Labour Market Impact Assessment

As part of hiring a temporary foreign worker (TFW) in Canada, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), companies must submit a request for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). This document is needed to determine the impact hiring the foreign worker will have on the Canadian labour market.

In most cases, a Canadian employer wishing to hire a foreign worker must first receive government approval before the hiring can take place. The purpose of this approval is to ensure that no qualified Canadian is available to accept the job. All Canadian employers must provide evidence that they attempted to find qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents to fill the job positions before turning to foreign workers. Employers may be inspected by government officials to ensure they have complied.

A positive LMIA will show there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job. It will also show that no Canadian worker or permanent resident is available to do the job. Once a positive LMIA is provided, the foreign worker can apply for a work permit.

LMIAs are overseen by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and have an associated application fee of $1,000CAD for each position.

The wage being offered for the position will determine if employers need to apply for a LMIA under the stream for High Wage positions or the stream for Low Wage Positions which each have their own requirements. If you are offering a wage to the temporary foreign worker that is:

• at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage, you must apply under the stream for high-wage positions.
• Below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage, you must apply under the stream for low-wage positions

Recruitment and Advertisement

As part of the TFW program, employers must conduct recruitment efforts to hire Canadian and permanent residents before offering a job to a TFW.

Methods of recruitment

• Acceptable method of recruitment for a job advertisement include:
  • General employment websites
  • Online classified websites
  • Specialized websites which are dedicated to specific occupational profiles (e.g., accounting, marketing, biotechnology, education, engineering)
  • local, regional and national newspapers or newsletters
  • local stores, places of worship, and community resource centres
  • local, regional and provincial or territorial employment centres
  • magazines and journals (for example, national journals or magazines, professional associations magazines, specialized journals)
  • participation at job fairs
  • partnering with training institutions or offering internships
  • professional recruitment agencies
  • consultations with unions for available labour
  • advertising through professional associations
  • recruitment within the company (for example, considering internal candidates for the position). A Human Resources Plan may outline the training opportunities for existing employees, and include:
    • a list of competencies for employees
    • workshops or programs for professional development and career management
    • specific programs to target specific employees for advancement
    • If the 2 additional methods of recruitment are online, they must each have unique value and reach different audiences. In cases where you advertise on multiple websites of the same type, the combined advertisements will only be considered as one additional method of recruitment.

New Employers

Employers who have not employed a temporary foreign worker in the past 6 years prior to submitting a LMIA application will be subject to a review. The employer must demonstrate they made reasonable efforts to provide a workplace that is free of abuse and that they were not an affiliate of an employer who is ineligible for the TFW Program or in default of any amount payable in respect of an administrative monetary penalty.

A workplace that is free of abuse includes

1. (a) proactive efforts made to prevent workplace abuse
2. (b) reactive measures taken to stop abuse

An affiliate includes an employer that is controlled by another employer

1. (a) 2 employers that are under common control, or
2. (b) employers that are not operated at arm’s length