The federal Conservative leader is calling on the Liberal government to scrap the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program.
Leader Pierre Poilievre alleges the program is creating an “unemployment crisis” and taking jobs away from Canadians.
“The unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 is now 14.6 per cent,” Poilievre told reporters during a Wednesday news conference.
“The employment rate, the share of young people who are employed, is at its lowest level in over a quarter century outside of the pandemic.”
Poilievre also claims that the Liberal government is on track to issue the most temporary foreign worker permits ever this year.
The government promised a cap of 82,000 permits this year, but the Conservatives say more than 105,000 were issued during the first six months alone.
However, the federal government has said that figure also includes permit extensions for individuals who are already in Canada.
The Conservatives also said that temporary foreign workers have ballooned to account for nearly two per cent of the total private sector workforce over the past decade.
“The Liberals have to answer, why is it that they’re shutting our own youth out of jobs and replacing them with low-wage temporary foreign workers from poor countries who are ultimately being exploited?” said Poilievre.
“The workers themselves are not bad people. They are not the problem. They are being taken advantage of by Liberal corporate elites who want to use them to drive down wages.”
Poilievre said his party continues to support the dreams of all immigrants “who come here to be Canadian, to get a job, work hard, contribute and live a good life.”
The Conservatives are proposing a transition period of up to five years for ultra-low unemployment regions. Poilievre said there should be a separate, standalone program for difficult-to-fill agricultural labour.
