x
(403) 452-9515
Ackah Business Immigration Law – Personal and Corporate Immigration
Contact us

Contact Information

1 (403) 452-9515

1 (800) 932-1190

Book a Consultation

More Options...

Canada's New Agri-Food Immigration Pilot for Permanent Residence

Blog posted on by Evelyn Ackah in Immigration, Immigration Law, Economic Immigration, Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Temporary Foreign Workers

Canada's New Agri-Food Immigration Pilot for Permanent Residence

Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced a new economic immigration program to help local community's agri-food labour needs that will provide an additional 2,700 permanent residency opportunities for temporary foreign workers. The goal of the pilot is to attract experienced, non-seasonal workers who can "economically establish in Canada" and who support the ongoing labour needs of the agri-food sector.

'Agri-food' combines the words agriculture and food to describe activities related to food production.

The 3-year Agri-Food Immigration Pilot program will launch in 2020 and will focus on attracting meat processing and mushroom production workers including retail butchers, industrial butchers, food processing labourers, harvesting labourers, general farm workers, and farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers. Farmworkers have had limited opportunities for permanent residence in Canada.

A maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, plus family members, will be accepted for processing in any given year. This represents a total of approximately 16,500 possible new permanent residents over the 3-year duration of the pilot, according to the New Agri-Food Immigration Pilot press release:

“The success of our Canadian farmers and food processors depends on their ability to recruit and retain the workforce they need to capture opportunities at home and abroad. This pilot will help to ensure that employers in the agriculture and agri-food sector have the people they need to get the job done, to help drive our economy and to feed the world.”

– The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau,
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Canada's food workers’ union welcomes the Canadian Agri-food pilot:

The agri-food pilot will better protect migrants by requiring participating employers to collaborate with unions in order to receive a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for a 2-year period. In particular, unionized employers will require a letter of support from the union to qualify for the announced LMIA, and non-unionized employers will engage with the union in a discussion about worker protections through a tri-partite working group.

The occupations and industries eligible under the pilot include:

  • meat processing
    • retail butcher
    • industrial butcher
    • food processing labourer
  • harvesting labourer for year-round mushroom production and greenhouse crop production
  • general farm worker for year-round mushroom production, greenhouse crop production, or livestock raising
  • farm supervisor and specialized livestock worker for meat processing, year-round mushroom production, greenhouse crop production or livestock raising.

Information on how to apply for permanent residence through the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot will be available in early 2020.

Economic Immigration Programs

The agriculture and agri-food industry is vital to Canada’s economic growth and provides 1 in 8 jobs; agricultural exports hit a new record in 2018, reaching $66.2 billion. The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is part of Canada’s economic immigration strategy to help temporary foreign workers become permanent residents, which includes the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, the Global Skills Strategy, a revitalized Express Entry and an expanded Provincial Nominee Program.

Please contact Ackah Law if you to learn more about qualifications and opportunities to move to Canada under IRCC's economic immigration programs.


Evelyn L. Ackah, BA, LL.B.

Founder/Managing Lawyer

Ms. Ackah is passionate about immigration law because it focuses on people and relationships, which are at the core of her personal values. Starting her legal career as a corporate/commercial ...

More About Evelyn L. Ackah, BA, LL.B.

Common Mistakes On Canada Immigration Applications - And How To Avoid Them

Immigrating to Canada is a dream for many people around the world. However, the process can be complex and daunting, and there are many common mistakes that can be made along the way. ...

Read More

NEW: IRCC Launches Home Child Care Support Pilot Program

The Home Child Care Support Pilot (HCSP) is a new program that provides financial support to eligible home child care providers in Canada. This new Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship ...

Read More

Canada Foreign Workers Don't Need Study Permits

Effective immediately, foreign workers in Canada with a valid work permit no longer need study permits to get additional training and education. The Canadian government has introduced ...

Read More

Immigration Fraud: Potentially 700 International Students Facing Deportation from Canada

Many Indian foreign students were exploited by a fraudulent Indian immigration consultant who issued fraudulent letters of acceptance to Canadian Universities. Nearly 700 international ...

Read More

Episode 64: How To Protect Yourself From Immigration Fraud and Scams

Calgary immigration lawyer Evelyn Ackah discusses how to protect yourself from immigration fraud and scams. As a Canadian immigration lawyer for over 20 years and founder of Ackah ...

Read More

Episode 63: Is It A Good Time To Apply For An LMIA?

Calgary immigration lawyer Evelyn Ackah discusses as a Canadian employer or a business owner how to determine when is a good time to hire a foreign worker and how to apply for an LMIA. ...

Read More

You guys are amazing!

D.K.

View All Testimonials