Canadian farms are hiring workers from abroad, with a work permit the employer helps you get. Planting, picking, packing and caring for animals keeps farms busy every season, and the Government of Canada runs official programs that let them recruit outside the country.
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Canada’s farms rely on seasonal help from overseas. People from Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Philippines and elsewhere arrive every year for planting, picking and animal care, because there are simply not enough local hands for the harvest. The government answers with official hiring programs, and for anyone ready for physical work they are among the most straightforward legal ways to earn Canadian dollars.
This page covers pay, what employers supply, who is a good fit and how the employer-backed work permit works, and it shows where open roles are posted on Canada’s Job Bank.
What a Canadian farm job pays
Harvest work can pay up to $30 or more an hour in provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta. Each farm sets its wage, and it must at least match the prevailing rate for that occupation and area, which the government checks before approving a foreign hire. Your earnings depend on the province, the kind of operation and your experience:
- Harvest and general farm workers: from the provincial minimum upward, often around $18 an hour nationally
- Greenhouse, nursery and orchard roles: similar or slightly higher
- Livestock, dairy and poultry work: usually more again
- Experienced harvest hands in the Prairies: top rates above $30 an hour
- Long harvest weeks can raise total earnings considerably
Plenty of workers send much of what they earn back to their families. With housing organised by the employer, living costs can be far below what an ordinary resident pays.
Housing and travel: what employers provide
One of the strongest points of farm work in Canada is that the basics are taken care of. The official programs require employers of foreign farm workers to provide decent, affordable housing that passes inspection, to organise your travel to Canada and home again, and to make sure you have health coverage while you work, either provincial or private.
- A place to live, organised by the employer
- Round-trip travel arranged by the employer
- Protection under workplace health and safety laws
- Provincial or private health coverage while you work
- Workplace rights equal to those of Canadian staff
The government programs that make it possible
Foreign farm workers come to Canada through two routes, both part of the Government of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
SAWP, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, links farms with workers from Mexico and 11 Caribbean nations, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago among them, plus several Eastern Caribbean islands. A stay can be as long as eight months within the January to mid-December window, and many people return to the same farm every year.
The Agricultural Stream allows farms to recruit from further afield as well, covering on-farm jobs with field crops, greenhouses, orchards, vegetables and animals.
Under either program, the farm needs an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) first: official confirmation that it could not find a Canadian to do the job. Once that approval is in place, the worker requests a permit that names the farm as employer.
→See farm jobs in CanadaWho qualifies? Quick checklist
No degree is required. Farms are looking for people who are reliable, in good health and comfortable with hard physical work. You are well placed if you can tick most of the following:
- You are 18 or older
- You are physically fit and can work outdoors in any weather
- You have done farm, garden, construction or other manual work, or you learn quickly
- You have a passport, or can obtain one
- A medical check, if your application calls for one, should not be a problem
- You do not have a serious criminal record
- Basic English or French for safety instructions, or a farm that works in your language
- You are prepared to stay for the whole season
What the job is actually like
This is demanding, hands-on work, and good employers prefer people who arrive with realistic expectations. Early starts are normal and planting and harvest weeks run long. The upside is steady work, regular pay and, for many, a farm they return to for years.
- Picking apples, berries, tomatoes, peppers and other crops
- Planting, pruning and weeding outdoors and under glass
- Sorting and packing produce for shipping
- Feeding and looking after cattle, pigs and poultry
- Operating tractors and other machinery, if you have experience
- Working in teams, often alongside people from your own country
Applying, one step at a time
Everything starts with the employer, so the key step is finding a Canadian farm that is hiring. The usual sequence:
In Mexico and the participating Caribbean countries, SAWP recruitment is often run through the national labour ministry, so workers there can check with that office too.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay to get a farm job in Canada?
No. Under the program rules, employers and anyone recruiting for them cannot charge workers recruitment fees.
Can I bring my family?
Seasonal farm permits are generally for the worker alone. Some other permit types allow family members, depending on the permit.
Could this lead to living in Canada permanently?
Experienced agri-food workers have had routes to permanent status in recent years. The rules change often, so look at IRCC’s website for what is available now.
Can I change employers?
Usually your permit names one employer. A move to another farm generally requires that farm to get its own approval, and possibly a fresh permit for you.
Begin looking now
Farms recruit well before each season, so starting early pays off. Job Bank carries real vacancies from Canadian employers and refreshes them daily. Look through the farm listings, weigh up the pay and conditions, and send applications for the ones that match what you want.
→See farm jobs in Canada