Conservative Member of Parliament Jamil Jivani, who represents the riding of Oshawa, has launched a public petition calling for the termination of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, arguing that it contributes to high immigration levels, suppresses wages, and reduces job opportunities for Canadian workers.
In a video posted on social media, Jivani claimed the TFW program is a “major contributor to unsustainable immigration”, and linked its impact to issues such as doctor shortages, hospital overcrowding, housing unaffordability, and a strained job market.
“There’s a pretty clear consensus, even across people with different political views, that immigration levels are just unsustainably high,” Jivani said. “Anyone who goes to a hospital can see there’s not enough beds. You go to find a family doctor, there isn’t one. You go to buy a house or look for a job, and there might not be one of those either.”
Jivani clarified that the petition excludes agricultural workers, suggesting that seasonal farm labour should remain under a separate program. He cited youth unemployment—which reached 14 per cent for Canadians aged 15 to 24 in April, according to Statistics Canada—as a key motivator behind his campaign.
The federal government has previously announced plans to scale back the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada. Measures include refusing to process applications in metropolitan areas with unemployment rates higher than six per cent. According to the government’s current immigration levels plan, 82,000 temporary foreign workers will be admitted annually from 2025 to 2027.
In response to Jivani’s petition, Employment Minister Patty Hajdu issued a pointed statement. “I know MP Jivani wasn’t included in Andrew Scheer’s shadow cabinet, but he may want to ask that the party resume briefing him,” she wrote. “In the last year alone, we considerably scaled back the TFW program to reflect local labour needs.”
Hajdu defended the program, calling it “vital” to the agricultural and tourism sectors, and emphasized that it “in no way replaces Canadian talent”. She noted that the government continues to consult with labour and industry stakeholders to assess future changes.
Jivani’s petition appears to be launched independently, as he currently holds no formal critic role within the Conservative shadow cabinet. Immigration and employment files are managed by Alberta MPs Michelle Rempel Garner and Garnett Genuis, respectively. The Conservative Party has not issued an official response to the petition.