Canada Extends Low-Wage LMIA Duration to Two Years, Adds Early Childhood Educators to Exemption List
The Canadian federal government is extending the maximum duration of low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments from one year to two years and adding early childhood educators to the list of professions exempt from regional hiring restrictions.
The Federal Government of Canada is extending the period a business can employ a low-wage temporary foreign worker. Under the change, a low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) will have a maximum duration of two years instead of one, allowing businesses to employ low-wage temporary foreign workers for longer periods.
Restrictions on applications to hire temporary foreign workers in cities with more than six per cent unemployment will remain in place. However, early childhood educators are being added to the list of professions exempted from the six per cent unemployment restrictions. Health care, construction, and food processing are already included in the list of professions exempted from these regional hiring limits.
Ottawa is proposing additional changes to exempt other professions from the six per cent rule and allow employers to hire more temporary foreign workers. These further reforms are expected to take effect on March 1, 2027, if endorsed by provinces and territories.