Quick facts
- In 2022, over 28,000 jobs were unfilled during peak season.
- CAHRC estimates that labour shortages in 2022 resulted in $3.5 billion in lost sales.
- Nearly all vacant positions are filled by international agricultural workers, despite robust advertising and hiring efforts by Canadian farmers.
- 2 out of 5 agriculture employers surveyed were not able to find all the workers they needed.
- In 2022 the agriculture sector employed 64,660 TFWs
- There is a projected 15% labour gap by 2030, and over 85,300 retirements in the sector by 2030.
- Foreign workers are expected to fill four out of five vacant position, which would still leave 22,200 jobs unfilled in 2030.
- The greenhouse, nursery and floriculture sectors are the largest users of foreign labour, as they have no mechanical alternative to pick their products.
Issue overview
Like any industry, agriculture requires a steady supply of labour to keep operations going. Farmers continue to identify chronic and critical labour shortages as one of the most pressing risks facing Canadian agriculture and a major constraint on both agricultural growth and global competitiveness. Agriculture is a complex industry that faces unique workforce challenges due to rural depopulation and seasonal production of highly perishable products.
The CFA recognizes that industry has an important role to play in addressing labour shortages in our sector and is partnering with CAHRC and Food and Beverage Canada (FBC-ABC) to develop and launch the National Workforce Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing which recognizes that temporary foreign workers alone will not solve our challenges. We also need to focus on skills development, automation and technology, as well as industry perceptions and promoting careers in our sector.
CFA Recommendations
- Provide financial support to establish a Secretariat that will support implementation of the National Workforce Strategy for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing, which would include:
- Investments to improve awareness of careers in agriculture.
- Streamlining the temporary Foreign Worker Program and improving immigration options for sector worker to become Canadian permanent residents.
- Skills training opportunities, with human resource management training and certification demonstrating quality practices for training, retention, recruitment and staff management.
- Strategic investments to support adoption of labour-saving technologies and automation.
- Create a dedicated Canadian agriculture and agri-food workforce program to provide consistent and efficient access to international agriculture workers
See also:
Further information on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including its history and relationship to Canadian agriculture, can be found here.