While Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program population has declined in recent years, Canada’s overall foreign worker population is rising and may continue to increase, suggests a report released today by The Conference Board of Canada’s National Immigration Centre. The report, “A Primer on Canada’s Foreign Workers,” found more than 360,000 people had their temporary work permit take effect in 2014, an increase of 64% compared with 2004.

TFWP accounted for only 26% of individuals who were granted a temporary work permit in 2014, the report found. Despite possible reforms to the TFWP, Canada could still see its overall foreign worker population increase in the future due to rising levels of international students arriving to Canada. International students make up a significant share of foreign workers eligible to participate in the Canadian labor market; in 2014, close to 212,000 international students had their study permit signed compared with just over 126,000 in 2004. “This number could increase further as federal, provincial, and territorial governments encourage more foreign nationals to study in Canada.” the report stated.

“Workers entering Canada under the TFWP make up only a slice of Canada’s diverse foreign worker population, which includes International Mobility Program workers, international students, those awaiting permanent residence in Canada, and refugee claimants,” said Michael Bloom, VP, industry and business strategy, The Conference Board of Canada. “All these individuals are able to work in Canada on a temporary basis. Ensuring that foreign worker programs benefit Canada is a matter of reconciling the needs of federal, provincial, and territorial governments, industry, and Canadians and foreign workers.”

Recently negotiated free trade agreements by Canada could also up the number of foreign nationals eligible to work in Canada under the International Mobility Program.

“Balance is the key to a well-designed and well-executed TFWP,” Bloom said. “The government has a legitimate role to monitor the TFWP to ensure domestic workers are given priority in the labor market. Employers across Canada would like enough flexibility to fill their temporary employment needs when domestic workers are unavailable to do the job. The Canadian public wants assurance that foreign workers are supplementing, rather than supplanting domestic workers. And protections must be in place to ensure temporary foreign workers are treated fairly by employers.”