Canada launches Agri-Food Immigration Pilot
The long-awaited Canadian immigration program will provide a pathway to permanent residence for workers in certain agri-food industries.
Applications are now being accepted for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot.
The pilot is intended to address the labour needs of Canadian employers in the meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production, and livestock-raising industries. Temporary visa holders who are already in Canada working in these fields will be able to apply for permanent residence under the new pilot.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will admit up to 2,750 principal applicants plus their family members annually for the next three years under the pilot. Applications are being accepted from now until May 14, 2023, according to an IRCC media release.
Canadian employers in the agri-food sector have been calling on the federal government to help them recruit and retain the workforce they need to operate. The pilot’s intended launch date was supposed to be at the end of March but was delayed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. It provides an option for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) with agri-food work experience to gain permanent residence.
The occupations and industries eligible under the pilot include:
Meat product manufacturing
Retail butchers
Industrial butchers
Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
Food processing laborers
Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production;
General farm workers
Harvesting labourers
Animal production excluding aquaculture
General farm workers
