An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

Foreign workers to lose some travel exemptions in March

Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) travelling to Canada won’t need to quarantine in a government-supervised hotel when they get here – for now — but by mid-March, Ottawa will put more stringent measures in place. Starting Feb. 22, non-essential travellers and essential workers arriving in Canada will be tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival. Non-essential travellers […] Read more

Prime Minister Trudeau announced new travel restrictions Jan. 29.

Travel restrictions won’t impact TFWs: federal sources

New restrictions will limit pleasure trips to the Caribbean and Mexico to April

New travel restrictions imposed on Canadians by the federal government won’t impact the arrival of temporary or seasonal foreign workers, according to sources. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Jan. 29 that Canada’s air carriers had agreed to suspend services to sunny destinations. Flights to tropical locations, like Mexico, are being cancelled by Air Canada, West […] Read more

Marlon Gay got his Christmas wish of a flight home Dec. 28, and although he’ll miss the holidays because of quarantine, he’ll finally be able to hold his baby daughter for the first time since July.

More Trinidadian workers heading home

Workers from E Z Farms Ltd. leave Dec. 28, but at other farms, many are stuck

Maybe it was because the planets nearly aligned to provide a powerful “Christmas Star” to wish upon – maybe not. All Marlon Gay knows is the only thing he asked for – a flight home – came true. Gay along with the four remaining Trinidad and Tobago workers stranded at E Z Grow Farms managed […] Read more

Marlon Gay (l) and Neil Phillip (r) are frustrated by the lack of information from Trinidad and Tobago government on the status of their repatriation.

Foreign workers could lose visa status

Stranded Trinidad and Tobago workers looking for direction from their government

Dec. 15. To some, it may mark 10 days until Christmas, for hundreds of stranded Trinidad and Tobago workers, it’s doomsday, of sorts. The razor-thin edge between the end of their work permits, which expire on that date – along with their employment insurance (EI) and health benefits and legal residency – is cutting deeper […] Read more

Apples are one of the Ontario crops that rely on seasonal foreign workers for the harvest.

Return home stalled for some foreign workers

Seasonal foreign workers face uncertain timeline to return home due to pandemic-related border crossing restrictions

Seasonal foreign workers face uncertain timeline to return home due to pandemic-related border crossing restrictions

In the spring Ontario farmers were concerned COVID-19 border closures would stymie efforts to get the much-needed foreign workers into Ontario. Now it appears the pandemic might be hindering efforts to get those same workers back home to their families. Why it matters: Smooth operation of the seasonal foreign worker program is critical to the […] Read more



The money will be aimed at improving living quarters for temporary foreign workers, the federal government said.  Photo: Getty Images

Feds put up $58.6 M for temporary foreign worker supports

Glacier FarmMedia – The federal government is announcing $58.6 million in new money to further support temporary foreign workers in Canada’s agricultural sector, it was announced July 31. Spending is expected to focus on health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada. Farmers will be eligible to access $35 million, administrated through Agriculture and […] Read more

Supporters tape photographs of migrant worker Rogelio Munoz Santos, who died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during a pro-immigration rally by migrants, refugees and undocumented workers outside the office of Canada’s Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in Toronto on July 4.

Foreign worker fallout

The large number of COVID-19 cases could drive changes into essential foreign worker programs

The spread of COVID-19 on farms with temporary foreign workers has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the agriculture sector. Vegetable farms, mostly greenhouses in the Windsor area, have experienced large outbreaks, with more than 1,100 temporary farm workers testing positive for the virus in the province. Farm-level infections kept the Windsor area and then the […] Read more


Foreign worker shortage hits farms hardest

Foreign worker shortage hits farms hardest

A report from the University of Calgary says that the 14 per cent reduction in temporary farm workers in Canada this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hit farms the most. The first of two reports on the temporary foreign worker (TFW) situation from the university’s School of Public Policy, says that replacing foreign […] Read more

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu leaves a news conference in Ottawa on March 23, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Health minister calls treatment of some farm workers a ‘national disgrace’

Ministers discussing changes to Canada's TFW program

Ottawa | Reuters — The treatment of migrant workers in Canada by some farmers is disgraceful and the federal government is seeking to fix the problem, the country’s health minister told a parliamentary committee on Friday, as farms battle COVID-19 outbreaks among their employees. Outbreaks of coronavirus infections have killed three people and infected hundreds […] Read more