Two Job Offers, Two Completely Different Doors

Picture this: A Toronto restaurant owner wants to hire a cook from abroad. Across town, a multinational is transferring one of its own engineers from Chicago.

Same city, same week — completely different paperwork. The restaurant owner is about to meet the LMIA. The tech firm is not.

First, What an LMIA Is

A Labour Market Impact Assessment is the federal government's labour-market test, run by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). A positive LMIA confirms a genuine need for a temporary foreign worker — and that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available to do the job.

Only then can the worker apply for an employer-specific work permit — tied to that one employer and that one job. Most employers hiring a temporary foreign worker need an LMIA, through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, with homework attached: advertise to Canadians first and pay at least the prevailing wage.

The $1,000 Rule: The Employer Pays, the Worker Never Does

The employer must pay $1,000 for each position requested to process the LMIA application. The worker can't pay it, and the employer can't recover it later — not through payroll deductions, not through a "deposit," not ever. It isn't refunded if the application is withdrawn or refused, either. Anyone asking a worker to pay is waving a giant red flag.

High-Wage vs. Low-Wage: One Line Decides Your Stream

Every LMIA position falls into one of two streams, decided by a single number: the provincial or territorial wage threshold — the median hourly wage plus 20%. For LMIAs received on or after July 17, 2026, it is $36.92 an hour in Ontario and $38.40 in British Columbia.

  • Wage at or above the threshold → high-wage stream.
  • Wage below it → low-wage stream.

The low-wage stream carries extra weight: the cap.

The Low-Wage Cap: 10% of the Workforce, Per Location

An employer can fill only 10% of the workforce at a specific work location with low-wage temporary foreign workers — Canadians and permanent residents get considered first.

Some sectors get a 20% cap: construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and certain in-home caregiver positions. Tiny workplaces get simpler math — under 10 employees, the location counts as 10, so the maximum is one low-wage worker at 10%, or two at 20%. A few positions, like on-farm primary agriculture, have no cap at all. And in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher, ESDC won't process low-wage applications at all.

The Other Door: LMIA-Exempt Hiring Under the IMP

Now back to that tech firm. Canada's International Mobility Program (IMP) lets employers hire certain foreign workers without an LMIA at all — because the hire brings a broader benefit to Canada, or a trade or reciprocal agreement covers it.

No labour-market test — but not no paperwork. For an employer-specific IMP permit, the employer must submit an offer of employment through IRCC's Employer Portal and pay a $230 employer compliance fee before the worker applies. The portal generates an offer of employment number — "A" followed by 7 digits — for the worker's application.

Six Common LMIA-Exempt Routes

  • International Experience Canada (IEC): Young Professionals and International Co-op participants get employer-specific permits; Working Holiday participants get open permits.
  • Intra-company transfers: a multinational moving its own executive, manager or specialized-knowledge employee to its Canadian branch, subsidiary or affiliate.
  • CUSMA professionals: US and Mexican citizens in listed occupations.
  • CUSMA traders and investors.
  • Significant benefit: workers whose entry brings a notable benefit to Canada.
  • Francophone Mobility: French-speaking workers hired outside Quebec.

The Freest Option of All: Open Work Permits

Some workers skip employer paperwork entirely because they hold an open work permit, which lets them work for almost any employer in Canada. IRCC's examples include post-graduation work permit (PGWP) holders, spouses or common-law partners of international students, family members of some foreign workers, bridging open work permit holders, and IEC Working Holiday participants. If your candidate already holds one, you just hire them — no LMIA, no Employer Portal offer.

So Which Door Is Yours?

Three questions. Does the worker already hold an open permit? Hire them directly. Does an exemption fit — a company transfer, a trade agreement, IEC? That's the IMP: $230 and an offer number. Neither? Then it's the LMIA door: advertise first, pay the $1,000, and clear your stream's threshold and cap rules.

The Twikup Take

Canada's system has one question at its centre: has anyone checked whether a Canadian could do this job? The LMIA is that check, with a $1,000 fee the employer can never pass to the worker. The IMP is the exception lane — transfers, treaties and broader-benefit hires — at a much lighter $230. Open permits are the wild card that makes the question disappear. Know your door before you start — it changes everything after that.

Image: AI-generated illustration.

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