Portugal has been suffering from economic recession, and the poor economy has especially affected construction workers in the country. The Construction Union has stated that as many as 20 percent of Portugal’s approximately 700,000 construction workers may be currently unemployed.

Those workers who are lucky enough to find jobs are paid on average only €3.14 per hour for their work. A similar job in the Toronto area may be rewarded with as much as €32 per hour, almost 10 times that of Portuguese salaries.

The Construction Union will be helping to provide informational sessions about finding work and traveling to Canada. Mr. Ribeiro admitted that the recruitment “starts with hundreds but will reach thousands, starting in Toronto and then throughout the rest of Canada”.

Canadian companies have been increasingly looking for skilled foreign workers to help fill a growing labour shortage in some parts of the country. Earlier this year, almost 300 Irish workers were hired to come to Saskatchewan after extensive recruitment in Ireland by Saskatchewan-based businesses.