Labour Market Impact Assessment LMIA | Employer's Guide

Hiring a temporary foreign worker in Canada in 2026 is not the same process it was two years ago. The wage line that separates the two streams moved on July 17, 2026. Low-wage applications are blocked outright in most large cities. Advertising for low-wage roles now runs eight weeks instead of four. And a positive decision is only good for six months, not eighteen.

This guide sets out the rules as they actually stand today, what they cost, how long they take, and where most applications fail. If you are still deciding which permit route fits your business, our work permit services page covers the alternatives, including the routes that need no assessment at all.

What Is a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)?

A Labour Market Impact Assessment is a document issued by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) through Service Canada. It confirms that hiring a foreign national for a specific position will not harm the Canadian labour market, because no Canadian citizen or permanent resident was available and qualified to fill it.

A positive LMIA, sometimes called a confirmation letter, is what allows the worker to apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for an employer-specific work permit. The worker submits the LMIA number, the decision letter and a signed job offer with that application.

Three points matter before you start:

• The employer applies, never the worker.
• The assessment is a snapshot of labour market conditions on the day it is issued, which is why it expires quickly.
• ESDC and IRCC are separate departments. A positive LMIA is not a work permit and does not guarantee one.

LMIA Wage Thresholds 2026: High-Wage vs Low-Wage Stream

Everything downstream in your application depends on one comparison: the hourly wage you are offering against the threshold for the province or territory where the work is located.

The threshold is not the bare median wage. It is the provincial or territorial median hourly wage plus 20 percent, and ESDC updates it from Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data. New figures took effect on July 17, 2026 and apply to applications received on or after that date.

Offer at or above the figure for your province and the application falls under the high-wage stream. Offer below it and you are in the low-wage stream, with a materially harder set of requirements.

Every province and territory except the Northwest Territories saw an increase this cycle. That means positions that were comfortably high-wage in early 2026 may now sit below the line. Check the current number before you draft the offer, not after.

One warning worth taking seriously: ESDC states that inflating a wage purely to land in a preferred stream, or to avoid a program requirement, can itself produce a negative decision. The wage has to be defensible against what Canadians in the same role and region are actually paid.

High-Wage Stream Requirements

• Advertising for at least four consecutive weeks within the three months before submission
• At least three recruitment methods, one of which must be the national Job Bank, with at least one method national in scope
• A transition plan showing how you will reduce reliance on temporary foreign workers over time, unless your position or application category is exempt
• No cap on the proportion of foreign workers at the worksite
• Not subject to the regional unemployment restriction
• Work permits of up to three years, depending on the duration ESDC recommends

Low-Wage Stream Requirements

• Advertising for at least eight consecutive weeks within the three months before submission, a rule that doubled from four weeks on April 1, 2026
• Documented recruitment aimed at youth aged 15 to 30, also new as of April 1, 2026
• At least one recruitment activity must stay live until Service Canada issues its decision
• A cap of 10 percent of the workforce at a given location, rising to 20 percent in construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing and residential care, and in-home caregiving
• A temporary 15 percent cap option for eligible employers outside metropolitan areas in participating provinces, running to March 31, 2027
• Employer-paid round-trip transportation, and suitable affordable housing provided or secured
• No transition plan required
• Employment duration capped at one year

The 6% Unemployment Rule That Blocks Most Low-Wage Applications

This is the rule that stops more applications than any other, and it is the one employers most often discover too late.

Since September 26, 2024, Service Canada refuses to process low-wage LMIA applications where the work location sits in a census metropolitan area with an unemployment rate of 6 percent or higher. The list is reassessed quarterly. On the table in force until October 8, 2026, 26 of Canada's 41 tracked census metropolitan areas are above the threshold, including Vancouver, Abbotsford-Mission, Chilliwack and Kelowna.

Refusal to process is not a refusal on the merits. The application is simply not assessed, and the fee is not returned to you in the ordinary course.

Certain positions are exempt from the measure regardless of where they are located:

• Primary agriculture
• Construction
• Food manufacturing
• Hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities
• Certain in-home caregiver positions supported by medical documentation
• Applications submitted for permanent residence purposes only
• Jobs of 120 days or less, and certain highly mobile occupations

If your role is not exempt and your city is above 6 percent, you have three realistic options: raise the wage to the high-wage threshold, wait for the next quarterly update to see whether your region drops below the line, or restructure the position. Quebec employers should also note that Montreal and Laval carry their own low-wage restriction with a separate exemption list.

How Much Does an LMIA Cost in Canada?

The processing fee is $1,000 per position. Two positions means $2,000. The fee is non-refundable whether the decision is positive, negative, or the file is never processed.

You can pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, certified cheque, money order or bank draft. Employers filing for six or more positions may have access to an online banking option.

The fee cannot be recovered from the worker, deducted from wages, or passed on through a third party. Doing so is a compliance breach, not a grey area.

Fee exemptions apply in limited cases, including primary agriculture positions and in-home caregiver roles for medical needs or childcare where the household income falls under the published threshold.

Budget beyond the government fee as well. Recruitment and advertising typically runs a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on platforms and duration, and the eight-week low-wage requirement pushes that higher. The worker then pays their own work permit and biometrics fees to IRCC.

LMIA Processing Times in Canada (Current ESDC Figures)

Processing times are published by stream and have been climbing through 2026. The most recent ESDC figures:

Two things these numbers do not include. First, the mandatory advertising period, which runs four to eight weeks before you can even submit. Second, the IRCC work permit application that follows the positive decision.

Plan a realistic high-wage timeline as roughly one month of advertising, four months of ESDC assessment, then the work permit. For a low-wage role, start with two months of advertising. If the position qualifies for the Global Talent Stream, the assessment stage collapses to about two weeks, which is why technology employers with eligible occupations should check that route first.

How Long Is an LMIA Valid For?

A positive LMIA is valid for six months from the date on the decision letter. This has been the rule for applications received on or after May 1, 2024.

The six-month window is the period in which the employer must notify the worker and provide the letter, and the worker must submit their work permit application to IRCC. Submission is what matters. If the application is filed on day 179, the LMIA is valid even though IRCC will take months longer to decide.

If the window closes before the worker applies, the LMIA is dead. There is no extension and no revival. The employer must file a new application and pay the fee again.

Do not confuse three separate dates. The LMIA expiry date is the deadline to apply for the permit. The work duration is the employment length ESDC recommends. The work permit expiry date is set by IRCC and can differ from both. Full details on how these interact are published by ESDC on the official LMIA expiry page.

Shorter validity periods do occur, most commonly for seasonal agricultural positions tied to a harvest window. The expiry date is printed on the letter, and it is the first thing to check when it arrives.

LMIA Application Process Step by Step

Step 1: Define the Position and Set the Wage

Fix the job title, the accurate NOC code based on actual duties rather than title, the detailed duties, the hourly wage and the working conditions. Compare that wage against the July 2026 threshold to establish your stream, and against Job Bank data for the occupation and region to establish that it is genuine.

Two common failures start here: selecting a lower-skilled NOC to justify a lower wage, and pasting a generic job description that does not match the NOC.

Step 2: Run the Recruitment Campaign

Advertise for four consecutive weeks for a high-wage position or eight consecutive weeks for a low-wage one, within the three months before you file. Use Job Bank plus at least two other methods, and for low-wage positions add a documented youth-targeted method. Keep at least one activity live until the decision is issued.

Your advertisement must state the wage, the duties, the requirements and the business location. Beyond posting, you must track applicants, respond to them, and interview where appropriate. Passive recruitment is visible to an officer and is a leading cause of refusal.

Step 3: Build the Recruitment Report

This is the part of the file officers read most closely. It needs the total number of applicants, a breakdown of qualified versus unqualified candidates, interview details, and specific job-related reasons for each rejection.

"Candidate not suitable" fails. "Candidate does not have the required three years of commercial kitchen experience and is not available for the posted evening shifts" works, because it is objective and tied to the advertised requirements.

Step 4: Assemble the Application Package

Complete the forms for your stream, attach the recruitment report, include the transition plan if you are filing high-wage, provide the signed job offer, and pay the $1,000 fee.

Business legitimacy documents typically include the business licence or registration, CRA payroll and tax filings such as a PD7A or T4 summary, financial statements, and proof of active operations through contracts or invoices. Every figure has to match across every document.

Step 5: Respond to Service Canada Review

Expect follow-up emails, requests for further documents and, in many files, an employer interview. Officers ask why you could not hire locally, how you assessed candidates, and how the role fits your operations. Your answers must match what you wrote.

Step 6: Receive the Decision

A positive decision confirms the hire will not harm the labour market. A negative decision comes with reasons, most often weak recruitment, a wage out of step with the market, inconsistent job details, or doubts about whether the business is genuinely operating.

Step 7: The Worker Applies for a Work Permit

The worker submits the LMIA number, decision letter and job offer to IRCC within the six-month validity window. Any mismatch between the LMIA and the permit application creates delay or refusal at this final stage.

LMIA Documents Required From Employers

• Proof of recruitment, including advertisement screenshots with visible dates, the applicant log, interview notes and rejection reasons
• Business legitimacy documents such as registration, CRA filings, financial statements and proof of operations
• A signed employment agreement setting out wages, hours, benefits and conditions
• A transition plan for high-wage applications that are not exempt
• Confirmation that no recruitment fee has been charged to the worker
• Low-wage files only: evidence of youth-targeted recruitment, housing arrangements and transportation coverage
• Sector-specific material where applicable, such as union consultation or health and safety documentation

LMIA Compliance and Employer Inspections

A positive decision is the start of your obligations, not the end. ESDC can inspect an employer for up to six years, and you must retain all relevant records for that period: payroll, time and attendance, the LMIA and job offer, housing documentation for low-wage positions, and proof that the worker received the official worker rights document.

Inspectors can attend without notice and can interview workers privately. The conditions being tested are simple: are the wage, occupation and working conditions substantially the same as what was approved, is the workplace free of abuse, and are the records there to prove it.

Does an LMIA Still Give Express Entry Points?

No. On March 25, 2025, IRCC removed the additional Comprehensive Ranking System points for arranged employment. The 50 points for most eligible offers and the 200 points for senior management roles are gone, and the removal applied to LMIA-exempt employer-specific offers as well.

An LMIA-backed job offer still matters for permanent residence, but through different routes. It can satisfy the eligibility requirements of the Federal Skilled Trades Program and certain Federal Skilled Worker cases, and it remains central to a number of Provincial Nominee Program employer streams. It no longer moves a CRS score.

When Is an LMIA Not Required?

Some foreign nationals can work in Canada without one, under the International Mobility Program, where the hire serves a broader Canadian interest or an international obligation. Common categories include:

• Workers covered by trade agreements such as CUSMA
• Intra-company transferees
• The Francophone Mobility Program, for French-speaking workers destined outside Quebec
• Positions of significant benefit to Canada, including certain self-employed people in cultural fields, researchers and academics
• Charitable and religious workers

These workers still need a work permit, and the employer still has compliance obligations, including submitting the offer of employment and paying the employer compliance fee.

Why Work With SEP Immigration

Our licensed consultants manage the file end to end: stream and wage analysis against the current thresholds, a defensible recruitment campaign, the recruitment report officers actually accept, the full submission, and the work permit application that follows. We tell you before you spend the $1,000 whether your position and your city can realistically support a positive decision.