged 25 to 44, with a majority of them being men.

Women accounted for over four in 10 temporary foreign workers in the industry from 2010 to 2019. The share of women working at higher skilled food manufacturing jobs, such as managers and technicians, rose from approximately one-quarter during the first decade of the millennium to one-third from 2010 to 2019.

The largest influx of temporary foreign workers in food manufacturing occurred from 2015 to 2019 when 15,750 arrived, just over three times more compared with the beginning of the millennium when 5,130 arrived (2000 to 2004). The largest share of temporary foreign workers employed at lower-skilled occupations in food manufacturing from 2000 to 2004 arrived from Central America, Africa and Eastern Europe.

From 2005 onward, however, the largest shares of temporary foreign workers were from Central America, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

Conversely, most temporary foreign workers in higher-skill occupations in the food industry arrived from more developed countries, such as those in Europe, which became the most important source region for these workers since the mid-2000s.

Most temporary foreign workers coming to Canada to work in food manufacturing ultimately move on to a job in another sector of the economy. Depending on the year of arrival, 46 to 78 per cent of temporary foreign workers in lower-skill occupations remained in the food manufacturing industry during their first year of landing, compared with approximately two-thirds (66 per cent) to three-quarters (73 per cent) of those in higher-skill occupations.

The likelihood of a temporary foreign worker remaining in the food manufacturing industry decreases over time. For example, for temporary foreign workers who landed from 2006 to 2010 to work in a low-skill occupation, over two-thirds (69 per cent) remained at the job one year later. This rate fell to just over half (52 per cent) three years after arrival and to 40 per cent five years after arrival.

Over the same period, over half (57 per cent) of temporary foreign workers in higher skilled occupations in food manufacturing remained in the industry one year after landing. This rate fell from 41 per cent three years after arriving to 34 per cent five years after arrival.

A decade after landing, almost two-thirds of temporary foreign workers in lower skilled occupations who arrived from 2005 to 2009 had become permanent residents (65 per cent), as had 59 per cent of those in higher-skilled positions.

The full paper, Temporary foreign workers with lower-skill occupations in the food manufacturing industry: Transition to permanent residency and industrial retention after transition, is available at StatsCanada.