Conditions for Hiring a Worker in the Agricultural Stream - Quebec
Eligible Sectors and Jobs for Agricultural Jobs
To hire agricultural workers, you must be recognized recognized as a farm operator and present a valid copy of your registration card from the Quebec’s Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation.
Eligible Agricultural Sectors
Your production must be part of the primary agriculture sector. It must be part of the national list of the following agricultural sectors :
- Beekeeping
- Maple syrup production
- Trees grown in greenhouses and nurseries (including Christmas trees)
- Cattle
- Ducks
- Cereals
- Mushrooms
- Horses
- Fruits and vegetables (including canning and/or processing if grown on the farm)
- Flowers
- Sod farms
- Sheep
- Oilseeds
- Pigs
- Dairy products
- Pedigreed rapeseeds
- Corn seeds
- Tobacco
- Minks
- Poultry
If your production is not part of the list above (for example : field crops), you must apply in the low-wage or high-wage positions stream.
Activity Corresponding to Primary Agriculture
Your activity must meet the definition of primary agriculture. The tasks associated with your activity must meet the following criteria :
Location of Tasks
All tasks associated with the job you are offering must be performed on a farm, within the limits of :
- A farm;
- A nursery;
- A greenhouse.
Task-Related Activities
The tasks associated with the position you are offering must include at least at least one activity similar to these :
- Use of agricultural machinery;
- Activity related to the maintenance of animals (other than fish) to obtain raw products for their marketing, namely :
- Housing;
- Care;
- Reproduction;
- Cleaning;
- Other activities related to the maintenance of animals;
- Collection, handling and evaluation of raw products.
- Planting;
- Maintenance;
- Harvesting;
- Preparation of crops.
- Activity related to the marketing of tree crops, turf or other plants, namely :
Exclusions
The following activities are not eligible :
- Activities of agronomists and agricultural economists;
- Landscape architecture;
- Preparation of plant fibres for textile purposes;
- Activities related to hunting and commercial trapping;
- Veterinary activities.
Eligible Agricultural Positions
Use of the 2021 NOC
As of November 16, 2022, the Government of Quebec is applying the 2021 version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Applications for Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) received from November 16 will be processed under NOC 2021. Applications received before this date will be processed under NOC 2016.
If necessary, to find the wage associated with the 2021 NOC of the position you are looking to fill, you can use the concordance table between the 2016 NOC and the 2021 NOC available on the website of Employment and Social Development Canada.
The job must be offered in an eligible agricultural position. It must correspond to one of the NOC 2021 National Occupational Classification codes below (the 2016 NOC is given here for information purposes only) :
NOC 2021
80020 - Managers in agriculture
80021 - Managers in horticulture
82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
8255 – Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance, and horticulture services
84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
85103 – Nursery and greenhouse laborers
NOC 2016
0822 - Managers in horticulture
8252 – Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
8255 – Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance, and horticulture services
8255 – Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance, and horticulture services
8432 – Nursery and greenhouse workers
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NEW CAREGIVER PILOT PROGRAMS
On June 3, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced new pilot programs to support caregivers and Canadian families.
The new pilot programs will provide home care workers with permanent residence (PR) on arrival in Canada. They will also be allowed to work for organizations that provide temporary or part-time care for people who are semi-independent or recovering from an injury or illness. This new pathway means that caregivers can more easily find proper work with reliable employers and have clear, straightforward access to permanent resident status as soon as they arrive in Canada.
Through these new pilot programs, candidates interested in working in Canada’s home care sector will be eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:
- attain at least a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 4
- hold the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma
- have recent and relevant work experience
- receive an an offer for a full-time home care job.
The details of these new pilot programs will be revealed later.
Please take note that these new pilot programs are not designed for people who intend to live in Quebec. In Quebec, there is a quite similar program : the permanent immigration pilot program for temporary foreign workers who work as orderlies. However, the Quebec’s permanent immigration pilot program is for candidates who want to work for a company and will close on January 1, 2026. Apart from the appropriate diploma, the other selection conditions of this permanent immigration pilot program for orderlies are
- work experience of at least 24 months as an orderly in Quebec during the 36 months preceding the application for a Quebec’s certificate of permanent selection (CSQ) or at least 12 months in a health occupation related to basic personal care outside of Quebec and at least 12 months as an orderly inQuebec during the 36 months preceding the application for a CSQ (Work stream) or at least 12 months as
an orderly in Quebec during the 24 months preceding the application for a CSQ and after completion of the study program (Work-study stream) - knowledge of oral French that corresponds to level 7 of the l’Échelle québécoise des niveaux decompétence en français (level B2 of the Common European Framework of Referemce for Languages).
If you completed your studies outside of Canada, you need to provide an attestation of academic equivalency by a comparative evaluation service. Here is a list of agencies authorized to provide equivalence assessments:
- Comparative Education Service (University of Toronto – School of Continuing Studies): https://learn.utoronto.ca/comparative-education-service
- International Credential Evaluation Service (British Columbia Onstitute of Technology): https://www.bcit.ca/ices/
- International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) : https://www.alberta.ca/international-qualifications-assessment
- Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration: https://www.quebec.ca/immigration/travailler-quebec/faire-reconnaitre-competences-acquises-etranger/obtenir-evaluation-comparative
- International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS) : https://www.icascanada.ca/home.aspx
- World Education Services – Canada : https://www.wes.org/ca/
FRANCOPHONE MOBILITY PROGRAM
The Francophone Mobility program was introduced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in 2016 and will end in June 2025.
The Francophone Mobility program allows people who speak French and who obtain a job offer from Canadian companies located outside Quebec to come and work in Canada. This work permit is exempt from the labour market impact assessment (LMIA).
The conditions for obtaining a Francophone Mobility work permit are as follows:
- Obtain a job offer from a Canadian company in any skill level, with the exception of jobs in primary
agriculture. - Have knowledge of oral French at level B1 or CLB 5. Please note that you do not need to prove that you
can read or write in French. People whose mother tongue is not French must take the TCF exam or the
TEF exam. People who have studied in French (at secondary, college or university level or who have
completed a training or study program in French do not need to take a French test.
You do not need to use French in Canada. The company is not required to offer you a French-speaking or bilingual environment.
Like other work permits, the spouse of a Francophone Mobility work permit may be eligible to apply for an open work permit and school-aged children are permitted to study in Canada.
Holders of a Francophone Mobility can apply for permanent residence if they meet the eligibility criteria. If they apply through Express Entry, they will be able to increase their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score by gaining work experience in Canada.
Additionally, people with good knowledge of French can earn up to 50 additional points, even if French is their second language. If they reach level 7 or higher all four French skills, they can obtain additional points if they have English skills of level 5 or higher.
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