How to Immigrate to Canada as a Farmer in 2021

The sad truth is that employment in the agriculture industry has been declining for decades. Advances in automation have made it possible for farmers to use technology to perform tasks that people used to do inexpensively and with less administration. There are still a number of farms and ranches in Canada that still believe in the old school.

There are also a plethora of farms that just aren’t big enough to justify the costs of a fully automated planter or picker and still rely entirely on dedicated and hardworking farmworkers. Canada is a very large country, the second largest in the world in fact, and with 13 provinces and territories, it will serve you well to know where you have the best opportunities to find regular and continuous work.

So, without further ado, these are the best provinces to find work in Canada as a farmworker.

Easiest Provinces to Migrate to Canada as a Farmworker

A popular term for a farm worker in Canada is a ranch worker, so we may use this term from time to time throughout this article. If you are already a seasoned farmworker, you may know that most ranch and farm jobs in Canada include housing. Salaries are competitive for formal paid positions, typically starting at $ 15 an hour. The undertaking can earn you money when you desperately need it, but it won’t be beneficial to you if you are looking to become a permanent resident of Canada. Accept jobs with formal employment contracts and always go for a permanent job rather than a seasonal one, even if the latter pays better.

Alberta

There are plenty of opportunities in Canada’s largest breeding province. Alberta is also the country’s second-largest wheat producer and has more opportunities in mixed farming, hog, and dairy farming. Horse trainers, farmworkers, pasture riders, general farmworkers, and greenhouse workers are in high demand in the province.

Atlantic Provinces

Nova Scotia is the best place to find farm work in Atlantic Canada. The Atlantic Immigration Pilot is also a possible route to migrate to Canada as a farmworker if you can secure a permanent position in this field. Farms in Nova Scotia produce a fair amount of agricultural crops, but the main product that is produced is poultry. The province is the largest producer of chicken and turkey in Canada. Dairy and livestock are also important to the province, but if you know chickens, Nova Scotia is the place for you.

Saskatchewan

Although this province has a large amount of agriculture, it is not very labor-friendly. The main crops in Saskatchewan are grains, for which massive machinery does most of the work. There are 5,000-hectare farms run by two men. They sow and take care of the harvest and when the time is right, a combine comes in, does its job, and then a truck transports the product to the silos. If you are trained in the use and maintenance of newer farm machinery, you can find long-term, well-paying employment in Saskatchewan.

British Columbia

If you are looking for a true ranchers’ paradise, British Columbia is the place to look. Grassy valleys filled with grazing cattle surrounded by snow-capped mountains, a budding cowboy’s dream. This fertile province has a great opportunity for agricultural workers looking to immigrate to Canada. As in Alberta, herding is dominant and agriculture is varied. Many farms also focus on high-quality, value-added products, such as wine and herbal medicines for personal care. It is also one of the provinces with the most full-time positions available.

How to Migrate to Canada as a Farmworker

The Agri-food Immigration Pilot

To help meet the specific needs of the Canadian agri-food sector, this unique immigration pilot project has been tailor-made to allow industry workers with permanent jobs to apply for permanent residence in Canada. However, the agri-food pilot has a deadline, May 2023 will be the deadline for submissions and considering that 2020 was essentially a cancellation for the program, (yes, we’re already looking towards 2021) that doesn’t leave much time. to obtain a long-term position and the Canadian work experience necessary to qualify for the pilot project.

The requirements are short and straightforward, the list of eligible professions is a bit longer, but let’s consider the first one first:

• at least one year of non-seasonal full-time paid work in the last three years (1,560 hours), in one of the eligible occupations listed below, in Canada; and
• You must hold a valid work permit granted through the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) and your employer must have a labor market impact assessment (LMIA); and
• You will need to take one of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) tests, they are taken in English or French, and score a minimum of 4 across the four categories of reading, writing, listening, and speaking; and
• You must have a Canadian high school diploma or the equivalent, so if you graduated from high school abroad you can just have an Education Credential Assessment done to show that your qualification is equal to the Canadian standard; and
• You may need to show you have enough funds to settle in Canada. If you are already living and working in Canada, this won’t be necessary.

There are separate industries in Canada’s agriculture industry, and the pilot allocates a certain number of places for each of the occupations in the following categories:

Another reason to get a move on if you want to migrate to Canada as a farmworker is that there are only a limited number of applications accepted every year for the program, so it is vital that you submit your application as soon as you are eligible.