In 2008, Canada admitted 192,519 international migrant workers on temporary work permits – a historical high. This number reflects a trend in labour migration: since 1980, the annual number of people admitted to work under temporary visas has almost always outpaced that of permanent immigrants entering the labour force annually.
Rising numbers of migrant workers on temporary visas pose important questions for health care practitioners and researchers.
In this article, we document recent trends in labour migration and begin to address these questions. We focus on migrant workers entering low-paid, low-status occupations, who account for most of Canada’s foreign workforce.