The federal government appears to be quietly backing away from a proposed immigration program that would have offered a direct pathway to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers in low-wage jobs, but critics say Ottawa should make its abandonment official. First outlined in an April 2024 Canada Gazette bulletin, the plan aimed to create a “new permanent economic class” for workers in TEER 4 and TEER 5 roles, including food servers, delivery drivers, cleaners, and general labourers. Consultations on the proposal never took place, and it was omitted from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s latest three-year regulatory plan, fueling speculation that it has been shelved — at least for now.
From the start, the initiative drew strong opposition from those who argued it would divert permanent residency spots away from high-skilled candidates essential to Canada’s long-term economic growth. Under the traditional Express Entry system, candidates were ranked on a points-based scale, with invitations going to those most likely to succeed in higher-paying jobs. That merit-based approach shifted when the Trudeau government introduced targeted sector-based selection, often allowing lower-scoring applicants with specific work experience to bypass higher-scoring candidates.
Opponents also warned that looser rules for temporary foreign workers, combined with a reluctance by some employers to raise wages, had already made it too easy for businesses to rely on low-cost labour for non-seasonal work. With Canada’s permanent residency quotas fixed at 395,000 in 2025 and 380,000 in 2026, critics said allocating a share to low-wage workers would undermine fairness and credibility in the immigration system.
Recent reforms — including a plan to reduce the share of temporary residents from 7.1 per cent of the population to 5 per cent by the end of 2026 — have signaled a renewed federal focus on productivity, efficiency, and attracting high-skilled talent. Given that Canada’s unemployment rate stands at 6.9 per cent, opponents argue that propping up businesses with low-wage foreign labour runs counter to those goals.
If the government has quietly recognized the shortcomings of the fast-track low-skilled pathway, critics say that’s a step in the right direction. But they insist Canadians deserve clarity and that Ottawa should explicitly confirm the proposal will not be revived.