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Low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments submitted on or after 6 November 2026 can now run for up to two years, up from one. Employment and Social Development Canada announced the change on 6 November 2026, and the longer employment period flows through to the work permits issued under those assessments. A second package of reforms — including a higher hiring cap for employers in some provinces — is proposed for 1 March 2027 and is not yet in force.
For a temporary foreign worker on a low-wage permit, the practical effect is straightforward: a work permit backed by a qualifying assessment can now be issued with a validity period of up to two years rather than one. For employers, it means a single hiring process can cover a longer stretch of the employment relationship, which matters most where seasonal or project work runs long.
What has not changed is the rest of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The labour market test, the employer compliance obligations, the 10% workforce cap and the processing moratorium in high-unemployment metropolitan areas all remain in place. The two-year duration applies only to assessments in the low-wage stream submitted from 6 November 2026 onwards.
What changed, and what is still only proposed
| Change | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum duration of a low-wage LMIA | Applications submitted on or after 6 November 2026 may have a maximum duration of up to two years, an increase from the previous one-year maximum | In force |
| Early childhood educators | Added to the priority sectors exempt from the moratorium on processing applications in metropolitan areas with unemployment of 6% or higher | In force |
| Regional occupation access | In large metropolitan areas with unemployment below 6%, and in rural areas of large metropolitan areas and in smaller metropolitan areas of 100,000 to 250,000 people, employers would have targeted access to occupations in the Canadian Occupational Projection System, plus occupations provinces and territories add or remove | Proposed for 1 March 2027, conditional on provincial and territorial opt-in |
| Low-wage hiring cap | Provinces and territories that opt in may permit employers to hire up to 15% of their workforce through the low-wage stream, up from the current 10% maximum; priority sectors continue to operate under the existing 20% limit | Proposed for 1 March 2027, conditional on provincial and territorial opt-in |
| Service delivery funding | $151.5 million over five years for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program | Announced in Budget 2026 |
| Migrant Worker Support Program | $82 million over four years to help temporary foreign workers understand and exercise their rights | Announced in Budget 2026 |
The distinction between the two columns matters more than it first appears. The duration change is a decision the federal government can take on its own, and it applies from the date of the announcement. The regional changes are explicitly contingent on provinces and territories opting in, which means they will not arrive as one national reform on 1 March 2027. They will arrive in stages, and only where a province has agreed to participate.
Who is affected in practice
Workers with permits that are about to expire. The timing question dominates. An employer seeking to keep a worker on a low-wage permit past the current expiry needs a new assessment; a worker whose permit is close to expiry cannot be assured of coverage under a two-year assessment that has not yet been issued. Anyone in that position should ask their employer now whether a new application is being filed, and when.
Employers hiring in low-wage streams. The programme documentation lists the low-wage stream as allowing employers to hire temporary foreign workers “for a maximum of 1 year,” and that language had not been updated on ESDC’s own programme page when we checked it on 10 November 2026 — three days after the announcement. The operative authority is the 6 November news release, and employers with a live application should confirm the treatment of their file with Service Canada rather than rely on the summary line on the programme page.
High-wage and Global Talent Stream hiring. Nothing in this announcement changes the Global Talent Stream, which does not use the low-wage assessment process, or the high-wage stream. Workers already holding permits under those streams are unaffected.
Which jobs count as low-wage
An application falls into the low-wage stream when the wage offered is below the provincial or territorial hourly wage threshold, which ESDC sets at the provincial or territorial median hourly wage plus 20%. The thresholds in force for assessments received on or after 17 July 2026 are:
| Province or territory | Hourly wage threshold (CAD) | Province or territory | Hourly wage threshold (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $37.50 | Northwest Territories | $48.00 |
| British Columbia | $38.40 | Nova Scotia | $31.96 |
| Manitoba | $31.33 | Nunavut | $45.00 |
| New Brunswick | $31.73 | Ontario | $36.92 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $33.60 | Prince Edward Island | $31.20 |
| Quebec | $36.00 | Saskatchewan | $34.62 |
| Yukon | $45.60 |
The figures are drawn from the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. An employer cannot simply raise an offered wage to move a file into the high-wage stream; ESDC warns that wages offered to temporary foreign workers should be similar to those paid to Canadians and permanent residents doing the same job in the same location.
The moratorium is still running
The announcement confirmed that assessments are still not processed in census metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher, with exceptions for priority sectors including healthcare, construction and food processing. Early childhood educators join that exception list from 6 November 2026.
For workers, this is the part of the announcement that can end a status. Where an employer’s metropolitan area is on the list, a low-wage assessment may not be processed, which means a permit approaching expiry cannot be renewed on the strength of a new assessment. Workers in that situation should confirm their employer’s filing position early rather than at the point of expiry, and should check whether their own circumstances place them in one of the exempted priority sectors.
The scale of the programme
ESDC’s own figures, published with the announcement, put the programme in context: temporary foreign workers make up approximately 1% of Canada’s labour force and less than 10% of all non-permanent residents. Private employment has added 214,000 jobs over the past year, with the unemployment rate at 6.5%. Employers that breach programme requirements face administrative monetary penalties of up to $1 million per year, as well as temporary or permanent exclusion from the programme.
How this fits with a permanent residence pathway
The announcement also linked the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to Canada’s economic immigration levels, noting that the programme addresses immediate workforce needs while separate immigration pathways are used to retain skilled talent. For a temporary worker already in Canada, the practical question is which permanent residence route is open to them and what it requires — the routes are narrow, and the eligibility rules differ substantially from each other. Our guides to Canadian work permits, including LMIA-based and LMIA-exempt permits and to moving from temporary resident to permanent resident set out the options and the timing constraints that decide which route is realistic.
Official government references
- Government of Canada announces targeted reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program — Employment and Social Development Canada news release, 6 November 2026
- Hire a temporary foreign worker in a low-wage position — ESDC programme requirements
- Hourly wage thresholds by province and territory — ESDC
- Hire a temporary foreign worker with a Labour Market Impact Assessment — ESDC
- IRCC fees — work permit fees and immigration fees
Frequently asked questions
How long can a low-wage work permit be issued for now?
Up to two years, where the underlying assessment submitted on or after 6 November 2026 supports that duration. The duration of the permit is bounded by the assessment, so a worker whose assessment is valid for one year can still receive a one-year permit.
Does this apply to permits that are already issued?
No. The change applies to assessments submitted on or after 6 November 2026. Existing permits and assessments are governed by the rules in force when they were issued, and extending a permit still requires a new assessment from the employer.
Can my employer hire more than 10% of their workforce through the low-wage stream now?
No. The increase to 15% is part of the package proposed for 1 March 2027 and requires the province or territory to opt in. Until that happens, the 10% maximum continues to apply outside priority sectors, which remain at 20%.
Does the two-year duration apply to the Global Talent Stream?
No. The Global Talent Stream does not use the low-wage assessment process and was not changed by the 6 November 2026 announcement.
What happens if my employer’s area has 6% or higher unemployment?
Low-wage assessments are generally not processed in census metropolitan areas at or above that unemployment threshold, except in the priority sectors, which now include healthcare, construction, food processing and early childhood education. If an assessment is not processed, a permit that is about to expire cannot be renewed on the strength of it.
How much does a work permit cost?
IRCC charges $155 per person for a work permit, including extensions, and $100 for open work permit holders. Paying the right of permanent residence fee at the same time as the processing fee avoids delays in economic immigration applications.
Conclusion
The two-year maximum for low-wage assessments is a real change, not a proposal, and it applies to any assessment submitted from 6 November 2026. The wider regional package announced alongside it is still contingent on provinces and territories, so anyone planning hiring or a permit extension around the 1 March 2027 date should treat those elements as unsettled until an opt-in is confirmed. And the moratorium in high-unemployment metropolitan areas continues to determine outcomes far more often than the headline duration change does.
CRSPoint.com is an independent Canadian immigration information platform. It is not affiliated with IRCC, ESDC or the Government of Canada. This article provides general information and is not immigration or legal advice.
