Picture a hypothetical manufacturer in an industrial park off Steeles Avenue. A trusted machine operator is finishing a work permit, the owner wants to keep them, and someone at a trade association has said “just get an LMIA.” The owner assumes this is a form and a fee. In fact, it is a test of the labour market, a set of recruitment steps that must happen before you file, and a compliance commitment that continues long after the worker is approved. And because of where Brampton sits on the federal government’s map, it may not be possible at all at the wage being offered.
For small and mid-sized businesses, the question is usually a practical one: can we hire this person, how long will it take, and what are we taking on? This overview is meant to help you think through those questions before you spend money on advertising or filing fees.
This is general information for employers, not legal advice about a specific position. Program rules, wage thresholds, and unemployment figures change, sometimes every few months, so verify the current rules with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) before you act.
What an LMIA Does, and What It Does Not
A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a decision by ESDC about whether hiring a foreign worker for a particular job would have a positive or neutral effect on the Canadian labour market. It is not a work permit. After a positive LMIA is issued, the worker uses it to apply to IRCC for a work permit, and IRCC makes a separate decision on whether that person qualifies.
So there are two stages, and both can fail. An employer can obtain a positive LMIA, and the worker can still be refused a permit, for example on a question about their qualifications or admissibility. A positive LMIA is generally valid for up to six months, so the worker needs to apply within that time.
Not every foreign hire needs an LMIA. Certain work permits are LMIA-exempt, including some based on free trade agreements, intra-company transfers, and some open work permits such as those held by post-graduation permit holders or eligible spouses. If a candidate already holds an open work permit, you may not need to go through this process at all, although you should still verify their work authorization. It is worth checking that before you start advertising.
High-Wage or Low-Wage: The Number That Decides
ESDC divides applications into two streams, based on the wage you offer compared with the provincial threshold. For Ontario, the threshold is $36.92 an hour for LMIAs received as of July 17, 2026. ESDC updates this figure, so confirm it for your filing date.
An offer at or above the threshold goes in the high-wage stream. An offer below it goes in the low-wage stream. You cannot simply raise the wage to shift streams if the wage does not match what Canadians earn in that job. The offer needs to be consistent with what Canadians and permanent residents in the same role are paid, and it must meet the prevailing wage, meaning the higher of the Job Bank median wage for the job and location, or what you pay current employees with similar skills and experience. Only guaranteed wages count. Overtime, tips, bonuses, and benefits do not.
The Refusal Rule That Affects Brampton
This is the point that most often catches Brampton employers by surprise. ESDC may refuse to process low-wage LMIA applications when the work location is in a census metropolitan area with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher. Brampton falls within the Toronto census metropolitan area. ESDC updates the rate table every three months, and Toronto’s published rate sits above that 6% line, at 7.5% for applications submitted from October 9, 2026 to January 7, 2027.
The practical effect is that a low-wage application for a job in Brampton is likely to be refused processing unless an exemption applies. The exemptions cover:
- Primary agriculture occupations.
- Construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities, based on the employer’s industry classification.
- Certain in-home caregiver positions.
- Positions that support permanent residency only, with no work permit application.
- Truly short-duration positions, generally 120 days or less, or highly mobile ones, with a written exemption request.
Check your industry code with care, because the exemption depends on what your business does and not on the job title. A truck-parts distributor is not automatically a construction company merely because it sells to contractors. Check the rate table on the date you apply, too. It applies at the time of submission, and the numbers change.
Even if you qualify for an exemption, the low-wage workforce cap applies. Foreign workers can generally be no more than 10% of low-wage positions at a work location, or 20% in certain sectors such as construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees can usually have one worker under the 10% cap, or two under the 20% cap.
Recruitment Before You File
The rules on recruitment are specific, and doing them late or incompletely is a very common reason for trouble. All advertising must take place within the three months before you apply, and you need to keep your records for six years.
For low-wage positions, the advertisement must run for at least eight consecutive weeks. You must use Job Bank and its Job Match service, inviting matches rated two stars or higher within the first 30 days, consider all Direct Apply submissions, and carry out activities that target youth aged 15 to 30, plus at least two other methods that each reach a different underrepresented group.
For high-wage positions, the advertisement must run for at least four consecutive weeks, with at least three recruitment activities, including Job Bank and at least two others consistent with the occupation, one of them national in scope. Job Match candidates rated four stars or more must be invited to apply within the first 30 days. At least one activity must continue until a decision is issued.
Keep a real record of the outcome. List who applied, who you interviewed, and the honest reason each candidate was unsuitable. Reasons such as “we already have someone in mind” do not count. If a qualified Canadian or permanent resident applies, the law expects you to consider that person fairly.
Costs You Must Absorb
Employers should work these into the decision from the start:
- Processing fee: $1,000 per position, generally non-refundable. It cannot be paid by the worker or recovered from them.
- Transition plan (high-wage): you must describe the steps you will take to recruit, retain, and train Canadians and permanent residents, subject to some exemptions.
- Housing (low-wage): you must provide or ensure suitable, affordable housing, meaning that shelter costs are below 30% of the worker’s before-tax income. Finding this in Brampton’s rental market takes real planning.
- Transportation (low-wage): you must pay round-trip travel between the worker’s home country and the work location, and you cannot recover the cost.
- Health coverage: you must provide private emergency health insurance for any period when the worker is not covered by the provincial plan, plus workplace safety insurance where the law requires it.
Low-wage positions generally have a maximum employment duration of one year. For a high-wage position, duration depends on your application and on the program’s limits.
Obligations After Approval
The hiring is only the start. You must have a signed employment agreement in English or French, in the language the worker prefers, on or before the first day of work. It must match the LMIA on occupation, wages, and conditions. You also have to review the wage each year, by January 1 after Job Bank’s fall update, and the wage can never drop below the LMIA wage.
ESDC can inspect employers, and employers who have hired temporary foreign workers within the previous five years must be able to show reasonable efforts toward a workplace free of abuse. You cannot reclassify the worker as an independent contractor after approval. Serious non-compliance may bring penalties, a period of ineligibility, or a revoked LMIA, and a revocation for false or misleading information can block further applications for two years.
Ontario adds its own layer. The Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, 2009 restricts recruitment fees and cost recovery, and bars employers from holding on to a worker’s passport or work permit. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 applies to these workers as well. Using an outside recruiter does not remove your responsibility, so ask questions about any recruiter you use. Never ask a worker to repay fees, or to pay you for a job or an LMIA. Selling a job offer is unlawful, and it creates grave risks for you and for the worker.
Other Options to Consider
An LMIA may not be the right tool. Think about these alternatives before you commit:
- If the worker already has an open work permit, such as a post-graduation work permit, you may be able to hire them directly for as long as that permit is valid.
- A free trade agreement or intra-company transfer category may apply.
- If you want to support the worker for the long term, permanent residence may be a better conversation. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program has its own employer requirements, and Express Entry job offer rules have moved away from requiring an LMIA from November 3, 2026.
Each of those has its own legal test. None should be chosen simply because it is cheaper.
A Sensible Sequence
If you are thinking about hiring a foreign worker, try this order. First, determine the worker’s current status and permit expiry. Second, identify the correct NOC code based on the actual duties. Third, compare your wage against the prevailing wage and Ontario threshold. Fourth, if the wage falls in the low-wage stream, check whether your industry is exempt from the refusal rule and how the cap applies. Only after that should you begin advertising, since advertising periods expire and cost money.
If your timing depends on an existing permit that is running out, leave more runway than you think you need. Our work visas page outlines the kind of work permit assistance available, and our immigration law team can review a proposed hire. A decision in any one case rests with ESDC and IRCC, and no one can promise the result. What you can control is whether your recruitment records, your wage analysis, and your compliance practices are in order before someone asks to see them.