Canada’s food industry addicted to temporary foreign workers

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has become the weak link in the food economy

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Canada’s food industry has become addicted to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)—and the scale of that dependency is now plain.

In just three months of enforcement data, Ottawa found 26 food-related employers breaking federal rules, nearly 40 per cent of all companies fined nationwide. From oyster farms to sushi restaurants and food processors, the reliance runs through every corner of the sector.

The program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers when no Canadians are available, usually for seasonal or short-term jobs.

Collectively, these companies have been fined more than $2 million and handed multiple multi-year bans. The worst offender, Bolero Shellfish Processing Inc. in New Brunswick, was hit with a $1-million penalty and a 10-year ban from hiring temporary workers, a record-setting sanction that underscores how deeply entrenched this reliance has become in Canada’s food system.

Most violations weren’t about mistreatment or abuse; they were bureaucratic. The vast majority of food businesses on the list were fined for failing to provide proper documents during inspections.

In many cases, employers couldn’t produce proof of hours worked, wage payments or housing conditions for their foreign employees when federal officers arrived. Those records are meant to show that migrant workers are being paid and housed fairly under Canadian standards. These aren’t isolated oversights; they’re symptoms of a system running on autopilot, one that relies on the constant inflow of temporary workers while neglecting compliance and transparency.

Worse still, about 70 per cent of these companies remain eligible to hire more temporary workers after paying relatively small fines, often between $5,000 and $15,000. Chains and independent operators alike, Donair Dude, Sushi 5, Pita Pit and Subway among them, simply absorbed the penalties and moved on. For many, the TFWP is no longer a stopgap measure; it is part of the business model.

Nine British Columbia companies in the food sector alone were found non-compliant, the highest of any province. Alberta and Quebec recorded serious cases too, with Trio Café in Calgary receiving an $83,000 fine and a five-year ban, and Hôtel Le Concorde Québec cited for repeated breaches.

The deeper concern is what we don’t see. The federal database of sanctions only covers decisions made since July 2025. Many facilities have not yet been inspected, so the list is merely the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it lies a vast and under-audited system, sustained by foreign labour but barely monitored by the government agencies meant to oversee it.

This reliance didn’t appear overnight. The TFWP was designed to fill temporary labour shortages, especially in agriculture and food processing. But “temporary” has become a fiction. Today, entire segments of the food industry—from fish plants to fruit packers and restaurant kitchens—rely permanently on migrant labour. Without them, food wouldn’t get harvested, processed or served.

Ottawa finds itself trapped. It knows the system is failing but can’t reform it without risking disruption in food production. Enforcement is reactive, not preventive. Employers who break the rules are fined but rarely barred for long, and those who are ineligible often resurface under new corporate names.

The result is an industry hooked on a short-term fix, unable or unwilling to invest in automation, domestic recruitment or improved working conditions. Unless Ottawa acts to reset the program, Canadians will keep paying the price—not only in higher food costs, but in a food system increasingly built on shaky ground.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher in food distribution and policy. He is senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast. He is frequently cited in the media for his insights on food prices, agricultural trends, and the global food supply chain.