LMIA Services for Canadian Employers

What an LMIA is

A Labour Market Impact Assessment is a decision by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), through Service Canada, on whether hiring a temporary foreign worker for a specific job will have a positive or neutral effect on Canada's labour market. To get one, you show that you tried to hire Canadians and permanent residents first, and that the wage and working conditions meet the standard for the role and region.

A positive LMIA is not a work permit. Once you have it, the worker applies to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for an employer-specific work permit tied to your business and that position.

High-wage or low-wage: the wage decides the rules

ESDC sorts every position by its wage. If the wage is at or above the provincial or territorial threshold — the median hourly wage plus 20% — the position goes through the high-wage stream. In Ontario that threshold is $36.92 an hour for applications received from July 17, 2026. Below it, the low-wage stream applies.

High-wage positions need a transition plan showing how you will reduce your reliance on temporary foreign workers. Low-wage positions carry more conditions, including a cap on the share of low-wage temporary foreign workers at each work location: generally 10%, or 20% in construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities.

Hiring for low-wage roles in Toronto right now

ESDC does not process low-wage LMIA applications for jobs located in a census metropolitan area where the unemployment rate is 6% or higher. The Toronto area's rate is 7.5% for applications received from October 9, 2026 to January 7, 2027, so most low-wage positions in Toronto can't currently be filled through an LMIA.

There are exceptions — including construction, food manufacturing, hospitals and nursing care, primary agriculture, certain caregiver positions, short-duration positions and LMIAs that only support permanent residence — and the rates are updated every quarter. We check your occupation, wage and work location before you spend anything on recruitment, and recommend an LMIA-exempt route or a local hiring plan when an LMIA isn't viable.

Recruitment and advertising requirements

Before you apply, you must advertise the job and show genuine efforts to hire Canadians and permanent residents. The rules depend on the stream:

• High-wage positions: advertise for at least 4 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before you apply, on Job Bank plus at least two other methods, one of them national in scope.
• Low-wage positions: advertise for at least 8 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before you apply, on Job Bank, with outreach to young people and at least two more methods that each target a different under-represented group, such as Indigenous people, newcomers or persons with disabilities.
• In both streams you must use Job Bank's Job Match service and consider people who apply through Direct Apply, and at least one recruitment activity must continue until ESDC makes its decision.
• Keep records of every advertisement, applicant and interview: ESDC can ask for them, and so can a compliance inspector later.

Fees, timelines and who pays

ESDC charges a $1,000 processing fee for each position requested, with exemptions for certain caregiver and on-farm primary agriculture positions. The employer must pay it and cannot recover it from the worker. Processing times vary by stream and region, so we plan your hiring timeline around ESDC's current published processing times.

Recruitment costs are the employer's too. In Ontario, the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act prohibits charging foreign workers recruitment fees, and employers cannot recover recruitment costs from them.

Your obligations after the LMIA

A positive LMIA comes with conditions. You must pay the wage and provide the working conditions you described, make reasonable efforts to keep the workplace free of abuse, and keep your records for six years. ESDC and IRCC inspect employers, and violations can lead to monetary penalties, bans from the program and being named publicly.

Only the business that actually employs the worker can apply. Staffing or employment agencies that recruit workers for other businesses are not considered employers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

When you may not need an LMIA

Some workers can be hired without an LMIA. Instead, the employer submits an offer of employment and pays the employer compliance fee through IRCC's Employer Portal. Common routes include:

• Francophone Mobility, for French-speaking workers hired outside Quebec
• International Experience Canada (IEC), for young people from partner countries
• Intra-company transfers of executives, managers and specialists
• Professionals covered by trade agreements such as CUSMA and CETA
• Workers who already hold an open work permit, such as a post-graduation or spousal open work permit, who need neither an LMIA nor an offer submission

How Global Link helps

• Assess the role, wage, occupation code and location to confirm the right stream, or an LMIA-exempt option
• Plan and run a recruitment campaign that meets ESDC's advertising rules, and document it
• Prepare and file the LMIA application, including the transition plan for high-wage positions
• Source candidates in Canada and abroad when you don't already have a worker in mind
• Prepare the worker's work permit application once the LMIA is approved
• Support onboarding and help you stay compliant after the worker arrives

How we work with employers

1. 01

   Role and wage review

   We confirm the occupation, wage, hours and work location, and tell you whether an LMIA is viable or an exemption fits better.

2. 02

   Recruitment campaign

   We run the advertising your stream requires — Job Bank, Job Match, Direct Apply and the other methods — and keep the evidence ESDC expects.

3. 03

   LMIA application

   We prepare and submit the application to Service Canada and handle the officer's questions until a decision is made.

4. 04

   Work permit

   With a positive LMIA, we prepare the worker's work permit application to IRCC and help plan their arrival.

5. 05

   Arrival and compliance

   We help with onboarding and record-keeping so you're ready if ESDC or IRCC inspects.

Frequently asked questions