Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is rolling out an important regional adjustment that will make it easier for employers in eight urban centres to hire or retain lower-paid international talent. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed that, effective 9 January 2026, Service Canada will once again accept and process Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications for the low-wage stream in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Kingston, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Montréal. All eight Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) saw their unemployment rates drop below the 6 percent threshold that had triggered a freeze on low-wage LMIAs in Q3 2025.([cicnews.com](https://www.cicnews.com/2026/01/canada-to-start-processing-low-wage-lmias-in-eight-more-regions-in-q1-2026-0164611.html?utm_source=openai))
The low-wage stream covers jobs that pay below 120 percent of a region’s median wage. Without a positive or neutral LMIA, employers cannot obtain or renew work permits for most foreign nationals in these positions. Re-opening processing in the eight CMAs gives hospitality, retail, food-processing and support-services firms access to badly needed staff at a time when domestic recruitment pipelines remain thin.
Employers and foreign nationals who need hands-on support pulling together LMIA paperwork or lining up the proper entry documents can turn to VisaHQ for help. The platform’s Canadian portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers step-by-step guidance, customised document checklists and real-time tracking for visa and work-permit applications, allowing HR teams and applicants alike to navigate the process quickly and compliantly.
![Canada resumes low-wage LMIA processing in eight key cities as unemployment rates fall]()
For employers, the change means that job offers issued in Q1 2026 can once again be supported by LMIAs, allowing existing temporary workers to extend their permits and new recruits to enter Canada. Mobility managers should begin reviewing payroll data to confirm that wages meet regional median-wage requirements, and budget additional lead time for compliance inspections—Service Canada has increased post-approval audits over the past year.
Foreign workers already in affected cities on employer-specific permits will welcome the opportunity to renew status without having to relocate to jurisdictions where low-wage LMIAs were still being processed. Newcomers abroad should note that processing times remain eight to ten weeks on average and that some occupations—agriculture, construction and frontline health—were never subject to the freeze.
The list of eligible and ineligible regions is reviewed quarterly; the next update is scheduled for 10 April 2026, meaning businesses have a three-month window to file applications before job market data are reassessed.
The low-wage stream covers jobs that pay below 120 percent of a region’s median wage. Without a positive or neutral LMIA, employers cannot obtain or renew work permits for most foreign nationals in these positions. Re-opening processing in the eight CMAs gives hospitality, retail, food-processing and support-services firms access to badly needed staff at a time when domestic recruitment pipelines remain thin.
Employers and foreign nationals who need hands-on support pulling together LMIA paperwork or lining up the proper entry documents can turn to VisaHQ for help. The platform’s Canadian portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers step-by-step guidance, customised document checklists and real-time tracking for visa and work-permit applications, allowing HR teams and applicants alike to navigate the process quickly and compliantly.
For employers, the change means that job offers issued in Q1 2026 can once again be supported by LMIAs, allowing existing temporary workers to extend their permits and new recruits to enter Canada. Mobility managers should begin reviewing payroll data to confirm that wages meet regional median-wage requirements, and budget additional lead time for compliance inspections—Service Canada has increased post-approval audits over the past year.
Foreign workers already in affected cities on employer-specific permits will welcome the opportunity to renew status without having to relocate to jurisdictions where low-wage LMIAs were still being processed. Newcomers abroad should note that processing times remain eight to ten weeks on average and that some occupations—agriculture, construction and frontline health—were never subject to the freeze.
The list of eligible and ineligible regions is reviewed quarterly; the next update is scheduled for 10 April 2026, meaning businesses have a three-month window to file applications before job market data are reassessed.
