A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document issued by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) assessing the impact of hiring a foreign national in Canada. A positive LMIA indicates that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident to fill a position, therefore enabling an employer to hire a foreign national. A negative LMIA indicates that a position should be filled by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
An employer can apply for an LMIA as early as 6-months before the position's expected start date. The processes for applying for LMIA differs based on the individual and the wage at which they are being employed. Employers should consult the median hourly wages of their province or territory in order to determine whether their position is considered high-wage or low-wage, as low-wage positions will require the employer to meet additional criteria.
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WHAT ARE LMIA APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS?
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LMIA applications are generally submitted in hard copy but the federal government has recently introduced an online portal to allow online processing of LMIA applications. Applications must include evidence that the following criteria have been met:
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Processing Fee: All applications for LMIAs include a $1000 CAD processing fee which will not be refunded even if the result is negative. Certain applicants under the LMIAs for in-home caregivers may be exempt from this fee.
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Business Legitimacy Documents: Documents proving that the employer’s status as a legitimate Canadian business.
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Transition Plan: Employers must submit a plan for how they intend to address the need to hire foreign nationals. Eventually, employers are expected to hire Canadian citizens and permanent residents rather than TFWs.
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Recruitment Efforts: Employers must submit evidence that they made substantial efforts to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents to fill the position prior to hiring a TFW.
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Wages: Applications must include information regarding the TFWs wages. This will differentiate the high-wage positions from low-wage positions and ensure that TFWs are paid the same amount for labour as their Canadian equals.
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Workplace Safety: TFWs are entitled to the same standards of workplace health and safety as Canadians in the same position. For this reason, employers must provide evidence that TFWs will be covered by insurance which is at minimum equivalent to the health coverage offered by the province or territory where the business is located.
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HOW TO GET AN LMIA?
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An LMIA can be applied by making an application Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The LMIA application process depends on the type of program the employer is hiring through.
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Some of the most common LMIA are issued to hire:​
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workers through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program
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workers through the Agricultural Stream
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HIGH WAGE WORKERS
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Employers looking to hire high-wage workers (temporary foreign worker who will be paid at or above the median hourly wage of their province or territory) must submit a transition plans along with their LMIA application to ensure that they are taking steps to reduce their reliance on temporary foreign workers over time. Proof of investment in training or hiring Canadian apprentices are examples allowing employers to prove this. Alternatively, employers can demonstrate how they are assisting their high-skilled temporary foreign worker(s) in becoming Canadian permanent residents. If the employer is chosen for an inspection, or if they apply to renew their LMIA, they will be required to report on the progress of the transition plan was submitted with the application.
The transition plans are designed to ensure that employers seeking foreign workers are fulfilling the purpose of the program. This entails that they are using the program as a last and limited resort to address immediate labour needs on a temporary basis when qualified Canadians are not available, ensuring that Canadians are given the first chance at available jobs.
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LOW WAGE WORKERS
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If an employer wishes to hire a temporary foreign worker who will be paid less than the median hourly wage of their province or territory then the employer must apply through the TFWP stream for low-wage workers. The first step in this process requires the employer to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) demonstrating that they were unable to find a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to fill the position. Employers seeking to hire low-wage workers do not need to submit transition plans with their Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). They must, however, follow a different set of guidelines.
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To restrict access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), while ensuring that Canadians are always considered first for available jobs, the Government of Canada has introduced a cap to limit the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers that a business can employ. Furthermore, certain low-wage occupations may be refused for LMIA processing. Employers with 10 or more employees applying for a new LMIA are subject to a cap of 10 percent on the proportion of their workforce that can consist of low-wage temporary foreign workers. This cap was phased in over 2015 and 2016 in order to provide employers who were above the 10 percent cap time to transition and adjust accordingly.
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Employers offering a wage that is below the provincial/territorial median hourly wage must:
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pay for round-trip transportation for the temporary foreign worker;
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ensure affordable housing is available;
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pay for private health insurance until workers are eligible for provincial health coverage;
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register the temporary foreign worker with the provincial/territorial workplace safety board; and
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provide an employer-employee contract.
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As of April 30, 2015, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program uses the latest Labour Force Survey results for the unemployment rates in regions across Canada. These rates determine which regions are eligible for employers to submit Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for low-wage/lower skilled occupations in the Accommodation and Food Services sector and the Retail Trade sector. LMIA applications for these sectors will not be processed in economic regions where the unemployment rate is 6 per cent or higher.
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SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL WAGE PROGRAM
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The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) enables employers to hire temporary foreign workers to fill temporary positions in agricultural production for a maximum of 8 months at a time. All positions must meet the general requirements for hiring foreign agricultural workers. As well, foreign workers must be citizens of Mexico or one of the Caribbean countries participating in the bilateral agreement facilitating the SAWP. If an employer meets the requirements for the SAWP, they can apply for an LMIA indicating the SAWP specifications.
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Employers hiring through the SAWP must meet certain requirements regarding transportation of workers to and from their country of residence, housing them during the work period, and provision of adequate workplace health and safety conditions. Countries participating in the SAWP include: Mexico, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
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FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL WORKERS
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Employers wishing to hire temporary foreign workers to fill specific positions related to agricultural production may be able to use one of the TFWP agricultural streams to hire workers. Canada offers two streams designed to facilitate the hiring of temporary foreign workers in the field of agriculture. In order to qualify for either stream, first an employer must ensure that they meet the following general requirements:
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production must be in specific commodity sectors on Canada’s national commodity list;
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the activity must be related to on-farm primary agriculture in one of the following National Occupation Classification (NOC) Codes: 0821, 0822, 8252, 8255, 8431, 8432, and 8611
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If an employer meets the above-mentioned criteria, they may be eligible to hire temporary foreign workers through the regular Agricultural Stream or the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).
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GLOBAL TALENT STREAM
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The Global Talent Stream (GTS) is a two-year pilot program launched in June 2017 through a partnership between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The GTS assists certain Canadian employers to hire highly-skilled talent from around the world enabling them to compete on an international scale. Employers who are successfully through the program will be able to expedite the process for hiring foreign nationals through the Global Skills Strategy.