Migrant farmworkers in Canada face abusive conditions under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program

Caribbean and Mexican migrants hired under Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program describe grueling 10-hour days, hostile supervisors and overcrowded, rat-infested bunkhouses on farms in Ontario. Pay is hourly, with workers earning C$15.50 per hour and receiving no sick days or holidays. A 2022 International Journal for Equity in Health study recorded at least nine deaths among Ontario migrant farmworkers between 2020 and 2021, highlighting limited access to health services.

Following the 2022 death of Jamaican worker Garvin Yapp, laborers drafted an open letter to Jamaican minister Karl Samuda, leading to a ministerial fact-finding visit and the removal of workers from four farms for abusive conditions. In 2023, Samuda was replaced by Pearnel Charles Jr., who later inspected farms and met with employers. The program, established in 1966, now brings more than 27,000 seasonal workers each year, accounting for about 25% of the agricultural labor force, while critics argue that the lack of permanent residency leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation.