Canada Freezes Low-Wage LMIAs in 30 Cities From 9 October 2026

Canada has widened its freeze on low-wage work permits. From 9 October 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) refuses to process low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications for jobs in 30 census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Last quarter the list held 26. Halifax, Fredericton, Kingston, St. Catharines-Niagara, Regina and Lethbridge now join the freeze. Kamloops and Chilliwack drop off the list.

The new rates apply to LMIA applications submitted from 9 October 2026 to 7 January 2027. ESDC says the next update takes place on 8 January 2027. If you hold a Canadian job offer, or you plan to move to Canada on an employer-sponsored work permit, this change decides whether your employer is able to file at all.

What changed on 9 October

Since 26 September 2024, ESDC has refused to process a low-wage LMIA when both of these conditions apply at the time of submission:

• the offered wage sits below the provincial or territorial hourly wage threshold, and
• the work location sits inside a CMA with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.

ESDC refreshes the unemployment table every three months. On 9 October 2026 the department posted new rates. Six CMAs crossed the 6% line this quarter:

• Halifax, Nova Scotia: 6.1%, up from 5.9%
• Fredericton, New Brunswick: 6.2%, up from 5.3%
• Kingston, Ontario: 6.3%, up from 5.3%
• St. Catharines-Niagara, Ontario: 6.5%, up from 5.8%
• Regina, Saskatchewan: 6.7%, up from 5.9%
• Lethbridge, Alberta: 6.0%, up from 5.4%

Lethbridge sits exactly on the line. The rule says 6% or higher, so Lethbridge falls inside the freeze. Two British Columbia cities moved the other way. Kamloops fell from 7.0% to 3.6%, and Chilliwack fell from 7.9% to 5.6%. Employers in both cities are again able to file low-wage LMIAs, subject to every other program rule.

The full list of frozen CMAs

These 30 CMAs have an unemployment rate of 6% or higher for applications submitted between 9 October 2026 and 7 January 2027, according to the ESDC table:

• Atlantic Canada: St. John's (6.4%), Halifax (6.1%), Moncton (8.1%), Fredericton (6.2%)
• Quebec: Montréal (7.2%), Ottawa-Gatineau (7.9%, shared with Ontario)
• Ontario: Kingston (6.3%), Belleville-Quinte West (6.4%), Peterborough (6.3%), Oshawa (9.8%), Toronto (7.5%), Hamilton (7.4%), St. Catharines-Niagara (6.5%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (7.6%), Brantford (6.3%), Guelph (7.5%), London (9.1%), Windsor (7.9%), Barrie (6.2%), Greater Sudbury (6.2%)
• Prairies: Regina (6.7%), Saskatoon (6.5%), Lethbridge (6.0%), Calgary (6.4%), Red Deer (6.9%), Edmonton (7.6%)
• British Columbia: Kelowna (8.6%), Abbotsford-Mission (7.6%), Vancouver (7.0%), Nanaimo (6.6%)

Eleven CMAs stay open for low-wage LMIAs this quarter. These are Saint John (5.5%), Saguenay (3.7%), Québec City (4.3%), Sherbrooke (4.2%), Trois-Rivières (5.7%), Drummondville (3.8%), Thunder Bay (4.6%), Winnipeg (5.9%), Kamloops (3.6%), Chilliwack (5.6%) and Victoria (5.8%). Winnipeg and Victoria sit close to the line, so a small rise in January would close them too.

Oshawa now has the highest rate on the table at 9.8%. London follows at 9.1% and Kelowna at 8.6%. Most of Ontario's large job markets sit inside the freeze.

Who counts as low-wage

The freeze only touches positions below the hourly wage threshold. ESDC sets the threshold at the provincial or territorial median hourly wage plus 20%. For LMIAs received on or after 17 July 2026, the thresholds are:

• Alberta: $37.50
• British Columbia: $38.40
• Manitoba: $31.33
• New Brunswick: $31.73
• Newfoundland and Labrador: $33.60
• Northwest Territories: $48.00
• Nova Scotia: $31.96
• Nunavut: $45.00
• Ontario: $36.92
• Prince Edward Island: $31.20
• Quebec: $36.00
• Saskatchewan: $34.62
• Yukon: $45.60

A job in Toronto paying $30 an hour falls under the low-wage stream and stays frozen. A job in Toronto paying $37 an hour or more goes through the high-wage stream, where this freeze does not apply. ESDC warns employers not to raise a wage only to dodge a stream. The offered wage must match what Canadians and permanent residents earn in the same job and location. An adjusted wage built to avoid a rule risks a negative LMIA.

Jobs exempt from the freeze

ESDC keeps processing low-wage LMIAs for certain sectors and roles, even inside a frozen CMA:

• occupations in primary agriculture
• construction (NAICS 23)
• food manufacturing (NAICS 311)
• hospitals (NAICS 622)
• nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623)
• in-home caregivers in a private household under NOC 31301 (registered nurses), 32101 (licensed practical nurses), 44100 (home childcare providers) and 44101 (home support workers and personal care attendants)
• positions in support of permanent residence only, with no work permit application
• short-duration jobs, generally 120 calendar days or less, which are truly temporary or highly mobile

For the short-duration exemption, the employer uploads a written request named "Exemption request" to LMIA Online with the application. ESDC gives travelling carnival and fair operators, technicians for proprietary equipment repair and one-time events as examples. In Quebec CMAs, in-home caregiver roles qualify only when the person receiving care has medical needs, and the employer must attach a physician's note.

What the freeze means if you already work in Canada

The freeze stops new low-wage LMIA filings. Your current work permit stays valid until the expiry date printed on the permit. The problem starts at renewal. If your job sits below the wage threshold in a frozen CMA, your employer is unable to obtain a new low-wage LMIA for the same role until the city drops below 6%.

Plan ahead with these points in mind:

• Check your permit expiry date. If your permit runs out before 8 January 2027, the next table update arrives too late for you.
• Ask about an exempt sector. Construction, food manufacturing, hospitals and nursing homes keep LMIA access.
• Review the high-wage stream. A genuine promotion to a role at or above the threshold moves the filing out of the freeze.
• Look at LMIA-exempt routes. A post-graduation work permit, a spousal open work permit or a provincial nominee pathway sits outside the LMIA system.
• Apply before expiry. If you file a work permit extension before your current permit expires and stay in Canada, maintained status lets you keep working under your old conditions until IRCC decides.

CIC News reports IRCC extended the window for processing a work permit extension alongside an LMIA from 30 to 60 days on 21 August 2026. This window helps only when your employer is still able to file an LMIA.

What employers should check before filing

The unemployment rate in force on the day you submit the LMIA decides the outcome, not the day ESDC assesses the file. Use these steps before you file:

• Enter the full postal code of the work location in the Statistics Canada Census of Population search.
• Look at the "Census metropolitan area / Census agglomeration" result. A census agglomeration, or no result at this level, means the application stays eligible.
• If the result shows a CMA, match the CMA to the ESDC rate table for the submission date.
• Confirm your workforce stays within the 10% cap on low-wage positions, or 20% for construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing care and listed caregiver roles.
• Advertise for at least 8 consecutive weeks within the 3 months before you apply, including Job Bank with Job Match and Direct Apply.

The LMIA processing fee costs $1,000 per position. ESDC does not charge the fee when the department refuses to process an application, and sends a letter giving the reason.

How long the freeze lasts

ESDC has not set an end date for the measure itself. Only the list of cities changes each quarter. The current rates hold until 7 January 2027, with the next table due on 8 January 2027. In November 2024, the federal government raised the low-wage threshold from the median wage to 120% of the median, which pulled more jobs into the low-wage stream.

Rural areas outside CMAs face a different picture. ESDC runs temporary measures on low-wage hiring caps for rural regions in participating provinces and territories. If you have flexibility on location, a job outside a CMA avoids this freeze entirely.

Planning your move with the new list

If you are weighing a Canadian job offer from abroad, start with three questions. Where is the job located? What does the job pay against the provincial threshold? Does the employer belong to an exempt sector? A non-exempt low-wage offer in Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver stays blocked until at least January 2027. A similar offer in Winnipeg, Québec City or Victoria still qualifies for processing today.

Ask your employer for the LMIA submission date and the stream before you resign from your current job or book flights. Keep copies of your offer letter, wage details and the NOC code. Recheck the ESDC table on 8 January 2027, since cities move on and off the list every quarter.