I am the executive director of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. Thanks for inviting the council to speak with you today about the importance of temporary foreign workers working within the agriculture and agri-food industry. Our testimony as part of this review is important, as over 40% of all temporary foreign workers who come into Canada work within this industry. We're a huge industry and a huge user of the program.
The agriculture and agri-food industry, including the seafood sector, is a very large and important contributor to Canada’s economy and its success. It encompasses several industries, including primary agriculture, aquaculture, food and beverage processing, etc. The sector employs over two million Canadians and accounts for one in eight jobs in Canada, or 12% of total employment. Regionally, the industry is an important source of economic activity in many provinces and contributes over $108 billion to Canada’s GDP. It is a huge driver of our Canadian economy as well as our provincial economies. It's a high-impact sector, with incredible growth potential as demand for Canadian food and agriculture products increases worldwide. That's a really important point.
Although the industry is in high demand, industry stakeholders like HyLife have expressed significant concern about the immediate labour challenges facing the industry and businesses within the industry, and the risks to their viability and growth into the future. The industry needs workers in order to remain globally competitive, to take advantage of export opportunities, and to ensure the security, safety, and sustainability of food for all Canadians.
Based on extensive labour market information research with industry, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council has clarified the labour shortage situation and its impacts for the primary agriculture side of the industry. Ten years ago, the gap between the demand for workers and worker supply was approximately 30,000 workers. Today that gap is 59,000 workers, which means it has nearly doubled in 10 years. Based on increasing demand both domestically and internationally for Canada's food and agriculture products, the gap is expected to double again in the next 10 years, to 114,000 workers by 2025.
Although employers are expending extensive efforts to recruit and hire workers, Canadians are less available in rural areas and less interested in agriculture-related occupations. The industry currently mitigates this large worker shortage by hiring temporary foreign workers. The agriculture industry today is supported by 45,600 temporary foreign workers. These workers are accessed through the seasonal agricultural worker program, as well as the agricultural and regular streams of the temporary foreign worker program. Without these workers, businesses would struggle and Canadian businesses and jobs would be at risk.
The use of temporary foreign workers helps alleviate the gap between available agricultural jobs and available workers, but it doesn’t eliminate the problem. Even with the use of temporary foreign workers, there are still significant unfilled vacancies within the industry. There are 26,400 positions that are required to support businesses, yet they are going unfilled by either Canadians or temporary foreign workers. Currently the agriculture industry has the highest job vacancy rate of any industry in Canada, with an unfilled job vacancy rate of 7%, the national average being 1.8%. The council’s research clarifies that Canadian producers are losing $1.5 billion annually, or 3% of the industry’s total farm cash receipts, due to unfilled job vacancies. The research clarifies that worker shortages are critical today, with dire consequences for business viability, industry sustainability, and future growth.
When Canadians are not available, temporary foreign workers play a critically important role in meeting the needs of agricultural employers. Temporary foreign workers allow the sector to reduce the labour gap, particularly at seasonal peaks. Given the projected future labour gap, the need for foreign workers will grow. The council, along with 75 other industry associations, including HyLife, supports the implementation of the Canadian agriculture and agri-food workforce action plan, a recommendations report developed by the industry that is designed to address the immediate and pervasive issues of the inadequate supply of workers currently impeding businesses in Canada.
The effort is guided by a national labour task force, and includes recommendations that are practical and essential to ensuring the safety, sustainability, and affordability of food for all Canadians and that support Canada’s continued position as a leader and significant contributor to food production for the whole world.
Mark Wales, the council chair, will now present further information about the important role that temporary foreign workers play within the sector, especially at this time when the industry is facing such significant job vacancies. He is also the co-chair of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food national labour task force.