Due to Canada’s ongoing demand for agricultural workers, especially in peak seasons, employers who need to hire workers to fill specific job positions related to agricultural production may be able to use one of two agricultural streams to accelerate the hiring process.

The Agricultural Stream allows employers to hire Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) for a maximum period of 24 months when Canadians and permanent residents are not available.

Agricultural Permits

Program Requirements

To qualify for this stream, employers must meet 2 criteria:

  •       production must be in specific commodity sectors, and
  •       the activity must be related to on-farm primary agriculture

The LMIA processing fee does not apply to occupations related to primary agriculture and positions under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes 0821, 0822, 8252, 8255, 8431, 8432 and 8611.

National Commodity List

  •       apiary products
  •       fruits, vegetables (including canning/processing of these products if grown on the farm)
  •       mushrooms
  •       flowers
  •       nursery-grown trees including Christmas trees, greenhouses/nurseries
  •       pedigreed canola seed
  •       seed corn
  •       grains
  •       oil seeds
  •       maple syrup
  •       sod
  •       tobacco
  •       bovine
  •       dairy
  •       duck
  •       horse
  •       mink
  •       poultry
  •       sheep
  •       swine

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