Lives on Hold: An Exploratory Analysis of the Effects of Temporariness on the Health and Well-Being of Temporary Foreign Workers in Saskatchewan.

In the last forty years, Canada has relied on millions of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to alleviate labour shortages and to boost the Canadian economy. Past research regarding TFWs highlights the negative impacts of precarious legal status on their health and well-being. Nevertheless, limited attention has been given to the intersection between the temporariness of TFWs legal status and their overall health outcomes. This study aims to investigate how temporariness is perceived and experienced by TFWs in Saskatchewan and explores the ways in which lack of permanent status affects their health and well-being. By analyzing thirty semi-structured interviews conducted in Saskatchewan in 2017, this research applies a qualitative approach to secondary data, using thematic analysis within a Social Determinants of Health Framework. This study investigates key factors such as access to healthcare, the psychological impact of living in uncertainty and the ways in which a precarious legal status shapes health and well-being. The analysis shows that the temporary nature of TFWs’ legal status is not accidental but shaped by immigration policies that set the terms under which migrant workers live and work. Through things like visa lengths and renewal deadlines, the system maintains control over the ability to stay and transition to permanent residence. This creates a form of precarious status, which translates into socio-economic vulnerability where rights are limited, and uncertainty is a constant. This situation has a direct impact on health. The fear of deportation and the instability push many migrant workers into cycles of exploitation, fundamentally maintaining their status as permanently temporary labour.