Agri-Food Pilot

The Agri-Food pilot offers a pathway to permanent residence for agricultural workers in Canada. In recent years, Canadian agriculture and agri-food industries have struggled to fill labour shortages and workers have had to rely on short-term, seasonal work permits in order to find employment. The pilot aims to attract and retain workers by offering a pathway to permanent residence in Canada, allowing workers and their families to work and live in Canada for as long as they like.

Originally a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants and their families would be accepted per year. However, this cap has been removed in 2023 when the program was extended to 2025.

Agricultural employers participating in the pilot will be eligible for a 2-year Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

Agri-Food Pilot Program Requirements

To be eligible to participate in the pilot, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Work experience: 12 months of full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in an eligible occupation in processing meat products, raising livestock, or growing mushrooms or greenhouse crops
• Language: A Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 in English or French
• Education: Canadian equivalency of high-school level or greater
• Job offer: an indeterminate job offer for full-time, non-seasonal work in Canada, outside of Quebec, at or above the prevailing wage

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