British Columbia Premier David Eby is hoping to solicit more investment in major infrastructure projects in B.C.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he made his case this week to Prime Minister Mark Carney on the need to overhaul or scrap the Temporary Foreign Worker program, taking concerns he has expressed in the province to a national stage.
“The program is not working for anyone, and I am very hopeful that the Prime Minister heard me on this,” Mr. Eby said Thursday in a news conference on Parliament Hill, where he was holding meetings with federal officials.
“He’s taken some significant steps already to address some of these challenges, but there is a lot more to do,” Mr. Eby said.
Mr. Eby, who has been the NDP Premier of B.C. since 2022, is in Ottawa for two days of meetings that included a Wednesday-evening dinner meeting with Mr. Carney at the Prime Minister’s Rideau Cottage residence.
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The meeting followed Mr. Carney’s comments that the program has to change, with a goal of easing the strain on housing, public infrastructure and social services while building a strong economy.
In a speech to a recent gathering of the federal Liberal caucus in Edmonton, the Prime Minister said immigration policies need to improve and return immigration rates to sustainable levels.
“The Temporary Foreign Worker program must have a focused approach that targets strategic sectors and regions,” he said in Alberta.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for an immediate shutdown of the program, which he has linked to rising youth unemployment.
Mr. Eby’s office characterizes his trip to Ottawa this week as an opportunity to solicit more investment in major infrastructure projects in B.C.
But during his Thursday news conference, the Premier noted that he has raised other issues, including temporary foreign workers and equitable federal support for ferry services in B.C. compared with eastern Canada.
Mr. Eby has been raising concerns about the TFW program, suggesting that workers are subject to abuse.
On Thursday, he said that in B.C., certificates that allow employers to hire temporary foreign workers have been sold without any apparent oversight.
The Premier also said there have been cases of temporary foreign workers tied to particular employers, with allegations of various types of abuse.
“We have had MLAs hear individual stories of allegations of sexual and physical abuse. These are serious issues that need to be addressed. The program is not working for anyone.”
Mr. Eby has previously linked the program to high youth unemployment and strains on social services.
Katrina Chen, the former NDP children’s minister, and Harry Bains, a former NDP labour minister, have criticized Mr. Eby’s comments, with Ms. Chen saying she was “furious” about them, and that they divide newcomers.
During Thursday’s news conference, the Premier did not respond to a question about concerns raised by New Democrats about his criticisms of the program.
Mr. Eby is in Ottawa after his government released a fiscal update that forecasts a record $11.6-billion deficit in the current fiscal year that the province’s independent Auditor-General says is understated, because Finance Ministry officials were slow to account for a multibillion-dollar settlement that the provinces reached in March with big tobacco companies over health damages.
The Premier also spoke to podcast host David Herle at an event organized by the Canadian Club of Ottawa Thursday evening, which will also be an episode of the Herle Burly podcast.
Mr. Herle asked if B.C.’s deficit is sustainable. Mr. Eby said the short answer is no. He said his government plans to address it by reducing administrative costs, increasing the public service’s productivity and growing the economy.
“We have to show year-over-year declining deficits,” he said. “That’s just non-negotiable.”
He added that the province’s debt-to-GDP ratio means they have some time to turn the deficit around. Mr. Eby also criticized Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s push for a pipeline, which currently has no private-sector proponent.
He said that coastal First Nations communities have made it clear that removing a moratorium on oil tankers along the north coast is a red line. If that happens, support for other projects will evaporate overnight, Mr. Eby said.
“It does make me a little crazy that real projects are being put in jeopardy for shadow boxing about a non-existent project,” he said.
On temporary foreign workers, the office of federal Jobs Minister Patti Hajdu responded Thursday to Mr. Eby’s comments, saying it is clear that improvements are needed in the program, but that temporary foreign workers only make up one per cent of the Canadian labour force.
A statement from Ms. Hajdu’s communications director said change will include a focused approach that targets specific, strategic sectors and needs in specific regions.
Aïssa Diop said the department takes allegations of abuse or fraud related to the program seriously, and that they are investigated with penalties and other appropriate action applied.
“Eliminating a program that fills specific labour-market gaps, would hurt our economy and communications across the country,” said the statement.
Pollster Nik Nanos said that his company’s research has suggested that a majority of Canadians support to some extent dialling back targets for both immigration and for new temporary residents
In a statement, the chief data scientist for Nanos Research said the narrative of change from Mr. Eby makes sense.
“[It] creates an opportunity for a new dialogue on immigration and temporary foreign workers with more participation from the provinces,” Mr. Nanos wrote.