Foreign workers fill rural employment gaps

Canada’s immigration clampdown has put employers in remote and rural places in a bind and put fear into employees from abroad who want to stay.

Yi (Rick) Zheng and his family from China, who’ve been working in Thompson for two years and hope to gain permanent residency, said they fear their work permits will expire and they’ll have to leave the country.

Zheng, 41, says he works as a restaurant cook and his wife works at a hotel in the northern city, where their two children, ages 10 and 12, are thriving in school.

“I work very hard every day. Our kitchen doesn’t have enough staff.”

The federal government hit pause on population growth in 2024 to get its immigration system in order and reduce pressure on housing and infrastructure.

Its 2026-28 immigration plan cut the intake of temporary residents — specifically international students and foreign workers as well as those granted permanent residence.

The target of 500,000 permanent resident admissions was cut to 380,000 for 2026-28.

That’s been a challenge for small businesses that rely on temporary foreign workers to keep their businesses open in rural and remote Manitoba, says Brianna Solberg of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“Many have spent years recruiting and training temporary foreign workers because they simply could not find enough local workers to fill these positions,” Solberg said Wednesday.

“We know that employers are deeply concerned that experienced, reliable workers who have built lives in Manitoba are now losing a realistic pathway to permanent residence,” she said in an email.

“Losing these employees means businesses are forced back into the same labour shortages they’ve struggled with for years.”

Zheng said his family wants to stay in Thompson, where they enjoy hiking and fishing.

“We’ve been looking at houses and wanting to buy one in Thompson for a year but the uncertainty has made us put off buying a house for now,” Zheng said Wednesday after writing to Manitoba Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino.

He said his work permit expires in April. His children look forward to starting school in the fall but are concerned about their future and the prospect of having to return to China.

“They’re very worried.”

In his free time, Zheng has been working to improve his English language skills and his chance of becoming a permanent resident through Manitoba’s points-based provincial nominee program.

“After long shifts in the kitchen, I go home and continue studying English. I have taken the English test twice and now have an EOI score of 851.”

Manitoba’s maximum expressions of interest score is 1,000.

The province holds draws to invite temporary foreign workers to apply to become permanent residents, but Zheng has been left out so far. He said he can’t explain why to his kids. “They say ‘Why didn’t the government draw us?’”

Marcelino said the province is committed to keeping skilled workers in Manitoba.

“We are working to ensure that families like (Zheng’s) have a path to a secure future in our province,” the minister said in a prepared statement.

‘I work very hard every day. Our kitchen doesn’t have enough staff’–Yi (Rick) Zheng

“We have been advocating for several years for more allocations in our Manitoba provincial nominee program and we will continue to push for more capacity so we can continue to strengthen Manitoba’s workforce.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has extended 2,700 Manitoba work permits until Dec. 31, 2027, to allow more time for applications to the provincial nominee program to be processed before work permits expire.

Winnipeg North Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux said Wednesday that Manitoba, which has regional workforce needs, received far more provincial nominee certificates per capita than any other province.

The federal government is accelerating eligible provincial nominee program applications for up to 33,000 workers in rural communities across Canada, said spokesperson Mary Rose Sabater said in an email.

Temporary foreign workers can apply for work permit extensions and continue working until the department decides on their application, she said.

Foreign workers whose work permits will expire soon plan to hold a rally at the Manitoba legislature Tuesday.

“Foreign workers like us are actively contributing to Manitoba’s economy through our labour, tax dollars and local spending, all while supporting small business employers who genuinely fear losing their staff,” organizer Adam Ning wrote in an email.

The federation for small businesses said they’re doing the jobs that young Canadians are least willing to take.

A CFIB report looked at why youth unemployment hovers above 12 per cent when small businesses are struggling to hire employees.

It found that nearly half of youth said they wouldn’t look for jobs that require regular overnight shifts or frequent and heavy physical effort.

More than one-third would not look for jobs that are mainly outdoors and exposed to weather conditions or jobs that pay at or near minimum wage.

Eight per cent said they would move to a small town or rural community and only three per cent would consider a remote or isolated community.

“There’s no lineup of young people from urban areas applying for a 5 a.m. bakery shift in rural Manitoba,” Solberg said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca