ESDC / Service Canada
Assesses the employer, the genuineness of the job offer, wages and working conditions, recruitment efforts and the expected labour-market impact.
LMIA overview
What is a Labour Market Impact Assessment?
LMIA stands for Labour Market Impact Assessment. It is the federal assessment that a Canadian employer may need before hiring a foreign worker through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
The employer—not the worker—applies to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The application is processed and adjudicated by Service Canada, which assesses whether hiring the foreign worker is likely to have a positive, neutral or negative effect on Canada’s labour market.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
After a positive LMIA, IRCC separately decides whether the foreign worker qualifies for the employer-specific work permit and is admissible to Canada.
Confirm an LMIA is required
First determine whether the proposed work requires a permit and whether an LMIA exemption is available.
Prepare and recruit
Select the correct stream, occupation and wage, then complete the required Canadian recruitment and supporting evidence.
Employer applies
The employer submits the LMIA application to Service Canada. An officer may request documents or interview the employer before issuing a positive or negative decision.
Worker applies
If the LMIA is positive, the employer gives the decision documents to the worker, who then applies to IRCC for the work permit.
2
Two decisions. One coordinated strategy.
An LMIA and a work permit are legally distinct. A positive LMIA supports the worker’s application, but it does not itself authorize work, guarantee a work permit or guarantee admission to Canada.
Check the alternatives before advertising
An LMIA may not be necessary.
Canada has many LMIA-exempt work-permit categories. The right first step is to assess the worker’s citizenship, language, education, Canadian status, corporate relationships and proposed role before committing to an LMIA campaign.
“LMIA-exempt” does not necessarily mean employer-free or automatic. Many exemptions still require a genuine Canadian job offer, an Employer Portal filing, the employer compliance fee and a separate work-permit application. Open work permits operate differently.
Employer-specific and LMIA-exemptOpen work permitAccelerated LMIA
Employer-specific · LMIA-exempt
Francophone Mobility
A French-speaking worker with a qualifying job offer outside Quebec may be eligible. The worker must generally demonstrate intermediate French speaking and listening—equivalent to NCLC 5 or higher—and the offer can be in most TEER categories, with a limited primary-agriculture exclusion.
Official Francophone Mobility criteria →Employer-specific · LMIA-exempt
Intra-company transfers
A qualifying executive, senior manager or specialized-knowledge employee may be transferred from an established foreign enterprise to a related Canadian parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate. The corporate relationship, active operations, prior foreign employment and Canadian role all require careful evidence.
Employer-specific · LMIA-exempt
Free trade agreements
CUSMA, CETA, CPTPP and other agreements can provide permits for certain professionals, traders, investors and intra-company transferees. Eligibility turns on citizenship, the specific agreement, occupation, credentials, duties and the structure of the Canadian engagement.
Explore agreement-based permits →Employer-specific · LMIA-exempt
Significant benefit
Some workers and entrepreneurs may qualify where their work would create a significant economic, social or cultural benefit for Canada. This is a discretionary, evidence-heavy category—not a general alternative simply because an LMIA would be difficult.
Open or employer-specific · LMIA-exempt
International Experience Canada
Citizens of participating countries may qualify within the applicable age limits and quotas. Working Holiday normally provides an open permit; Young Professionals and International Co-op permits are tied to a specific employer and must support professional development or eligible studies.
Review IEC categories →Open work permit · LMIA-exempt
Post-graduation work permits
Eligible graduates of eligible Canadian schools and programs may obtain an open work permit. Not every school or program qualifies, and current language, field-of-study, program-length and application-timing rules must be checked before enrolment and again before applying.
Check PGWP eligibility →Open work permit · LMIA-exempt
Spousal and partner permits
Some spouses or common-law partners of qualifying workers, students and permanent-residence applicants may be eligible for an open work permit. These categories have been narrowed and depend on the principal applicant’s status, program, occupation and permit duration.
Open work permit · LMIA-exempt
Bridging open work permits
Certain permanent-residence applicants may bridge the period between an expiring work permit and a decision on their PR application. An Express Entry profile alone is not enough: the person must meet the requirements of an eligible PR class and the applicable filing and status rules.
Review bridging permit rules →Fast—but not LMIA-exempt
Global Talent Stream
The Global Talent Stream is an accelerated LMIA pathway for qualifying innovative employers referred under Category A or employers filling an occupation on the Category B list. There is no minimum recruitment or advertising requirement, although employers must describe any Canadian recruitment efforts. The employer still needs a positive LMIA and a Labour Market Benefits Plan before the worker applies for a work permit. Current service standards target 10-business-day LMIA processing in 80% of complete cases.
See requirements and the complete Category B occupation list →The best category may avoid months of unnecessary recruitment.We compare the LMIA route with every credible exemption, then coordinate the employer filing and the worker’s application.
Assess the Best Work-Permit RouteBuild the case before the advertising starts
The job, wage and recruitment strategy must fit together.
An LMIA is not simply a form. The employer must establish a genuine labour need, make reasonable efforts to recruit Canadians and permanent residents, and present a credible explanation of why no qualified applicant was hired.
The occupation title and NOC code must match the actual duties. The experience and education requirements must be reasonable. The wage must satisfy the applicable prevailing-wage rule. Recruitment must use the correct methods, wording and timing, and the employer must fairly consider applicants on job-related criteria.
Service Canada may interview the employer or request detailed answers and additional records in writing. Inconsistencies between the advertisements, application, employment agreement, interview answers and eventual workplace can undermine the application and create future compliance risk.
A disciplined employer process
From workforce need to compliant employment.
Assess the need
Review the business, position, location, staffing history, proposed worker and realistic Canadian labour supply.
Structure the role
Select the correct NOC and title; align duties, hours, experience, education, language and wage.
Recruit properly
Run the required Job Bank and additional advertising for the correct period and keep one activity active until decision.
Assess applicants
The employer reviews Canadian and permanent-resident applicants fairly and records specific, lawful, job-related results.
File the LMIA
Submit the recruitment report, business-legitimacy evidence, transition plan where required and complete application.
Answer Service Canada
Prepare for the employer interview and respond accurately to any written questions or requests for evidence.
Apply for the work permit
After a positive LMIA, prepare the worker’s IRCC application, supporting documents and admissibility evidence.
Employ and comply
Provide the promised job, duties, wage and conditions; retain records and prepare for possible inspections.
Choose the correct stream
High-wage and low-wage positions have different obligations.
The classification is based on the wage offered compared with the threshold for the province or territory where the employee will work. These thresholds are effective July 17, 2026 and can change.
At or above the threshold
High-wage stream
- At least three recruitment activities, normally including Job Bank and two occupation-appropriate methods.
- At least one additional method must be national in scope.
- Advertising must normally run for at least four consecutive weeks in the three months before filing.
- A transition plan is generally required to show how the employer will recruit, retain and train Canadians and reduce reliance on the program, unless an exemption applies.
- All Job Bank matches rated four stars or more within the first 30 days must be invited to apply.
Below the threshold
Low-wage stream
- Job Bank, a method targeting youth and two additional methods targeting different underrepresented groups are generally required.
- Advertising must normally run for at least eight consecutive weeks in the three months before filing.
- All Job Bank matches rated two stars or more within the first 30 days must be invited to apply.
- Caps and the metropolitan-area unemployment refusal rule may prevent processing.
- Employer obligations may include round-trip transportation, suitable affordable housing and private emergency health insurance until provincial coverage begins.
The threshold does not set the final wage.The offered wage must also meet the prevailing wage: generally the higher of the Job Bank median wage for the occupation and location, or the wage range paid to current employees doing the same work at the same location with comparable skills and experience. Guaranteed wages count; tips, bonuses, commissions and most other compensation do not.
Current stream thresholds
Provincial and territorial wage thresholds
Effective July 17, 2026. An offer at or above the listed amount is assessed under the high-wage stream; an offer below it is assessed under the low-wage stream.
Alberta$37.50
British Columbia$38.40
Manitoba$31.33
New Brunswick$31.73
Newfoundland & Labrador$33.60
Northwest Territories$48.00
Nova Scotia$31.96
Nunavut$45.00
Ontario$36.92
Prince Edward Island$31.20
Quebec$36.00
Saskatchewan$34.62
Yukon$45.60
Hourly amounts in Canadian dollars. The correct stream and prevailing wage must be confirmed immediately before recruitment and filing.
6%+unemployment in the applicable CMA may trigger refusal to process certain low-wage applications
A location rule—not a minimum wage
Some low-wage LMIAs will not be processed.
For certain low-wage positions in a Census Metropolitan Area with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher at the time of submission, Service Canada will refuse to process the application. The government updates the CMA table quarterly, so the exact work location and current table must be checked before filing.
There are exemptions, including specified positions in primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing and residential care, certain in-home caregiver occupations, permanent-residence-only applications and some short-duration or highly mobile work. Separate low-wage caps also apply: generally 10% of the employer’s workforce at a work location, with a 20% cap for specified sectors and occupations.
Do not spend weeks advertising before confirming that the application can be processed.
Recruitment evidence decides cases
Advertisements are only the beginning.
The employer must make genuine, reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadians and permanent residents before offering the job to a foreign worker. Ads must contain the required information and use methods appropriate to the occupation and stream. At least one recruitment activity must normally remain active until Service Canada makes its decision.
The employer should preserve every advertisement, invoice, screenshot, resume, interview note and decision record. Recruitment records must be retained for at least six years. The report should explain what happened to every applicant using objective criteria tied to the advertised requirements—not generalized conclusions.
Important division of responsibility
We advise on the strategy, draft and place compliant advertisements, prepare assessment templates, organize the evidence and present the LMIA. We do not source workers, recruit candidates, screen resumes, conduct interviews or choose who the employer hires. Those employment decisions remain with the employer, subject to applicable recruiter and employment laws.
A defensible recruitment file
- Correct NOC and duty analysis
- Required ad content and wage
- Job Bank and stream-specific methods
- Start and end dates for each activity
- Job Match invitations and Direct Apply records
- Every application received
- Interview and assessment notes
- Specific reasons for each lawful decision
- Recruitment summary and results
- Proof one activity remained ongoing
Approval is not the finish line
Build for the inspection that may come later.
ESDC/Service Canada may inspect an employer during the temporary worker’s employment and for years afterward. Inspections may be announced or unannounced, on site or virtual, and may review whether the worker received the promised occupation, duties, wages and working conditions; whether the workplace was abuse-free; and whether the information in the LMIA was accurate.
Employers must retain relevant records for six years from the first day of employment. Non-compliance can lead to warnings, administrative monetary penalties, bans from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, publication of the employer’s name and suspension or revocation of LMIAs.
Details employers often miss
Every fact must remain consistent.
Business legitimacyThe employer must prove the business and job offer are genuine and financially able to meet their commitments.
Province-specific rulesEmployer registration or other provincial requirements may apply; Quebec has an additional process with MIFI.
Language requirementsEnglish or French are ordinarily the only languages that may be required unless another language is genuinely essential and justified.
Government feesThe LMIA processing fee is generally $1,000 per position and cannot be paid by or recovered from the worker.
Employment agreementThe worker must receive a signed agreement with the same occupation, wage and working conditions promised in the application.
Annual wage reviewThe prevailing wage must be reviewed and updated as required; it can never fall below the wage in the positive LMIA.
Employer strategy consultation
Hire internationally with a plan you can defend.
Hiring a foreign worker can be an excellent strategy for a Canadian employer facing a genuine labour shortage. We help structure the case correctly from the beginning and coordinate the employer’s LMIA with the employee’s work-permit application.
- Employer, position and worker assessment
- High- or low-wage stream and refusal-risk review
- Advertising, evidence and application preparation
- Interview preparation and post-approval compliance advice