Low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) processing will resume in eight Canadian regions beginning January 9, 2026, after unemployment rates in those areas fell below the federal threshold of six per cent.
The federal government only processes low-wage LMIAs under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in regions where unemployment is below six per cent. As a result, employers in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Kingston, Montréal, Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton will once again be eligible to submit low-wage LMIA applications in the first quarter of 2026.
These regions were previously excluded from low-wage LMIA processing in the final quarter of 2025 after unemployment rates exceeded the six per cent threshold. Updated labour data shows those rates have since declined.
A positive or neutral LMIA is required for most foreign nationals to apply for or renew a work permit under the TFWP. A position is considered low-wage if it pays less than 120 per cent of the regional median wage or below what the employer pays existing workers in similar roles.
Certain occupations remain exempt from the low-wage LMIA freeze regardless of location, including roles in primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, select in-home caregiver positions, and short-duration jobs meeting specific criteria.
No new census metropolitan areas (CMAs) were added to the list of ineligible regions as of January 8, 2026. However, several major CMAs — including Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary, and Edmonton — remain ineligible due to unemployment rates at or above six per cent.
The next federal update to the LMIA eligibility list is expected on April 10, 2026.
The low-wage LMIA processing pause was first announced in August 2024 as part of federal efforts to encourage employers to hire workers already in Canada in regions with higher unemployment. Since then, the government has published quarterly unemployment-based eligibility lists to guide employers and foreign workers.