How to Apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment?

The Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) ensure that the hired foreign worker will have a positive or neutral effect on the Canadian labour force. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is a way through which the federal government supports its workforce when there are not enough workers to perform a job. If you are an employer and planning to hire an international worker, you will require to submit an LMIA. The application will be studied by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and determine that no qualified Canadians are overlooked in a quest to hire foreign workers. The employer will be required to prove that they have made all the possible initiatives to find qualified Canadians to fill the position. Also, the employer will need to offer salary and benefits that match the provincial and federal standards. Each LMIA request for an LMIA will cost CAD 1000 per position.

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An employer must advertise the job vacancy for a minimum period of 4 weeks before applying for a LMIA. The employer must prove that they have used at least 2 recruitment ways while posting an ad on the Canada Job Bank. The entire LMIA process depends upon whether the international worker is classified as ‘High Wage’ or ‘Low Wage’. If the employee is compensated under the provincial/territorial median wage they are categorized as a low-wage worker and if they are paid above the median, the worker will be considered a high-wage.

Province/Territory Median hourly wages as of April 30, 2022 (2019 Wage) 
Alberta $28.85
British Columbia $26.44
Manitoba $23.00
New Brunswick $21.79
Newfoundland and Labrador $24.29
Northwest Territories $37.30
Nova Scotia $22.00
Nunavut $36.00
Ontario $26.06
Prince Edward Island $21.63
Quebec $25.00
Saskatchewan $25.96
Yukon $32.00
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 High-Wage Worker

If you are planning to hire a high-wage worker, you must submit transition plans with the LMIA. A conversion plan ensures that you are taking all the required steps as an employer to minimize your freedom on foreign workers over time. The plans are envisioned to make sure that employers seeking international workers are meeting the purpose of the program, meaning they are making optimum use of the program as a last resort to respond to immediate labour needs temporarily when Canadians aren’t available to perform the job. This ensures that eligible Canadians are prioritized for the jobs available. Examples of ways in which an organization can demonstrate by showing the investment evidence in skills training, proof of assisting the international worker in becoming a permanent resident, or hiring Canadian trainees.

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Low Wage Worker

If you are planning to hire low-wage workers, you are not required to submit any transition plans along with LMIA. On the contrary, the federal government has applied a cap on the number of low-wage temporary workers that an organization can employ to limit access to the TFWP. Thus, organizations with 10 or more employees applying for a LMIA are projected to a 20% of the population of their workforce are low-wage temporary foreign workers. If you are hiring a low-wage worker, you must:

  • Pay for round-trip transportation
  • Ensure affordable housing is available
  • Pay for private health insurance until workers are eligible
  • Register the temporary foreign worker with the provincial/territorial workplace safety board
  • Offer an employer-employee contract.

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