New Report Highlights Mental Health Challenges Facing Migrant Farm Workers on SAWP’s 60th Anniversary
HALIFAX, NS (March 31, 2026) – Today, on the 60th anniversary of Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP), a new report from the Centre for Migrant Worker Rights Nova Scotia (CMWR NS) examines the mental and emotional health of migrant farm workers in the province.
The new report, “Heavy Hearts and Minds: Mental and Emotional Well-Being Among Migrant Agricultural Workers in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley,” is based on responses provided by 70 participants from Jamaica, Mexico and Guatemala. Data was collected through a survey and arts-based focus group. The majority of survey respondents (97.5%) worked in the agricultural and forestry sector, with just over half (52%) being employed through the SAWP. The report's authors are Natalie Abdou, Stacey Gomez, and Aleida Rodriguez, all from the CMWR NS. The research was conducted in partnership with Dr. Andrés Arteaga at Saint Mary’s University.
“When you get here, it's all loneliness,” said a migrant worker from Latin America who participated in the study. “You look at the walls.”
Key findings of the report include:
Mental and emotional strain was common among those surveyed: 75% of survey respondents reported feeling sad or depressed at times, and 73% reported feeling worried or stressed at times. In addition, 2% who continuously felt sad or depressed, 7% who often felt worried or stressed and 14% who often felt lonely or isolated.
Top sources of emotional distress reported by migrant workers surveyed were family separation (80%), challenging working conditions (43%), poor living conditions (34%) and restrictive work permits (30%). Additionally, nearly half (48%) reported experiencing discrimination in Nova Scotian communities, which 16% cited as a key source of emotional distress.
Migrant workers surveyed reported limited use of mental health support, as well as significant barriers to healthcare access due to their precarious worker status. Overall, 86% have not accessed any mental health support in Nova Scotia. Over three-quarters (77%) worry they could lose their job if they take time off for physical or mental health needs.
Top sources of emotional support reported by migrant workers surveyed were family and friends in their home countries (86%) and their co-workers (66%).
The study found that precarious worker status, resulting from migrant workers’ closed work permits and temporary immigration status, negatively impacted their mental and emotional health. Participants also reported restricted freedom, autonomy and mobility, echoing a 2024 United Nations report that described Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” The SAWP is a program under the TFWP.
“They say the [SAWP] is a free choice… But when we come here, we find there’s no freedom,” said a migrant worker from Jamaica who is cited in the report. “The boss keeps you in a confinement space like a prison. We want that to change for the future, for the next farm workers, the younger generation coming up.”
The report calls for urgent action across all levels of government:
Federal government: open work permits on arrival, permanent residence on arrival, policies that allow migrant workers to bring their families with them while working in Canada, as well as continued investment in the Migrant Worker Support program.
Provincial government: increase the minimum wage, strengthen labour protections, MSI on arrival, and provide funding for targeted mental health supports for migrant workers.
Municipal governments: improve public transportation and address racism faced by migrant workers in local communities.
The report found that between 2015 and 2023, the number of migrant workers in Nova Scotia more than doubled. By 2023, there were 4,145 migrant workers employed in the province, with nearly half (1,964) in agriculture. That same year, almost one in three agricultural workers (32%) in the province were migrant workers.
As part of the research, participants also created a collective art piece, Quilted Strength, which is featured in the report. The exhibit has reached hundreds of Nova Scotians in the Annapolis Valley and elsewhere.
