Canada Doubles Low-Wage Work Permit Duration to Two Years — What It Means for Workers and Employers

Workers in Canada’s low-wage stream can now stay in the same job for up to two years without renewing their work permit, after the federal government doubled the maximum length of the labour market approvals behind those permits.

What changed on November 6

On November 6, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) raised the maximum duration of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) from one year to two years. The change applies to LMIA applications submitted on or after November 6, 2026. Applications filed before that date stay under the old one-year limit.

An LMIA is the document an employer usually needs before hiring a temporary foreign worker. It confirms that no qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident was available for the job, and its length sets the longest work permit Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can issue. So a two-year LMIA can now support a work permit of up to two years, where one year was the previous ceiling.

Who counts as a low-wage worker

A position falls under the low-wage stream when it pays less than 120% of the hourly median wage in the province or territory where the job is located. At the time of writing, that threshold works out to $36.92 per hour in Ontario and $38.40 per hour in British Columbia. The 120% threshold itself dates back to November 8, 2024, when the government raised it from the median wage.

If you already hold a TFWP work permit and want to extend it, the longer duration does not apply automatically — your employer must obtain a new LMIA, and only new applications benefit from the two-year maximum.

The freeze in high-unemployment cities is still in place

The longer LMIA does not change the separate restriction on where low-wage LMIAs can be processed. Since September 26, 2024, ESDC has refused to process low-wage LMIAs for non-exempt jobs in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) with unemployment of 6% or higher. As of the time of writing, that list covers 30 CMAs, including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax. ESDC refreshes the list every quarter, with the next update scheduled for January 8, 2027.

For workers in those cities, the freeze still means an employer may not be able to get the LMIA needed to extend a work permit — and a worker whose permit runs out without a new one risks losing status.

Early childhood educators gain an exemption

In the same November 6 announcement, ESDC added early childhood educators to the list of occupations exempt from the freeze. That means low-wage LMIA applications for early childhood educators can now be processed even in cities on the 6% list. Other exemptions already in place cover in-demand sectors such as construction, agriculture and health care.

What this means for you

If your employer is filing a new low-wage LMIA on or after November 6, 2026, the approval can now cover up to two years, which can mean a longer initial work permit and fewer renewals. And if your permit is about to expire while an LMIA is still pending, remember that IRCC removed the time limit on concurrent processing on October 28, 2026 — so a worker whose permit expires within two weeks can apply for an extension while the LMIA decision is still outstanding, and keep working under maintained status until a decision is made, as long as they applied before their permit expired and remain in Canada.

Timing and location still matter a great deal under these rules. NewSteps Immigration can check whether your job qualifies for the longer LMIA, whether the freeze affects your city, and how to file so your status stays protected.

Disclaimer: General information only, published by NewSteps Immigration. We accept no liability, as this information may be incorrect or change without notice. Please refer to IRCC for the final, official information.