Low-Wage LMIA October 2026: 30 Cities on the Pause List

Quick answer: From October 9, 2026 to January 7, 2027, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will refuse to process low-wage LMIA applications in 30 of Canada's 41 census metropolitan areas, up from 26. Halifax, Fredericton, Kingston, St. Catharines-Niagara, Regina and Lethbridge joined the list, while Kamloops and Chilliwack reopened.

Key takeaways

Under the low-wage LMIA October 2026 update, ESDC's new unemployment-rate table, published October 9, 2026, applies to low-wage LMIA applications submitted up to January 7, 2027.
Low-wage LMIAs will not be processed in 30 census metropolitan areas, four more than in the July 10 to October 8 period.
Six areas were added to the pause list and only two, Kamloops and Chilliwack in British Columbia, came off it.
Oshawa (9.8%), London (9.1%) and Kelowna (8.6%) have the highest rates used for the measure, so they stay firmly closed to low-wage LMIAs.
Some sectors stay exempt, including primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities.

Last updated: October 9, 2026

The low-wage LMIA October 2026 update is out, and the map of places where employers can still use the low-wage stream has shrunk after reopening in July. On October 9, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) published new unemployment rates for each census metropolitan area (CMA). Any CMA at 6% or higher is closed to low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications until the next refresh on January 8, 2027. That now covers 30 of the 41 CMAs in ESDC's table, up from 26 last quarter.

This is a federal rule under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). It only bites in the CMAs listed in ESDC's table, and Quebec has an additional low-wage measure for the Montréal and Laval economic regions. Below is what changed, which cities are affected, who is exempt and what it means if you are hoping to land an LMIA-supported job.

What changed in the low-wage LMIA October 2026 update?

Six CMAs crossed the 6% line and were added to the pause list, while two dropped below it and reopened. The new rates are taken from the Statistics Canada (StatCan) Labour Force Survey and apply to applications submitted from October 9, 2026 to January 7, 2027.

Added to the pause list (previous rate → new rate):

Halifax, Nova Scotia: 5.9% → 6.1%
Fredericton, New Brunswick: 5.3% → 6.2%
Kingston, Ontario: 5.3% → 6.3%
St. Catharines-Niagara, Ontario: 5.8% → 6.5%
Regina, Saskatchewan: 5.9% → 6.7%
Lethbridge, Alberta: 5.4% → 6.0%

Removed from the pause list:

Kamloops, British Columbia: 7.0% → 3.6%
Chilliwack, British Columbia: 7.9% → 5.6%

Several of the newly added areas had only just reopened. According to CIC News, Halifax, Fredericton, Kingston, St. Catharines-Niagara and Regina were among eight regions where low-wage processing resumed on July 10, 2026. Three months later, they are closed again. The timing also lines up with a weak national picture: StatCan reported that employment fell by 68,000 in September and the national unemployment rate rose to 6.5%.

Which cities are on the low-wage LMIA pause list?

Low-wage LMIAs will not be processed in these 30 CMAs for applications submitted between October 9, 2026 and January 7, 2027. The rate shown is the one ESDC applies for this period.

Newfoundland and Labrador: St. John's (6.4%)
Nova Scotia: Halifax (6.1%)
New Brunswick: Moncton (8.1%), Fredericton (6.2%)
Quebec: Montréal (7.2%)
Ontario/Quebec: Ottawa-Gatineau (7.9%)
Ontario: Oshawa (9.8%), London (9.1%), Windsor (7.9%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (7.6%), Toronto (7.5%), Guelph (7.5%), Hamilton (7.4%), St. Catharines-Niagara (6.5%), Belleville-Quinte West (6.4%), Kingston (6.3%), Peterborough (6.3%), Brantford (6.3%), Barrie (6.2%), Greater Sudbury (6.2%)
Saskatchewan: Regina (6.7%), Saskatoon (6.5%)
Alberta: Edmonton (7.6%), Red Deer (6.9%), Calgary (6.4%), Lethbridge (6.0%)
British Columbia: Kelowna (8.6%), Abbotsford-Mission (7.6%), Vancouver (7.0%), Nanaimo (6.6%)

Ontario carries the heaviest load, with 14 of its CMAs on the list, plus Ottawa-Gatineau, which straddles Ontario and Quebec. Every CMA in Alberta that appears in the table is now closed, after Lethbridge moved up to exactly 6.0%, which is enough to trigger the measure.

Where can employers still apply for low-wage LMIAs?

Eleven CMAs remain below 6% and stay open to low-wage applications this quarter. Areas outside any CMA are not caught by this measure at all.

Saint John, New Brunswick (5.5%)
Saguenay, Quebec (3.7%), Québec City (4.3%), Sherbrooke (4.2%), Trois-Rivières (5.7%) and Drummondville (3.8%)
Thunder Bay, Ontario (4.6%)
Winnipeg, Manitoba (5.9%)
Kamloops (3.6%), Chilliwack (5.6%) and Victoria (5.8%), British Columbia

Winnipeg, Victoria and Trois-Rivières are worth watching. All three sit just under the line, so a small rise in local unemployment could close them in January. Smaller centres classed as census agglomerations, rather than CMAs, remain eligible regardless of their jobless rate.

Who is exempt from the low-wage LMIA pause?

Certain sectors and position types can still be processed even in a paused CMA. ESDC lists these exemptions:

occupations in primary agriculture
construction (NAICS 23)
food manufacturing (NAICS 311)
hospitals (NAICS 622) and nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623)
some in-home caregiver roles in private households: registered nurses (NOC 31301), licensed practical nurses (NOC 32101), home childcare providers (NOC 44100) and home support workers (NOC 44101)
positions that support permanent residence only, with no work permit application
short positions, generally 120 calendar days or less, that are truly temporary or highly mobile; the employer must upload a written "Exemption request"

Quebec has an extra condition for in-home caregivers: in Quebec CMAs, the exemption applies only when the care is for a person with medical needs, or a child whose guardian cannot provide care for medical reasons, and a physician's note is required.

How do you check if a job location is affected?

Use the full postal code of the work location, not the employer's head office. ESDC sets out these steps:

Enter the complete postal code in the Census of Population geography search on the StatCan website.
Look for the "Census metropolitan area / Census agglomeration" level in the results.
If that level is missing, or the place is a census agglomeration, the application stays eligible.
If it is a CMA, compare it with ESDC's rate for the date the LMIA will be submitted. At 6% or higher, the application will not be processed.

Two points catch people out. First, the rate that counts is the one in force at the time the LMIA is submitted. Second, the measure only covers positions paid below the provincial or territorial wage threshold. A job paid at or above that threshold is not caught by this pause.

What other low-wage LMIA limits still apply?

The CMA pause sits on top of other low-wage rules that did not change on October 9. Employers in open areas still have to meet them, with some exceptions:

10% cap: low-wage temporary foreign workers can make up no more than 10% of the workforce at a work location.
20% cap: construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and the listed in-home caregiver roles have a higher 20% ceiling.
Full-time hours: the job must offer at least 30 hours a week.
Fee: employers pay $1,000 (CAD) per position. ESDC does not charge the fee when it refuses to process an application.
No recruitment fees for workers: employers and anyone recruiting for them cannot charge or recover recruitment fees from the worker. Breaking this rule leads to a negative LMIA.

What this means for you

The low-wage LMIA October 2026 rates last a full quarter. If you are a foreign worker hoping for a low-wage job in one of the 30 paused cities, an employer there cannot get a new low-wage LMIA for you before January 8, 2027 unless the position qualifies for an exemption. Your realistic options are roles in exempt sectors, jobs paid at or above the wage threshold, or employers located in the 11 open CMAs or in smaller communities outside CMAs.

The measure is applied to LMIA applications at the time they are submitted. If you are planning to extend a permit you already hold, read our guide "Work Permit Extension Processing Time: IRCC's New Wait Estimate". For the wider labour picture behind these rates, see "Canada Unemployment Rate September 2026 Rises to 6.5%". Ontario workers aiming for permanent residence may also want "OINP Points 2026: New $80,000 Earnings Bracket Explained".

Watch out for LMIA job scams

Paused cities make people more desperate, and fraudsters know it. Genuine Canadian employers never charge you for a job offer or an LMIA, and the TFWP bans them from recovering recruitment fees from workers. Nobody can sell you a "guaranteed job" or a work permit. Be wary of offers that come only through WhatsApp or social media. Pay Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) fees only on canada.ca, and check that any immigration consultant is listed on the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) public register.

Frequently asked questions

What is the low-wage LMIA pause?

It is a federal TFWP measure that stops ESDC processing LMIA applications for jobs paid below the provincial or territorial wage threshold when the work location sits in a CMA where unemployment is 6% or more. It applies to applications submitted since September 26, 2024, and the rates are refreshed every three months.

Which cities were added to the low-wage LMIA list in October 2026?

Six were added: Halifax, Fredericton, Kingston, St. Catharines-Niagara, Regina and Lethbridge. Each one's rate rose to 6.0% or higher in ESDC's October 9, 2026 table.

Is Toronto open for low-wage LMIAs?

No. Toronto's rate for this period is 7.5%, so low-wage LMIA applications for work locations there will not be processed until at least January 8, 2027, unless the position is in an exempt sector.

When is the next low-wage LMIA update?

ESDC says its next update will take place on January 8, 2027. Until then, the October 9 rates apply to every low-wage LMIA submitted, based on the submission date.

Does the pause apply to high-wage LMIAs?

No. The measure covers only positions with a wage below the provincial or territorial wage threshold, so jobs paid at or above that threshold are not refused under it, whatever the local unemployment rate.

Can an employer charge me for an LMIA?

No. Employers pay the $1,000 (CAD) processing fee themselves, and TFWP rules ban them or their recruiters from charging or recovering recruitment fees from workers. Anyone asking you to pay for an LMIA or job offer is a red flag.

Sources

This article was compiled by Jobsiz from the sources listed above, with AI-assisted writing and automated fact-checking. Published October 9, 2026. We update stories when new verified information becomes available.

Low-Wage LMIA October 2026: 30 Cities Where Processing Stops