PCA Welcomes TFW Program Changes to Help Ease Construction Worker Shortage

(Edmonton, April 5, 2022) – The Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA), whose member companies have been impacted by labour shortages, welcomes federal program adjustments that would allow more Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) to fill desperately needed positions at construction sites across Canada. PCA members build major infrastructure and capital projects, employing thousands of construction workers.

“We’d like to thank the federal government for listening to us and acting,” said PCA president Paul de Jong. “We’ve been pressing hard for months for these changes, and we’re relieved it’s happened. The ability to bolster work crews will help keep construction projects on track, and ease the chronic labour shortage that’s made project planning so difficult.”

TWF program changes announced by the federal government include the following:

  • Starting April 30, construction employers can hire 30% of their workforce through the TFW Program for low-wage positions for one year; an increase from 10%.
  • The validity of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) will be temporarily increased from nine months to eighteen months. 
  • The maximum duration of employment for High-Wage and Global Talent Streams workers will be extended from two years to three years, allowing for permanent residency.

“These urgently needed short-term measures are very welcome.  But this is only one piece of the solution for Canada’s aging construction workforce,” added de Jong. “A longer-term fix will require recruiting and hiring far more local youth and underrepresented groups including women and Indigenous Canadians to construction.”

About the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA)

PCA has been a leading voice in construction for more than two decades. Our member companies are responsible for 40 percent of energy and natural resource construction projects in British Columbia and Alberta and are leaders in infrastructure construction across Canada. PCA member companies employ more than 25,000 skilled construction workers in Canada, represented primarily by CLAC.

For further information, contact:

Danna O’Brien, Danna@obriencommunications.ca 416-500-0699

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