Canada raises wage thresholds for TFWP work permits
The Canadian federal government has raised the hourly wage thresholds for the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
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Effective July 17, 2026, employers in high-unemployment regions cannot initiate new hiring or the renewal of existing TFWP work permits for any role paying less than the following:
| Province/territory | Wage threshold as of July 17 | Previous wage threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $37.50 | $36.00 |
| British Columbia | $38.40 | $36.60 |
| Manitoba | $31.33 | $30.16 |
| New Brunswick | $31.73 | $30.00 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $33.60 | $32.40 |
| Northwest Territories | $48.00 | $48.00 |
| Nova Scotia | $31.96 | $30.00 |
| Nunavut | $45.00 | $42.00 |
| Ontario | $36.92 | $36.00 |
| Prince Edward Island | $31.20 | $30.00 |
| Quebec | $36.00 | $34.62 |
| Saskatchewan | $34.62 | $33.60 |
| Yukon | $45.60 | $44.40 |
The thresholds for the low-wage stream of the TFWP are set at 120% of the median wage for each province or territory.
As of the time of writing, the work permit freeze on roles paying beneath the threshold includes the following regions with 6% unemployment or higher:
| Census metropolitan area | Unemployment rate (%) |
|---|---|
| St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | 7.3 |
| Moncton, New Brunswick | 8.1 |
| Montréal, Quebec | 6.8 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario/Quebec | 6.7 |
| Belleville–Quinte West, Ontario | 6.7 |
| Peterborough, Ontario | 7.0 |
| Oshawa, Ontario | 8.5 |
| Toronto, Ontario | 7.3 |
| Hamilton, Ontario | 6.9 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario | 8.1 |
| Brantford, Ontario | 6.2 |
| Guelph, Ontario | 7.4 |
| London, Ontario | 7.8 |
| Windsor, Ontario | 7.9 |
| Barrie, Ontario | 7.9 |
| Greater Sudbury, Ontario | 6.2 |
| Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | 6.5 |
| Calgary, Alberta | 7.0 |
| Red Deer, Alberta | 7.2 |
| Edmonton, Alberta | 7.2 |
| Kelowna, British Columbia | 7.5 |
| Kamloops, British Columbia | 7.0 |
| Chilliwack, British Columbia | 7.9 |
| Abbotsford-Mission, British Columbia | 8.0 |
| Vancouver, British Columbia | 6.7 |
| Nanaimo, British Columbia | 6.5 |
Employers located outside the above regions can hire for roles beneath the threshold, subject to the additional requirements associated with the low-wage stream:
- A 10% cap on the proportion of workers that can be hired through the TFWP per work location;
- Certain positions are exempt from the 10% cap and have a 20% cap (e.g., construction or food manufacturing)
- Under a recently introduced temporary federal measure running from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, the cap was raised to 15% for rural employers in provinces that opt in.
- A longer minimum job advertisement duration of eight weeks in the last three months, compared to four weeks under the high-wage stream;
- Recruitment efforts must target underrepresented groups (e.g., indigenous peoples or persons with disabilities);
- Targeted youth recruitment (ages 15–30); and
- Extending invitations to all Job Bank matches rated two stars or more (as opposed to four stars or more under the high-wage stream).
Employers hiring under the low-wage stream are also expected to provide "suitable and affordable" housing and the round-trip transportation costs of foreign workers.
About the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The TFWP serves to allow Canadian employers to hire foreign workers for positions for which no qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available.
Accordingly, a TFWP work permit can only be issued or renewed for a position for which the employer has obtained a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from the federal government, and provides its holder authorization to work only for the employer and role specified.
For both low-wage and high-wage positions through the TFWP, employers are always required to pay the higher of either the median regional wage for the occupation, or equivalent compensation to that earned by Canadian citizens and permanent residents in the same role at the same work location.
The TFWP has come under fire in Canada in recent years, with critics blaming the program for contributing to suppressed wages and rising youth unemployment.
In 2024, the federal government:
- Imposed the moratorium on low-wage LMIAs in regions with over 6% unemployment;
- Raised the wage threshold for the low-wage stream to 120% of the regional median wage (formerly, it was the median);
- Lowered the workforce caps for the low-wage stream of the TFWP to 10% (formerly 20%); and
- Put in place annual admissions targets for temporary residents, including for TFWP work permit holders.
TFWP admissions in 2026 have fallen by over 50% relative to 2024.*
The government aims to admit a total of 60,000 TFWP work permit holders over the course of 2026.
This year’s admissions target for permits issued through the International Mobility Program (IMP) stands at 170,000.
IMP admissions this year have fallen 69% relative to 2024.
IMP work permits are issued under a mandate that includes promoting social and cultural benefits to Canada, and do not require LMIAs.
*Comparing the four-month period January – April for each year, which uses the most recent available data in 2026 on the government’s temporary residents page, as of the time of writing.
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