Low-Wage LMIA Refusal Areas: Where Canada Won't Process Applications

For low-wage LMIAs submitted July 10 to October 8, 2026, these CMAs have unemployment of 6% or higher, so most low-wage applications there will not be processed:

CMAs below 6% in this period include Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Québec City, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Drummondville, Kingston, St. Catharines-Niagara, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Lethbridge and Victoria. Jobs outside any CMA (rural areas and smaller towns) are not affected by this rule. Always confirm on the official table before filing, because it changes each quarter.

An LMIA is "low-wage" when the offered wage is below the wage threshold for the province or territory where the job is located. The threshold is the provincial or territorial median hourly wage plus 20%. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) publishes the thresholds and updates them regularly; the current figures took effect July 17, 2026 (for example, $36.92 an hour in Ontario and $37.50 an hour in Alberta). If the wage is at or above the threshold, the job falls under the high-wage stream and this refusal rule does not apply.

Low-wage LMIAs also have stricter recruitment rules: since April 1, 2026, employers must advertise for at least 8 consecutive weeks (up from 4) and show efforts to recruit youth and other underrepresented groups. See LMIA work permits for how the streams differ.

Service Canada still processes low-wage LMIAs in listed CMAs for:

• Primary agriculture occupations.
• Construction (NAICS 23).
• Food manufacturing (NAICS 311).
• Hospitals (NAICS 622).
• Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623).
• Certain in-home caregiver positions (NOC 31301, 32101, 44100, 44101).
• Truly temporary or highly mobile jobs of 120 calendar days or less.
• LMIAs used only to support a permanent residence application.

NAICS is the North American Industry Classification System code of the employer's business.

• Employers in large cities mostly cannot hire new low-wage foreign workers through the LMIA route unless an exemption applies or they raise the wage to the high-wage level.
• Workers already in Canada on a low-wage work permit in a listed CMA may not get a new LMIA to extend with the same employer. Plan early; see extending your status.
• Rural employers outside CMAs are not affected by this rule, and may also use programs like the Rural Community Immigration Pilot.

1. Check where the job is located and whether that location is inside a listed CMA.
2. Compare the wage offered to the current provincial or territorial wage threshold (median wage plus 20%).
3. Check whether an exemption applies to the employer's industry code.
4. File before a quarterly update if your CMA may be added, or after one if it may drop off.
5. Employers can read LMIA guidance for employers and compliance rules.