Canada increases wage thresholds for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
- nmredm
- Jul 4
- 3 min read
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has raised the wage limits for companies and foreign nationals applying via the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
This amendment influences which stream of the TFWP foreign nationals may be eligible for, as well as their employers' capacity to apply for the required Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA).
What modifications have occurred to the TFWP?
As of June 27, ESDC had upped the applicable wage threshold under the TFWP in nearly all of Canada's provinces.
This new pay level will take effect for any LMIA applications submitted on or after June 27, 2025:
Province/Territory | Old wage threshold ($ CAD) | New wage threshold ($ CAD) | Percentage increase |
Alberta | 35.40 | 36.00 | 1.69% |
British Columbia | 34.62 | 36.60 | 5.71% |
Manitoba | 30.00 | 30.16 | 0.53% |
New Brunswick | 28.85 | 30.00 | 3.98% |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 31.20 | 32.40 | 3.85% |
Northwest Territories | 47.09 | 48.00 | 1.93% |
Nova Scotia | 28.80 | 30.00 | 4.17% |
Nunavut | 42.00 | 42.00 | 0.00% |
Ontario | 34.07 | 36.00 | 5.66% |
Prince Edward Island | 28.80 | 30.00 | 4.17% |
Quebec | 32.96 | 34.62 | 5.04% |
Saskatchewan | 32.40 | 33.60 | 3.70% |
Yukon | 43.20 | 44.40 | 2.78% |
The relationship between a foreign national's wage and these thresholds determines whether they are qualified for the TFWP's high-wage or low-wage stream.
If a foreign national's wage is at or above the above-mentioned wage threshold (in the province where they work), their employer must apply through the TFWP's high-wage stream.
If a foreign national's wage falls below the wage threshold in the relevant province, their employer must apply through the TFWP's low-wage stream.
Additional repercussions of this change:
The higher threshold impacts the places where companies can apply for LMIAs through the TWFP's low-wage stream.
There is now a ban on the processing of LMIAs under the low-wage stream of the TFWP in locations with an unemployment rate of 6% or greater, which initially went into force on September 26, 2024.
If a job was previously above the threshold but is now below it, the employer will be unable to apply for an LMIA for that role in one of these regions, implying that no foreign citizen will be able to apply for or renew a work permit under the TFWP for that position.
The following table lists the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) where the low-wage LMIA freeze is in effect:
Census Metropolitan Area | Unemployment rate (%) Effective April 4 to July 10, 2025 |
Alberta | |
Calgary | 7.8 |
Edmonton | 7.3 |
Red Deer | 8.4 |
British Columbia | |
Abbotsford-Mission | 6.2 |
Kamloops | 7.1 |
Kelowna | 6.7 |
Nanaimo | 6.0 |
Vancouver | 6.6 |
New Brunswick | |
Fredericton | 6.9 |
Saint John | 7.7 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | |
St. John's | 7.6 |
Ontario | |
Barrie | 7.5 |
Brantford | 7.2 |
Guelph | 6.2 |
Hamilton | 7.3 |
Kingston | 7.2 |
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 8.5 |
Oshawa | 8.0 |
Peterborough | 9.9 |
St. Catharines-Niagara | 7.7 |
Toronto | 8.6 |
Windsor | 9.3 |
Quebec | |
Drummondville | 8.0 |
Montréal | 6.7 |
This embargo is projected to remain in force until at least July 10, 2025.
Additional limits on low-wage LMIAs.
In addition to the foregoing, ESDC has set further restrictions on low-wage LMIAs based on the makeup of a work location's labour force.
Low-wage jobs above the 10% cap
Low-wage LMIA applications will not be approved if they account for more than 10% of the entire workforce at a given work location. Workplaces in some sectors have a higher threshold.
Low-wage occupations in certain sectors exceed the 20% cap.
LMIA applications will not be accepted in the following sectors, subsectors, and occupations if low-wage positions account for more than 20% of the total workforce at a specific work location:
North American Industry Classification (NAICS) group 23 – Construction positions;
NAICS group 311 – Food manufacturing positions;
NAICS group 622 – Hospital positions; and
NAICS group 623 – Nursing and residential care facility positions.
Specific in-home caregiver roles under
National Occupation Classification (NOC) 31301 – Registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse;
NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurse;
NOC 44100 – Home childcare providers; and
NOC 44101 – Attendant for persons with disabilities, home support worker, live-in caregiver, personal care attendant.
ESDC and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) are reviewing the effects of including these in future measures.
Comments