Migrant workers’ labour conditions not on the table at Canada–U.S. lobster industry conference [video]

Lobster industry representatives from Canada and the U.S. gathered in Moncton this week for an annual conference, with discussions on issues including trade and tariffs.

Questions about substandard labour and living conditions for migrant workers in the lobster processing sector didn’t appear to be on the table.

On Thursday, most conference attendees who spoke to the NB Media Co-op declined to comment about issues facing migrant workers, saying it was outside of their mandate or area of knowledge.

Industry representatives said lobster prices have fallen while expenses have gone up on both sides of the border, leading to diminished profits.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war has not resulted in tariffs on Canadian lobster, but it has produced uncertainty for the industry, said Geoff Irvine of the Lobster Council of Canada.

Meanwhile, Canadian lobster exports have faced a 25 per cent tariff from China, but it will be paused in March under a newly announced trade deal. “It will be very helpful to regain our market access there,” Irvine said.

“The only place that we’ve had actual tariffs is with China, but on top of that we’ve had uncertainty with the United States, and those are our two biggest markets,” he said.

He declined to comment on issues faced by temporary foreign workers in the seafood processing sector. “I just know we need them,” Irvine said.

The NB Media Co-op requested an interview with Nat Richard, head of the Lobster Processors Association, but he declined to comment. A provincial government official also declined an interview request.

Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said that attendees from both sides of the border are facing the same issues affecting their profits. “Lobster prices are down, costs are up,” she said.

She said there is a sense of goodwill among people from both countries, despite the rupture in friendly relations between Canada and the U.S. “I think a meeting like this helps us realize that we have so much more in common,” she said.

She declined to comment about issues faced by temporary foreign workers, saying her organization deals with harvesters specifically.

A significant part of American lobster processing happens in Canada, where there have been widespread reports of issues such as overcrowded and mouldy housing, prolonged periods without work, and abusive conditions for temporary foreign workers.

This year has seen a record-breaking number of temporary foreign workers in New Brunswick deemed vulnerable, meaning they are eligible for an open work permit available only through a federal program for “vulnerable workers who are victims of abuse.”

In general, temporary foreign workers have closed work permits, meaning that their immigration status is tied to a specific employer. Migrant worker advocates have called for open work permits and permanent residence on arrival.

On Thursday, as industry officials mingled at lunchtime before a closed-door session, the NB Media Co-op only found one attendee willing to speak about those issues: Central Newfoundland Conservative MP and fisheries critic Clifford Small.

He said he believes temporary foreign workers should have permits allowing workers to move between jobs within the sector and region.

“They came from countries to escape lower standards of living, to come here to make a better life,” he said. “They shouldn’t come here and be subjected to less humanity than they receive at home.”

It’s unclear how this corresponds with a Conservative Party policy announced last year calling for the temporary foreign worker program to be “permanently abolished with a separate, standalone program for legitimately difficult-to-fill agricultural labour.”

More generally, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has been criticized for embracing anti-immigrant rhetoric, while Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals have also shifted rightwards, blaming Trudeau-era immigration policy for issues including the housing crisis.

The conference took place amid reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had launched a crackdown in Maine.

It remains to be seen whether migrant workers in Maine’s seafood processing sector will be targeted in the dragnet, but community organizers and officials including police in Minnesota have described extensive racial profiling based on skin colour and accent by masked ICE agents.

Last updated at 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2026

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, via the Local Journalism Initiative.