Effective July 17, 2026, the Canadian government has raised the hourly wage thresholds dividing the high- and low-wage streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
The wage being offered for the position will determine if the employer needs to apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under the stream for high-wage positions or the stream for low-wage positions.
To determine which stream the employer needs to apply under, they should compare the wage they’re offering for the position on their LMIA application with the hourly wage threshold shown in the Hourly wage threshold by province or territory table.
If the offered wage is:
- at or above the provincial or territorial hourly wage threshold, they must apply under the stream for high-wage positions and meet the program requirements of this stream;
- below the provincial or territorial hourly wage threshold, they must apply under the stream for low-wage positions and meet the program requirements of this stream.
Employers in regions with high unemployment cannot obtain or renew TFWP work permits for positions with wages below the threshold. Regions with an unemployment rate of 6% or more which are affected by this rule are listed here. Certain occupations are exempted from this refusal to process.
Other program requirements for low-wage positions are described here.
Erickson Insights and Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or if you have case-specific questions.