Intensified Exploitation and Mental Stress as Impacts of Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Migrant precariousness is a growing global trend that calls for effective policies to attend to the rights and well-being of migrant workers in destination countries. The experience of migrant workers is highly structured by the policies and systems in destination countries. In Canada, policy changes have affected the experiences of migrants. We sought to examine the impact of changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2015 on migrants in Alberta, one of Canada’s western provinces. Using a transnational theoretical perspective embedded within a critical social paradigm and a focus group method, we gathered data from thirty-five temporary foreign workers. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed with the aid of NVivo 10 qualitative data analysis software. The findings of our study reveal that the changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Canada in 2015 restricted the rights of these workers, intensified exploitation, and led to mental health strain for temporary foreign workers and their families. To attend to the marginal status of migrant workers, there is a need to broaden pathways to permanent resident status for low-wage temporary foreign workers in destination countries.