TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – April 3, 2026

A few days ago, I stopped into a coffee shop in a rural town in British Columbia. It is a place I know well, and I have known the owner for years. When I walked in, she was doing what too many business owners are doing right now. She was everywhere at once. Running the till, bussing tables, taking orders, clearing dishes, moving from one task to the next without a pause.

We got talking, as we always do, and I asked how things were going. She told me they had been advertising for staff for months and had not been able to find anyone. Not one viable applicant. As a result, they started opening later in the mornings, missing the critical early rush when customers come in for their first ‘criticial’ dose of daily caffeine. Anyone in the business knows that window matters. It sets the tone for the day and drives revenue in a way that is hard to make up later.

As I was leaving, I noticed two signs on the door. One said Help Wanted. The other announced reduced store hours.There was no contradiction between the two. They told the same story.

And it is a story we are seeing across the province.

For the past 20 years, tourism and hospitality businesses have relied on Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) to help fill persistent labour gaps. In many operations, Temporary Foreign Workers make up between 15 and 20 per cent of the workforce, working across every level of the business from entry-level roles through to senior positions. In BC today, approximately 10 per cent of employees in accommodation and food services are Temporary Foreign Workers, and that number is significantly higher in rural and remote communities where the available labour pool is smaller.

At the same time, the federal government has been moving in a different direction. In 2024, it announced its intention to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada from seven per cent of the population to five per cent by the end of 2026, with the goal of easing pressures on housing, youth employment, and social services. As part of that shift, rules around the Temporary Foreign Worker program were tightened. Work permits that were previously issued for two years now require annual renewal, and caps on the proportion of temporary foreign workers within a business have been reduced.

However, in March 2026, the federal government offered a measure of flexibility into the program, acknowledging the very real labour challenges facing rural and remote communities. This adjustment is time-limited, in place only until March 2027, and is intended as a short-term response rather than a structural change. There have been indications that the BC government may choose not to opt into this federal measure.

TIABC recently conducted a member survey with respondents from across the province and from multiple affected sectors. The message was consistent and clear. Not opting into this temporary flexibility will have serious negative impacts on businesses and on the communities they support. While TIABC supports Canadian workers first, especially young workers entering the workforce, we also recognize the operational realities facing businesses across the province.

That is why TIABC, alongside many others across the tourism sector, is advocating strongly for the province to reconsider. It is important for government to support this federal initiative, because it is not a structural shift but a temporary, practical measure designed to help businesses manage immediate labour shortages. It is a targeted response that can support an industry that is an economic powerhouse in this province, particularly as we head into what is expected to be another busy tourism season.

Because while policy discussions continue, the reality on the ground has not changed.

Employers are not choosing between Canadian applicants and foreign workers. In many cases, there are no applicants. The help wanted signs remain up. Hours are reduced. Services are scaled back.

Tourism is a people-driven industry, and without the people, the system does not function. In these small towns, tourism isn’t the only thing affected; entire communities are impacted. Reducing access to labour limits services, destroys small businesses and leaves locals scrambling for their ‘much-needed’ caffeine fixes as well.

What I saw in that small-town coffee shop is not an isolated moment.

And the question before us is whether the BC government is prepared to respond in a way that reflects what is actually happening across this province.

Amber Papou, B.Ed, MBA, ICD.D

CEO, TIABC