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

VICTORIA — B.C. 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 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 show approvals under the scheme have fallen almost twice as fast in B.C. as the rest of Canada.

The data show 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 since the federal government tightened access to the scheme last September.

Employers who want temporary fo