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ARTICLE · 07 AUGUST 2026

Employer Alert: High-wage v. Low-wage LMIA Stream Provincial Wage Thresholds Increased

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Employment and Social Development Canada has raised provincial wage thresholds for high-wage versus low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment streams, creating new challenges for employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers. The department warns that simply increasing wages to meet high-wage thresholds may not be sufficient and could result in application refusals.

CanadaImmigration
Bill MacGregor
Bill MacGregor
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ESDC increased the provincial high-wage v. low-wage wage thresholds on July 17, 2026.

To apply for a high-wage stream LMIA after July 17, the base wage must meet or exceed the new provincial wage threshold. If the prevailing/median wage for the NOC and the location of the job is higher than the provincial high-wage v. low-wage threshold, the employer must offer that higher prevailing wage.

Given that ESDC will not process most low-wage stream applications in metropolitan areas that have an unemployment rate of more than 5.9%, the only potential LMIA option in many locations is under the high-wage stream.

However, ESDC warns employers that simply raising the base salary to allow a high-wage LMIA to be filed may lead to a refusal of the LMIA application:

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