Authorities have long struggled to estimate the prevalence of labour trafficking. Data from Statistics Canada and non-profit groups usually identify only a few dozen cases each year.

But The Tyee and the IJF have obtained a 2023 report from Canada’s financial intelligence agency that identified thousands of suspicious transactions related to labour trafficking, suggesting authorities understand the true scope of the problem is many times greater than what available data says.

The report, obtained through access-to-information legislation, also found signs labour trafficking was happening in a huge range of industries that rely heavily on migrant workers, including agriculture, fishing, hospitality, construction and manufacturing.

James McLean, the policy and research director for the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, said authorities have persistently failed to stop labour trafficking.

And with well over one million people on work permits in the country — many of them about to lose status — McLean said the risk is as great as ever.