Immigration News

 Temporary measures under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

 Updates to participating provinces and territories

The How these measures are applied section was updated to include information for the following provinces and territories:

• British Columbia: April 22, 2026
• Alberta: April 17, 2026
• Manitoba: April 14, 2026
• Nunavut: April 14, 2026
• Nova Scotia: April 1, 2026
• Quebec: April 1, 2026

Temporary measures to support rural employers

From April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, employers located in rural areas of participating provinces and territories—specifically those outside of census metropolitan areas (CMAs)—may be eligible for temporary measures for certain low‑wage positions. “Rural” refers to areas outside CMAs, as determined by Statistics Canada.

Eligible employers may:

• retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers if it's above the cap, and/or
• benefit from a 15% cap—instead of the usual 10% cap—on the proportion of temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions

Retained proportion of low-wage positions

Eligible employers could retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers at a given worksite, even if it exceeds the usual 10% cap. This will be determined by the proportion of temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions at the time of submitting a new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

Increased cap on the proportion of low-wage positions

For eligible employers, the cap on the proportion of temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions could be increased to 15% of their workforce, instead of 10%.

There are no changes to sector-specific variations and to positions with no caps. For more information, visit Cap on the proportion of low-wage positions.

How these measures are applied

To benefit from these measures, employers must meet all Temporary Foreign Worker Program requirements, including demonstrating efforts to first hire Canadians and permanent residents.

The measures will be applied once an eligible employer has submitted a new LMIA during the effective period of the measures in their province or territory. LMIA applications submitted before the measures come into effect in your province or territory won't be eligible.

Additionally, low-wage positions under the permanent resident dual-intent stream aren't included in these measures.

Provinces and territories
This section will be updated as more provinces and territories respond to these measures.

• Alberta Updated: April 17, 2026
  The Government of Alberta isn't participating in these temporary measures.
• British Columbia Updated: April 22, 2026
  
  • Measure:
    • eligible employers will be able to retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers at a given worksite, above the cap
    • Sector: all sectors
    • Implementation date: May 4, 2026
• Manitoba Updated: April 14, 2026
  
  • Measures: 
    • eligible employers will be able to retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers at a given worksite, above the cap
    • eligible employers will benefit from a 15% cap — instead of the usual 10% cap — on the proportion of temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions
  • Sector: all sectors
  • Implementation date: April 14, 2026
• New Brunswick
  To be determined by the province
• Newfoundland and Labrador
  To be determined by the province
• Northwest Territories
  To be determined by the territory
• Nova Scotia
  
  • Measures:
    
    • eligible employers will be able to retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers at a given worksite, above the cap
    • eligible employers will benefit from a 15% cap — instead of the usual 10% cap — on the proportion of temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions
  • Sector: all sectors
  • Implementation date: April 14, 2026
• Nunavut Updated: April 14, 2026
  The Government of Nunavut isn't participating in these temporary measures.
• Ontario
  To be determined by the province
• Prince Edward Island
  To be determined by the province
• Quebec
  
  • Measure: eligible employers will be able to retain their current proportion of low-wage positions filled by temporary foreign workers at a given worksite, above the cap
  • Sector: all sectors
  • Implementation date: April 1, 2026
• Saskatchewan
  To be determined by the province
• Yukon
  To be determined by the territory