Atlantic Chamber of Commerce

A federal immigration initiative could ease seasonal worker shortages in Atlantic Canada, but business groups say more is needed

On May 4, Ottawa introduced the In-Canada Workers Program, a one-time initiative that will accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 workers in Canada to permanent residence in rural communities in 2026 and 2027.

According to a press release, the initiative stems from the federal government’s goal of bringing the immigration system to sustainable levels while focusing on areas where immigration has the greatest impact, including supporting rural and remote communities experiencing labour shortages in key economic sectors.

As part of the initiative, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is accelerating eligible applications from existing inventories of work permit holders who have applied for permanent residence and are already supporting labour and economic needs in smaller and rural communities.

Those eligible have also applied through the Provincial Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, community immigration pilots, the caregiver pilots or the Agri-Food Pilot, and have been living in smaller communities in Canada for two years or more.

Atlantic Chamber of Commerce CEO Rhonda Tulk-Lane said that with Atlantic Canada having the fastest-aging workforce and rural communities in desperate need of labour, the chamber believes local businesses that struggle to attract workers could take advantage of the program.

“We are really pleased because I believe they heard us, that Atlantic Canada needs to be treated differently,” she said.

With summer approaching, Tulk-Lane said businesses in the aquaculture sector, such as fish processing plants — which often rely on temporary foreign workers to fulfill their seasonal labour needs — could benefit from the initiative.

However, she said that will depend on how fast processing times are.

“We are cautious because even though we’ve been advocating that they need to move faster, they need to be more efficient, it always remains to be seen if they are able to move people through their system fast enough,” she said.

Tulk-Lane said the chamber has been advocating to Ottawa that Atlantic Canada needs a different approach when it comes to workforce and immigration.

She added that the organization — which supports more than 90 chambers of commerce and boards of trade in the region — has recently renewed its advocacy efforts as the federal government decided to further reduce the overall number of temporary residents in the country, setting a goal of five per cent by 2027, and stabilize permanent resident admissions under one per cent of the population beyond 2027.

Tulk-Lane said that with further reductions in immigration, labour shortages in industries such as health care, manufacturing, fish processing, aquaculture, and tourism and hospitality have reached a crisis point in the region.

She added that companies in these sectors are particularly struggling to recruit workers for entry-level positions due to the region’s small population.

“When you look at the numbers, we don’t have the same amount of younger people, we are ageing faster. So we have to replace these people and the fastest way to do it’s through immigration,” she said.

Tulk-Lane acknowledged the importance of having the necessary resources to support immigration to the region — such as housing, transportation and health care — but argued that, given the region’s demographic realities, immigration strategies should look different for Atlantic Canada.

According to a 2021 report by the Atlantic Economic Council, by 2040 seniors will comprise 29 per cent of the population in the region, and about 25,000 small businesses will be looking for a new owner in the next two decades.

Tulk-Lane said that the chamber, along with other organizations across the region, are joining together to continue advocating on this issue.

“We are not seeing winners or losers, but we are actually looking at ourselves as a region, and when one province wins, it’s a win for all,” she said.