Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has implemented its annual update to median hourly wage thresholds used to classify high-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications, effective 17 July 2026. The change impacts every employer that recruits foreign talent through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or the Global Talent Stream. Because a position is deemed “high-wage” if the offered rate meets or exceeds the provincial median, the revised tables move hundreds of roles—particularly in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan—into the high-wage category. Employers now have to provide transition plans demonstrating efforts to reduce reliance on foreign labour and may face stricter advertising requirements. For example, a software-developer role in Vancouver must be offered at C$42.10 per hour (up from C$40.85) to qualify. Mobility teams should revisit pending LMIA drafts: if an application was not submitted before 17 July, the new wages apply and budget approvals may need to be revisited. Companies using the Global Talent Stream—popular for bringing senior AI engineers to Canada—must ensure offer letters meet the updated floor or risk refusal at the verification call stage. The higher wage bar could indirectly benefit foreign workers already in Canada, as employers choose to increase salaries across the board to maintain internal equity. It also underscores Ottawa’s strategy of ensuring temporary foreign labour remains a complement—not a substitute—to domestic recruitment by making high-wage applications more rigorous.
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada – “Hire a Temporary Foreign Worker in a High-Wage Position”
