Eby doubles down on foreign worker program criticism as B.C. approvals drop sharply

B.C. Premier David Eby listens to a question during a news conference at Clayton Heights Secondary School, in Surrey, B.C., on September 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia Premier David Eby is doubling down on his criticism of the temporary foreign worker program, calling out a Vancouver Starbucks and a Boston Pizza outlet in Richmond, B.C., for seeking to use the scheme to hire managers.

But Eby’s criticism of the program, which he says needs to be shut down or significantly reformed, comes as federal data shows approvals under the scheme have fallen almost twice as fast in B.C. as the rest of Canada.

The data shows that in the first three months of 2025, there were about 11,000 temporary foreign worker positions approved in B.C., down about 37 per cent from the same period last year, while the rest of Canada has seen a 20.5 per cent decline.

The declines came after the federal government tightened access to the scheme last September.

Employers who want temporary foreign workers must receive a positive labour market impact assessment, and the government data shows there were more than 51,000 positions approved nationally in the first quarter of this year.

Both Eby and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre suggested shutting the program last week, and on Tuesday, Eby told the Burnaby Board of Trade about applications by the Starbucks and Boston Pizza outlets.

Eby said in a clip of the speech he posted to social media that he didn’t believe those outlets can’t “find a British Columbian on their team to promote to manager.”

Eby added that British Columbians needed to have confidence in the immigration system. 

“We need an immigration system that ensures that predatory employers are not able to use the temporary foreign worker program to depress wages or to deny opportunities to other workers, who insist on their rights, that have the opportunity to go somewhere else,” Eby said. 

The Richmond Boston Pizza restaurant mentioned by Eby did not return a call requesting comment.

Starbucks’ Canadian headquarters said Eby was referring to a café owned by Sheraton, and no one answered a call to the outlet in the Sheraton Wall Centre.

Eby’s remarks about the temporary foreign worker program last week were criticized by former NDP cabinet minister Katrina Chen, who said she was “furious” about them.

The premier said at the time that B.C. “can’t have an immigration system that fills up our homeless shelters and our food banks” and “results in high unemployment.”

Criticism has also come from migration expert Irene Bloemraad, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses and the BC Greens. 

A written statement from the B.C.’s Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth says it continues to hear concerns about the program, including the illicit buying and selling of labour market assessments, workers forced to live in overcrowded situations and companies paying below minimum wage - sometimes as low as $4 an hour, driving down wages.

The statement adds that reforms must address the needs of farmers and others that need temporary labour legitimately, while addressing concerns with the program, including the exploitation of workers.

This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published September 9, 2025.