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TLDR

Calgary — In September 2025, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) submitted a report to Alberta's Ministry of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration calling the Temporary Foreign Worker Program a "lifeline" for small businesses and warning that 45% of surveyed employers said skilled-labour shortages were limiting sales or production. Five months later, Premier Danielle Smith announced a province-wide referendum on immigration that could restrict access to provincial services for temporary residents, including the foreign workers the CFIB report defended.

The timeline shows a gap between what Alberta's employer lobby was telling the province and the government's subsequent position. For workers in hospitality, agriculture, construction, trucking and retail, the sectors the CFIB flagged as most dependent on temporary labour, the policy environment remains unsettled heading into the Oct. 19 referendum.

The CFIB, which speaks for roughly 10,000 Alberta businesses, said small and medium-sized employers still depend heavily on temporary foreign workers to cover ongoing workforce gaps. The report pointed to several causes of labour shortages named by respondents: not enough applicants, gaps between job requirements and candidate skills, pressure from competitive wages, and trouble drawing workers to physically demanding jobs, remote locations or unconventional shift schedules.

Canadian applicants, the report said, were becoming less willing to take on those roles and temporary foreign workers were filling the space.

The submission asked Alberta to consider small businesses when designing immigration policy and programs, framing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) as essential infrastructure for sectors that could not otherwise staff up.

On Sept. 17, 2025, Smith directed her jobs minister to use "all legal means" to expand provincial control over immigration and to concentrate on attracting "economic migrants able to contribute to the growth of our economy." The directive also said Canadian citizens should have first access to jobs and that young Canadians should be prioritised over temporary foreign workers.

The two documents, filed weeks apart, set out different priorities: the CFIB called temporary workers essential, while Smith's directive said they should come second to Canadian citizens.

On Feb. 20, 2026, Smith launched the referendum, which is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2026. It would place several immigration-related questions in front of Alberta voters. One question asked whether only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and people with an "Alberta-approved immigration status" ought to qualify for provincially funded programs. Another asked whether people with non-permanent immigration status should pay "a reasonable fee or premium" for health care and education.

Smith listed foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers as examples of temporary residents who would be affected by the proposals. She said the government's aim was to make sure services are "prioritised to the people who have registered a permanent stake in our country and our province."

"Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Temporary individuals should be treated as that," Smith said.

She framed the referendum as a response to rapid population growth that had strained schools, hospitals and social services. The proposed Alberta-approved immigration status, she said, would be modelled on Quebec's system, where the province has significant control over selecting economic migrants.

The federal government has been trying to shrink Canada's temporary population, with plans to lower it to under 5% of the total population by the end of 2027. Federal changes announced in 2026 gave some rural employers room to lift the share of low-wage temporary foreign workers from 10% to 15% of their workforce, but those measures are temporary, running from April 2026 to March 2027. Sector-specific caps of 20% apply to health care, construction and food processing.

Meanwhile, more than 1.3 million temporary work permits are scheduled to expire in Canada by the end of 2026, according to CFIB advocacy. Dan Kelly, CFIB president, said "the economic fallout could be massive" and warned that "thousands of workers could be forced to leave or left in limbo waiting for an extension or a new permit."

Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB executive vice-president of advocacy, said the timing was wrong for further restrictions. "Immigration policies must respond to economic needs and so now is not the time to make things even harder for small businesses and their employees," Pohlmann said.

On April 1, 2026, Alberta brought in Bill 26, the Immigration Oversight Act. The legislation would set up a provincial registry for employers using federal temporary foreign worker streams, license immigration consultants and foreign worker recruiters, and broaden enforcement powers aimed at fraud, illegal fees and worker exploitation.

Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow said the approach was meant to put Alberta's labour-market needs first, with an emphasis on agriculture and manufacturing. The bill is part of Alberta's move towards tighter control over the infrastructure around temporary labour.

If you hold a temporary work permit in Alberta, or you're an employer who depends on one, the next few months matter.