Canada has expanded its restrictions on low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMAI) approvals to cover 30 cities, tightening employer access to temporary foreign workers in urban labour markets already under pressure.

The move, announced through Immigration.ca reporting, extends the geography of the existing low-wage LMIA restriction policy. Cities inside the expanded zone now face stricter limits when employers apply to bring in temporary foreign workers at or below the low-wage threshold.

What changed, and for whom?

The core change is geographic. The restriction zone, which previously covered a smaller set of urban areas with high unemployment, now includes 30 cities. Employers located in those cities face heightened scrutiny — or outright ineligibility — when seeking LMIAs for low-wage positions.

Two groups feel the change directly:

• Employers in the 30 listed cities who planned to hire temporary foreign workers in low-wage occupations; their applications now face the expanded restrictions.
• Prospective foreign workers recruited for low-wage roles in those cities; new work permit pathways tied to low-wage LMIAs narrow as a result.

The LMIA is the labour-market test that typically precedes a work permit. When the federal government restricts low-wage LMIAs in a given area, most employers there cannot obtain the approval needed to hire abroad for those positions.

Takeaway: the hiring route for low-wage foreign workers just got narrower across a much larger urban footprint.

Why Ottawa is widening the net

The expansion fits the government's broader effort to slow temporary resident growth and respond to domestic labour-market strain. Restricting low-wage LMIAs in more cities reduces the number of new work permits tied to lower-paying jobs.

Officials have framed such measures as a way to prioritise available domestic workers in metropolitan areas, while keeping temporary foreign worker access open in regions and sectors that still face genuine shortages.

Takeaway: this is a policy designed to cut low-wage temporary migration in populated areas, not across the whole economy.

What should affected employers and applicants do now?

Employers in the 30 cities should verify whether their location and wage level fall inside the restricted zone before filing an LMIA application, and confirm whether any exemptions apply to their sector. Prospective workers already in the pipeline should check the status of their employer's LMIA and work permit application.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada publish the official city list, wage thresholds and exemption rules. Those sources govern; this article does not constitute legal advice for individual cases.

Takeaway: check the official IRCC and ESDC listings first — eligibility now depends heavily on which of the 30 cities an employer sits in.

By Elena Vasquez, Passport File