Agri Food Pilot

In the budget for 2019 that was presented to the public, the Federal government announced plans to launch an Agrifood Immigration Pilot in order to fill the labour shortages in the agricultural sector. The three-year pilot program is expected for opening to new applicants at the beginning of 2020.

The Agri-Food pilot program offers a path to permanent residency for workers from agriculture working in Canada. In recent times, Canadian agriculture and agri-food industries have had to contend with the gap in labour and workers have relied on temporary, seasonal work permits to get a job. The pilot hopes to attract and keep workers in the industry by providing an opportunity to permanently reside in Canada that allows family members and workers to reside and work in Canada for the duration they want.

A maximum of 2,750 applicant families and will be considered every year. This amounts to 16500 new permanent residents who could be accepted for the duration of 3 years of the pilot program.

Employers in the agricultural sector who participate in the pilot program will be eligible for a two-year Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

To be eligible for participation in the pilot, participants have to meet these requirements:

• Experience in the field: 12 months of continuous, full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience under the Temporary Foreign Worker program with a job that is eligible in making meat, ranching livestock or cultivating mushrooms, or green house crops
• A language: The Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 in English or French
• Educational: Canadian echivalency to high school or greater
• Employment offer An undetermined job opportunity for permanent, non-seasonal employment in Canada outside of Quebec with a wage that is at or above the current wage

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