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Pathway guide

Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)

An LMIA is a decision from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) that hiring a temporary foreign worker is likely to have a neutral or positive effect on Canada's labour market. Most employers need a positive LMIA before the worker can apply for an employer-specific work permit, unless an LMIA exemption applies. The hourly wage you offer decides whether the high-wage or low-wage stream applies, and each stream has its own recruitment and worker-protection duties.

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Who it’s for

  • Employers hiring a foreign worker for a job that no LMIA exemption covers
  • Employers extending an LMIA-based worker beyond the end of their work permit
  • Innovative firms and tech employers that can use the Global Talent Stream and its faster processing
  • Employers who want an LMIA to support a worker's permanent residence (check the November 3, 2026 Express Entry change first)
  • Farms, through the agricultural streams (covered briefly here)

What it asks for

  • You need a positive LMIA unless an exemption applies or the worker already has an open work permit.
  • Your offered hourly wage, compared with your province's threshold (median wage plus 20%), decides whether the high-wage or low-wage stream applies.
  • The job must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week) and pay at least the prevailing wage, reviewed every year.
  • High-wage: Job Bank plus 2 other methods (one national) for 4 consecutive weeks, a transition plan, and up to 3 years of employment.
  • Low-wage: 8 consecutive weeks of advertising with youth outreach and 2 under-represented groups, at most 1 year of employment, round-trip travel and affordable housing.
  • Low-wage jobs face a 10% cap (20% in some sectors) and are refused in metropolitan areas with 6% or higher unemployment, with exemptions and rural relief.
  • Your business must be legitimate, eligible and the true employer, with provincial registration where required.
  • You pay $1,000 per position, private health insurance until public coverage starts, and a signed employment agreement by the first day of work.
  • Global Talent Stream: Category A needs a partner referral and at least $38.46 an hour; Category B needs a listed occupation; both need a Labour Market Benefits Plan.
  • A positive LMIA is valid for up to 6 months, and later changes may need a new LMIA.
  • LMIAs to support permanent residence need a business operating at least 1 year outside Quebec and a full-time TEER 0 to 3 job.
  • Extending an LMIA-based worker needs a new LMIA, applied for early; Quebec has a temporary exemption until December 31, 2026.
  • Quebec jobs are filed with the MIFI too, and the worker needs a CAQ.
  • After hiring, you must meet every LMIA condition and keep records for 6 years.

What the employer does

  • Check whether an LMIA exemption or the worker's open work permit means you do not need an LMIA.
  • Compare the guaranteed hourly wage with your province's threshold to find your stream, and confirm it meets the Job Bank prevailing wage.
  • For a low-wage job, check the cap at the work location and whether the location is in a metropolitan area where low-wage LMIAs are refused.
  • In British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia, get the provincial employer registration before you apply.
  • Advertise on Job Bank and at least 2 other ways: 4 consecutive weeks for high-wage jobs, or 8 consecutive weeks with youth and under-represented group outreach for low-wage jobs, within the 3 months before applying, and keep one method running until the decision.
  • Prepare your transition plan (high-wage) or Labour Market Benefits Plan (Global Talent Stream), and gather business legitimacy documents.
  • Apply in LMIA Online (up to 6 months before the start date; in Quebec also file with the MIFI), upload documents and pay $1,000 per position.
  • When the LMIA is positive, send the worker the decision letter and Annex A with the signed employment agreement, and make sure they apply for the work permit before the LMIA expires.
  • From the first day of work, meet every LMIA condition (wage, duties, hours, health insurance, and for low-wage jobs travel and housing), review the wage yearly by January 1, and keep records for 6 years.

Documents you’ll usually need

  • Most recent municipal business licence, or the permit or licence you need to operate
  • Most recent CRA-assessed documents (for example T2 Schedules 100 and 125, T4 Summary or PD7A)
  • Copies of every job ad with dates and places posted, Job Match invitations, and the results (applicants and why they were not hired)
  • Job offer with duties, guaranteed wage, hours, work location and benefits matching the NOC
  • Transition plan (high-wage) or Labour Market Benefits Plan and partner referral form (Global Talent Stream)
  • Provincial employer registration certificate or proof of exemption (BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia)
  • Collective agreement wage section, for unionized positions
  • Payroll records to support the low-wage cap calculation, if asked
  • Signed employment agreement in English or French, by the first day of work
  • Proof of private emergency health insurance for each worker

Fees and timing

  • LMIA processing fee: $1,000 per position, paid by the employer and not refunded if the LMIA is negative or withdrawn.
    Official source
  • Average processing in September 2026: high-wage 98, low-wage 82, permanent resident stream 79, agricultural stream 22 and Global Talent Stream 9 business days.
    Official source
  • Global Talent Stream service standard: 10 business days, met 80% of the time, with work permits processed by IRCC in 2 weeks 80% of the time.
    Official source
  • IRCC says GSS applications will probably take more than 2 weeks while it recovers (help centre, modified 2026-09-28); this includes Global Talent Stream work permits
    Official source
  • You can submit an LMIA up to 6 months before the expected start date.
    Official source
  • Advertising must run 4 consecutive weeks (high-wage) or 8 consecutive weeks (low-wage) within the 3 months before you apply.
    Official source
  • A positive LMIA is valid for up to 6 months; the worker must apply for the work permit by its expiry date.
    Official source
  • Requests to add, remove or change worker names must reach Service Canada at least 15 business days before the LMIA expires.
    Official source
  • Hourly wage thresholds for LMIAs received from July 17, 2026: AB $37.50, BC $38.40, MB $31.33, NB $31.73, NL $33.60, NT $48.00, NS $31.96, NU $45.00, ON $36.92, PE $31.20, QC $36.00, SK $34.62, YT $45.60.
    Official source
  • Unemployment rates for the low-wage refusal to process are updated every 3 months; the current table covers applications to January 7, 2027 and the next update is January 8, 2027.
    Official source
Watch out for
  • For low-wage LMIAs submitted October 9, 2026 to January 7, 2027, 30 metropolitan areas are at 6% or higher unemployment (including Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton), so those applications are not processed unless an exemption applies.
  • Low-wage advertising is now 8 consecutive weeks (up from 4) and must include outreach to youth, according to ESDC's July 9, 2026 news release.
  • Low-wage LMIAs in the Montréal and Laval economic regions are paused until December 31, 2026.
  • Rural relief on the low-wage cap (keeping your current share, or a 15% cap) runs only until March 31, 2027 and depends on your province.
  • Announced for November 3, 2026 (not yet in force): Express Entry job offers will no longer need an LMIA, an LMIA will add no extra points, and job offer points will count only for high-wage occupations.
  • Since September 18, 2026, ESDC states that staffing agencies cannot be the LMIA employer for workers placed with other businesses, and workers cannot be treated as independent contractors.
  • Raising the wage only to reach the high-wage stream can lead to a negative LMIA; changing streams means withdrawing and paying a new fee.
  • Employers that have not had an LMIA worker in 6 years face a review of their efforts to keep the workplace free of abuse.
  • A positive LMIA is not the end: inspections can bring penalties up to $100,000 per violation and $1 million a year, and bans.
  • ESDC prioritizes certain occupations (mostly health care, agriculture and food processing) outside Quebec, which has its own list, but any refusal to process overrides that priority.

Official pages

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Checked against official sources on October 16, 2026. The employer assessment checks your answers against these requirements, and a lawyer reviews anything unusual.