Advocates skeptical of Canada’s plan to grant status to undocumented construction workers

The federal government is carving a path to permanent residency for thousands of undocumented construction workers so they can help fill Canada’s construction industry labour shortage.

While the Liberals are touting this as a milestone move, with Minister of Immigration Marc Miller saying the government will reserve space for 6,000 undocumented construction workers, advocates say it’s not the solution migrants need.

“If there is regularization of 6,000 people, that’s 6,000 more lives that are improved, but there’s hundreds of thousands more people who are waiting on the Liberals to do what they promised,” said Syed Hussan, executive director of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

Back in 2021, the Liberals pledged to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.” But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau never gave that promise a timeline.

On Friday, Miller said that time is now.

“With tariffs being imposed, we’re making sure that we’re adapting to the reality of the economic uncertainty that we’re all facing as a country,” he said at a press conference.

“In this context, this type of program makes a hell of a lot of sense, it’ll make sure that a lot of people can work in dignity with a fair wage, and be able to contribute to this beautiful country that we’re continuing to build.”

That opportunity, which extends only to construction workers, comes as the industry experiences a labour shortage. According to an RBC report from 2023, Canada is short more than 60,000 workers.

However, Hussan says addressing only one industry is a mistake.

“Look, you can’t do construction without having cleaning in that building, without having a security guard, without the factory that builds the doors and the windows,” he said,

“You can’t just pick one sector because all of these sectors are integrated.”

Miller’s announcement also includes a new advisory council comprised of the federal government, union representatives, and industry leaders to advise on new pathways to bring in as many as 14,000 skilled foreign workers.

“The advisory council, that I hope will meet as early as next week, will assist in assessing real on the ground needs with the shifting economic landscape, with strong protections against abuse and a strong wage threshold,” Miller said.

That three-part council doesn’t include migrant workers, and Hussan isn’t confident they’ll even get the chance to meet with the Liberals, who are set to pick a new leader this Sunday.

“The timing is suspect, the details are absent, and the chances of this actually succeeding and actually taking place are limited,” he said.

“This to me sounds like an election announcement and not an actual policy announcement, because if there was an actual policy announcement, there would be a policy.”

The federal government said more information on these pathways will be shared “in the near future” as the new advisory council meets to develop those policies.

Additionally, a temporary measure that went into effect “immediately” will allow foreign apprentices in construction programs to finish their studies without a permit.