Quebec announces suspension of LMIA processing for some low-wage temporary foreign workers

Starting September 3rd, the processing of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to applicants in Montréal will be suspended for job offers with hourly wages below $27.47 CAD (the Quebec median hourly wage). This measure is expected to be in place for the next six months and has been approved by the federal government of Canada.

The suspension was announced this morning by Quebec Premier François Legault and Quebec’s Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette—with the intention of managing temporary resident levels in the province and maintaining the integrity of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

Note: Temporary resident refers to those who reside in Canada temporarily, on a work or study permit, or a visitor visa/ electronic travel authorization (eTA)

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These changes do not apply to:

Jobs in a place of work outside of the economic region of Montréal*;
Jobs with an offered wage equal to or higher than the current median wage in Quebec ($27.47 CAD);
LMIA applications received before the 3rd of September 2024;
Employers applying for LMIAs in certain industry groups, as described by the North American Industry Classification (NAICS), including:
Agriculture;
Construction;
Food processing;
Education; and
Health and social services sectors.

*The administrative region of Montréal includes the municipalities of:

Baie-d'Urfé;
Beaconsfield;
Côte-Saint-Luc;
Dollard-des-Ormeaux;
Dorval;
Hampstead;
Kirkland;
L’Île-Dorval;
Montréal;
Montréal East;
Montréal West;
Mount Royal;
Pointe-Claire;
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue;
Senneville; and
Westmount.

The federal government says it will closely monitor this policy as it continues to make decisions about the future of the TFWP.

Recent scrutiny on the TFWP in Canada

The TFWP is Canada’s federal stream to enable employers to hire foreign workers who help fill key labour shortages that the country cannot fix domestically. Through this stream, the hiring of a foreign worker must be supported by an LMIA.

The program has come under recent scrutiny after remarks from Canada’s Employment and Immigration Ministers.

Most notably, on the 6th of August, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages Randy Boissonnault announced a suite of new measures to help preserve the integrity of the TFWP, taking specific aim at the low-wage stream of the program.

Boissonnault has previously cited the danger of employers becoming addicted to cheap foreign labour, and emphasized that the TFWP is not meant to circumvent the hiring of Canadian workers in jobs and industries where they are available. He further noted that the low-wage stream of the TFWP was a potential vehicle to artificially depress wages in Canada and stated that the ministry would consider refusing to process LMIA applications under the stream altogether.

These sentiments were echoed by Immigration Minister Marc Miller, in recent comments to news agency Reuters.

Part of a wider suite of measures

These changes to the TFWP come at a time when Canada is reconsidering temporary immigration levels. For example, this past March, Minister Miller announced that Canada is introducing temporary resident levels to the annual immigration levels plan.

To support this, IRCC has implemented a temporary two-year cap on some international students, curbing the issuance of study permits with the introduction of a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) system.

Further to these changes, Miller has also stated his intention to pursue new regulations around the issuance of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs), and to have more “domestic draws” to target temporary residents already in Canada, for permanent residence (PR).

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