Canada updates list of cities ineligible for low-wage LMIA jobs

The federal government has shared its new list of cities where low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) won’t be accepted for the next three months. This rule affects places with unemployment rates of 6% or more. It means employers in those cities cannot apply to hire foreign workers for low-wage jobs through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

This rule started back in August 2024. Since then, the government has been releasing updated lists every few months, showing which areas are affected. The latest update covers the period from April 4 to July 10, 2025.

If a city is on the list, employers there won’t be allowed to submit new low-wage LMIA applications during that time. Workers already in Canada under the same program may also face trouble renewing their permits unless their location is eligible.

A total of 24 cities have been marked as ineligible this time. Here's a quick look at some of them and their unemployment rates:

• Toronto: 8.6%
  
• Calgary: 7.8%
  
• Vancouver: 6.6%
  
• Edmonton: 7.3%
  
• Windsor: 9.3%
  
• Peterborough: 9.9%
  

Other cities on the list include Montreal, Oshawa, Hamilton, Red Deer, Kamloops, Barrie, and more. These cities all have jobless rates at or above the 6% cut-off.

This rule applies only to low-wage LMIA applications. High-wage jobs are not affected by this limit. If an employer wants to hire someone for a low-wage role in these cities, they can choose to increase the offered wage so the job qualifies under the high-wage category.

Some cities that were on the previous list have now been removed, which means their unemployment has dropped below 6%. These include:

• Regina, Saskatchewan: 5.9%
  
• London, Ontario: 5.5%
  

If your job offer is in one of the listed cities, the LMIA won’t be approved right now. You can check if your location is affected by entering the job's postal code in the government's census search. If it falls under a CMA listed above, the LMIA application won’t be processed.

If your city isn’t on the list or is marked as a census agglomeration instead of a CMA, then the LMIA may still be processed. The list will be updated again on July 11, 2025, so there could be changes then.

For workers, this means it's important to know where their job offer is based. If they’re ineligible right now, they can speak to their employer about waiting or offering higher wages. If a worker loses their legal work status, they can apply for a visitor record to stay in Canada but can’t continue working.

A CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) is a large population zone made up of one or more connected cities and towns. It must have at least 100,000 people, with at least 50,000 in the main city.