On September 10, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams except the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Global Talent Stream. Global Talent Stream - 10 business days Agricultural stream – 25 business days (+2 days) Seasonal Agricultu

On August 7, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams except the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Permanent Residence Stream. Global Talent Stream - 10 business days (+1 day) Agricultural stream – 23 business days (+1 day) Seasonal

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has updated the provincial and territorial hourly wage thresholds for hiring temporary foreign workers, effective July 17, 2026. The wage offered for a position determines whether an employer must apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under the high-wage or low-wage stream. For applications received on or after July 17, 2026, the threshold increases to $36.92 in Ontario, $37.50 in Alberta, and $38.40 in British Colu

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) announced that compliance penalties under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) more than doubled to over 10.2 million dollars during the recent fiscal year. Of nearly 1,500 inspections completed, 12 percent of employers were found non-compliant, resulting in substantial fines and the ban of 30 employers from the program. Federal authorities also introduced stricter rules for the low-wage stream, requiring businesses to ad

On July 9, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has decreased for all streams except the High-wage and Low-wage streams. Global Talent Stream - 9 business days (-1 day) Agricultural stream – 22 business days Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 9 business days (-2 da

On June 9, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams except the Permanent Residence Stream. Global Talent Stream - 10 business days (+2 days) Agricultural stream – 22 business days (+1 day) Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 11 business day

On May 15, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams except the Permanent Residence Stream and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. Global Talent Stream - 8 business days (+1 day) Agricultural stream – 21 business days (+5 days) Seasonal A

The Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA) has sent an open letter to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, highlighting systemic failures in the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process. Representing over 540 lawyers, CILA argues that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has shifted toward a culture of refusal, where officers apply subjective criteria and unpublished benchmarks to deny applications. Key issues identi

On April 9, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has decreased for all streams except the Agricultural and Low-wage streams, which had a very slight increase. Global Talent Stream - 7 business days (-5 days) Agricultural stream – 16 business days (+1 day) Seasonal Agr

The Government of Canada announced temporary measures allowing rural employers to increase the proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers they can hire from 10% to 15% of their workforce. The change is intended to help rural businesses address persistent labour shortages and will apply from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, following a request from a province or territory. At the same time, sector-specific rules will remain in place: employers in the health care,

On March 4, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has decreased for all streams except the Global Talent and High-wage streams. Global Talent Stream - 12 business days (+1 day) Agricultural stream – 15 business days (-4 days) Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 10

On February 10, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the average LMIA processing time has increased for all streams. Global Talent Stream - 11 business days (+1 day) Agricultural stream – 19 business days (+4 days) Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 16 business days (+6 days) Permanent Residence

On November 6, 2025, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under various streams. Based on statistics from all processing centres, the current average LMIA processing time has increased across all streams. Global Talent Stream - 10 business days (+2 days) Agricultural stream – 16 business days (+3 days) Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program - 11 business days (+4 days) Permanen

On September 3, 2025, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact...

On August 5, 2025, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact...

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced plans to develop a specialized foreign labour stream targeting...

On June 10, 2025, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated the processing times for the Labour Market Impact Assessment...

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) are cutting hundreds of positions as part of federal...