Foreign workers in the West: The regulation of migrant “Unfreedom” in Saskatchewan

Abstract

For the first time in generations prairie capitalism has come to rely on migrant labor. Specifically, a global division of labor that intersects with the constellation of Canada's foreign worker programs has shaped the contemporary political economic character of the “New Saskatchewan.” These programs function to construct labour markets for growing low-wage industries that exist alongside high-wage resource sector employment in Western Canada. Along with these developments, the provincial government has attempted to mitigate the “unfreedom” experienced by foreign workers through the development of the Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Act. The paper draws from data obtained through government access to information requests and unpacks the enforcement of migrant labor rights and efforts to confront status-induced precarity in Saskatchewan.