Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program

The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) is a successful labour mobility program between Canada and Mexico. It falls among the most long-standing collaboration initiatives between both countries, celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2009.

The program was modelled on a bilateral program with the Commonwealth Caribbean countries. However, in recent years the Mexican program has overtaken its Caribbean counterpart in terms of number of workers hired.

It is impressive how the number of SAWP workers has increased steadily over the years. In 1974, 264 Mexican workers came to work on Canadian farms. This number increased around 17 000 in 2009. Although Quebec and Ontario employ the majority of these workers, most Canadian provinces participate in the program. The participants work in agricultural areas including tobacco, vegetables, fruit and greenhouses.

The SAWP is an important program for Canada and Mexico. Canadian farmers depend on this labour force and it is estimated that Mexico received as much as $80 million in remittances in 2002 from seasonal agricultural workers in Canada.