The number of temporary foreign workers that are US citizens coming to Canada on a work permit has been trending downward from 2010 to 2023, according to a new report published by Statistics Canada.

On the other hand, the number of US residents (who are not US citizens) obtaining work permits to enter the Canadian labour market has steadily increased.

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The following table shows the number of US citizens and non-citizens from the US who held work permits in Canada each year.

Number of US citizens and non-citizens in Canada per year

Year U.S. citizens U.S. non-citizen residents
2010 61,698 3,728
2011 63,485 5,124
2012 68,309 6,317
2013 70,420 6,770
2014 67,953 6,134
2015 63,699 5,977
2016 59,093 6,022
2017 56,375 6,652
2018 55,114 8,638
2019 54,936 11,939
2020 42,710 11,749
2021 36,586 12,315
2022 37,486 15,467
2023 38,867 17,353

A far larger number of US citizen temporary workers were in Canada on a work permit than US non-citizen residents in each year featured in the table above.

Within this time frame, the number of US citizen workers in Canada reached its highest point in 2013 at 70,420, with numbers in subsequent years continuously declining until 2021 (36,585).

From 2021 to 2023 (38,867), the number of US citizen temporary foreign workers strayed from this downward trend, reflecting a gradual increase year-over-year.

In 2020, US citizen temporary workers began to stabilize.

As of 2023, there were 22,831 fewer US citizen temporary foreign workers in Canada than in 2010.

But while US citizen temporary workers (on the whole) continued to decrease from 2010 to 2023 (from 61,698 to 38,867), the number of US non-citizen workers almost continuously increased—from 3,728 to 17,353.

The highest number of US non-citizen resident temporary workers from 2010 to 2023 was seen in 2023, but the largest increases occurred from 2016 to 2019, then again after 2020.

In 2023, temporary workers who were US non-citizen residents made up 31% of the US worker total, a significant rise from just 6% in 2010.

Overall number of US temporary foreign workers in Canada by year

The table below shows the joint total for the number of US citizens and US non-citizen residents in Canada on a work permit in each year from 2010 to 2023.

Year Total number of US workers in Canada per year
2010 65,426
2011 68,609
2012 74,626
2013 77,190
2014 74,087
2015 69,676
2016 65,115
2017 63,027
2018 63,752
2019 66,875
2020 54,459
2021 48,901
2022 52,953
2023 56,220

The total count of temporary workers coming from the US has dropped since 2010, while Statistics Canada noted in their report that those from other nations have significantly increased.

There were a total of 9,206 fewer temporary foreign workers from the US in Canada in 2023 than there were in 2010.

2013 saw the highest number of temporary workers from the US in Canada out of any given year.

Total makeup of Canada’s temporary workers from the US

Year Total share of temporary foreign workers from the US by percentage
2010 16.6%
2011 16.6%
2012 16.4%
2013 15.5%
2014 14.6%
2015 14.5%
2016 13.6%
2017 12.3%
2018 11%
2019 9.9%
2020 8.1%
2021 7.7%
2022 5.9%
2023 4%

In 2010 and 2011, the number of work permit holders in Canada that were from the US (citizens and non-citizen residents) accounted for 16.6% of Canada’s total temporary foreign work force population.

This percentage has been steadily trending downwards since the initial two-year percentage of 16.6%.

By 2023, only 4% of Canada’s temporary foreign work force came from the US, with the remainder of work permits being issued to temporary workers from other nations.

US temporary foreign workers by program

In this section, you can find the total number of US citizen and US non-citizen residents with work permits in Canada from 2010 to 2022, as well as the percentage of individuals in each category obtaining them through the

A table outlining the admittance of temporary foreign workers in Canada from other countries, and the percentage of these workers admitted through each program will be featured for comparative purposes.

Note: In each table, counts for total of temporary foreign workers are rounded to the nearest 100.

US citizen foreign workers

Nearly half of all US citizen temporary workers in Canada arrived under international agreements over the course of this study period.

In 2023, only about 5% were admitted through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), while around 48% entered Canada on a work permit via the International Mobility Program—not counting those covered by international agreements.

Year 2010 2019 2022
Total number of US citizens 61,700 54,900 37,500
Program
Temporary Foreign Worker Program 28.5% 5.1% 5%
International Mobility Program, international agreements 46.2% 56.3% 47.3%
International Mobility Program, other categories 25.3% 38.6% 47.8%

US non-citizen resident foreign workers

Just over half of US non-citizen residents arrived through the International Mobility program (excluding international agreements) in 2010, which grew to nearly 90% in 2022—showing this to be the primary method of admittance.

Those entering through IMP international agreements (IMP), remained lowest in any given year featured.

While admittance through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program sat at almost 40% for US non-citizens in 2010, a sharp decline of program usage can be seen by this group of temporary workers by 2022: just over 8%.

Year 2010 2019 2022
Total number of US non-citizen residents 3,700 11,900 15,500
Program
Temporary Foreign Worker Program 37.4% 9.3% 8.3%
International Mobility Program, international agreements 10% 4.2% 2.8%
International Mobility Program, other categories 52.6% 86.5% 88.8%

Temporary foreign workers from other countries

The number of temporary foreign workers from countries other than the U.S. more than doubled from 329,000 in 2010 to 848,100 in 2022.

The share of non-US workers entering through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program dropped by more than half from 2010 (45.6%) to 2022 (21.5%)—though it remained the second most used route to working in Canada.

Most temporary foreign workers from other countries were admitted through other categories of the International Mobility Program (not through international agreements) throughout this study period: from more than 50% in 2010 to just over 76% in 2022.

Year 2010 2019 2022
Total number of temporary foreign workers from other countries 329,000 610,000 848,100
Program
Temporary Foreign Worker Program 45.6% 20.5% 21.5%
International Mobility Program, international agreements 1.7% 2.4% 2.3%
International Mobility Program, other categories 52.7% 77.1% 76.2%

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Which occupational skill level saw the highest level of admittance per group?

In 2023, 76% of US citizen temporary workers held work permits for managerial, professional, or technical occupations, surpassing the 67% rate among their US non-citizen worker counterparts.

US non-citizen temporary workers more frequently received permits without specified skill-levels (32.3%), largely due to the widespread issuance of open work permits under various International Mobility Program sub-streams. In 2022, only 1% of US non-citizens held work permits for lower-skilled occupations.

Comparatively, temporary foreign workers from countries other than the US primarily received work permits with unspecified occupations in 2022 (around 68%), up from almost 44.4% in 2010. About 2% were in managerial occupations, while 15.3% were in professional or technical occupations in 2022.

The following breakdown is used by Statistics Canada when outlining the occupational skill levels of temporary foreign workers admitted:

  • Managerial occupations;
  • Professional or technical occupations;
  • Lower-skilled occupations; and
  • Occupations not specified.

Industrial distribution of workers with T4 earnings

In 2022, a significantly smaller share of US citizen temporary foreign workers reported T4 earnings (almost 35% compared to US non-citizen workers (almost 69%).

The lower rate of T4 earnings among US citizen temporary workers can be attributed to their greater presence in international agreement streams, which typically had lower rates of T4 earnings.

Employment sector concentration differed sharply between groups with T4 earnings in 2022.

One-third of US citizen temporary workers with T4 earnings were employed in the following two sectors:

  • Professional, scientific, and technical services; and
  • Educational services.

When it came to US non-citizen resident workers with T4 earnings, 55% were employed in professional, scientific, and technical services.

As for temporary foreign workers from countries other than the US, the industrial distribution was more evenly distributed, with a greater share working in lower-paying jobs such as those in:

  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; and
  • Wholesale trade and retail trade.

Highest median earnings

In 2022, U.S non-citizen residents had the highest median full-year equivalent earnings.

US citizens US non-citizen residents Temporary foreign workers from other countries
Median full-year earnings $75,900 $107,600 $42,500

Earnings by percentile

In the table below, you can find T4 earnings by percentile for each temporary foreign worker group in 2022:

Percentile of earnings US citizens US non-citizen residents Temporary foreign workers from other countries
90th percentile $343,200 $266,000 $116,700
75th percentile $152,500 $167,100 $67,900
25th percentile $37,300 $67,300 $28,100

Note: Available sources used to obtain T4 earnings only contain income tax data up to 2022.

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