New immigration bill to give Alberta more oversight over temporary foreign worker programs

Alberta is continuing its crackdown on immigration. This time, taking aim at abuse by “bad actors” like employers, foreign worker recruiters, and immigration consultants they say are committing fraud and eroding trust in the system.

The Immigration Oversight Act, tabled Wednesday, would impose additional measures of provincial oversight on immigration in Alberta.

Under Bill 26, the province would create a registry of employers looking to hire temporary foreign workers. Employers would need to register with the province before they’d be able to access federal programs like a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Immigration consultants and foreign worker recruiters would have to become licensed under a new program, and would be subject to “prohibited practices,” as would employers and other parties involved in recruitment or immigration services.

Specifically, the government is looking to limit misrepresented or fraudulent job postings, paid-for job offers and collection of unauthorized fees, and other activities that take advantage of a foreign worker’s inexperience, fear, discomfort, or lack of knowledge in the immigration system.

The bill would also create a set of established offences for these parties as well as a system to investigate those who violate the law. Those found to have broken the rules could face fines, licence/registration restrictions, administrative penalties, and in severe cases — jail time.

The province says the majority of employers, recruiters, and immigration consultants follow the rules and support newcomers, but requiring registration and licensing will increase transparency, protect vulnerable workers, and strengthen confidence in the system.

It adds that many of these tools are already in place in other provinces like Saskatchewan and B.C.

October referendum puts immigration in spotlight

The province has long said the federal government’s previous immigration policies have led to unsustainable population growth and increased pressure on public services.

It has taken steps in recent months to take greater control over the responsibility, which is shared between provinces and the federal government.

Immigration is the topic of several questions set to be put to Albertans in an Oct. 19 referendum. Specifically, the government will ask residents whether they want Alberta to work on decreasing immigration to “more sustainable levels,” limit access to social services and health care to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status only, and require proof of citizenship to vote in provincial election.

According to Statistics Canada, immigration to Alberta has dropped significantly since 2023-2024, when 220,000 people came to the province. Of those, a little less than half were non-permanent residents like temporary foreign workers, international students, and family members.

A year later, Alberta saw 120,000 net new residents through immigration and migration — just under 22,000 were non-permanent residents.

So far this year, the province has seen around 12,000 new residents while at the same time losing nearly 11,000 non-permanent residents.