Foreign workers continue to ‘take the jobs’ from Canadians

Conservative leader urges feds to follow through on vow to reduce immigration to manageable numbers

Published Aug 27, 2025 • 2 minute read

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is urging the federal government to adhere to its vow to reduce immigration to manageable numbers. Photo by iStockphoto

OTTAWA — As concerns over the implications of mass migration continue to percolate, the leader of the federal Conservative party is urging the government to adhere to their vow to reduce immigration to manageable numbers.

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Speaking to reporters at a Wednesday morning news conference in Prince Edward Island, Pierre Poilievre pointed to the government’s broken promises to rein in immigration with Canada expected to welcome a record number of temporary foreign workers to a job market already choked with inexpensive foreign labour that is elbowing out Canadians looking for work.

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“As our young people have a quarter-century high in their unemployment, Mark Carney — this year — is expected to bring in a record number of temporary foreign workers to take the jobs of Canadian youth, driving down our kids’ wages and their ability to earn a living,” Poilievre said.

“While he drives up the cost of housing, preventing them from owning homes, he drives down their wages by allowing greedy multinational corporations to bring in low-wage foreign workers that take away Canadian jobs, including in high-unemployment regions of this country.”

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Youth unemployment reached a 15-year high of 15% in July with many observers blaming employers for hiring subsidized foreign workers instead of Canadian youth looking for summer employment.

As Canada deals with the ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s untenable policies regarding foreign workers and international students, the Tories earlier this month blasted the federal government for not updating immigration numbers since the first quarter of the year, which they said is a sign the government has something to hide.

In 2024, the federal government promised to cap intake through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program at just 82,000 people for 2025but newly released numbers suggest more than 105,000 workers were allowed in so far this year.

As well, the cap for the International Mobility Program was supposed to be 285,000 people for 2025, but more than 302,000 people have entered in the first six months of the year.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume