The biggest changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in 2024 – a year in review

Throughout 2024, Canada's federal government made significant changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

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These changes include the following:

Change	Summary	When it came into effect
Reduction in LMIA validity	The validity of an LMIA reduced to six months (previously 12 months)	May 1, 2024
Visitors no longer able to apply for work permits from within Canada	Foreign nationals with visitor temporary resident status no longer allowed to apply for job-offer supported work permits from within Canada.	August 28, 2024
Suspension of processing of low-wage LMIAs	LMIAs for the low-wage stream will no longer be processed in CMAs with unemployment rates of 6% or higher.	September 26, 2024
Reduction of duration of employment for low-wage stream	The maximum duration of employment for workers hired through the low-wage stream has been reduced to one year (down from two years).	September 26, 2024
Lowering of workforce caps for low-wage stream	The federal government reduced the percentage of low-wage workers a Canadian business can employ through the TFWP.	September 26, 2024
Attestations no longer accepted	Employers can no longer use attestations from certain parties as proof of providing goods or services. They will need to show other documents instead.	October 28, 2024
Annual targets established for TFWP work permits	Target of 82,000 net new TFWP work permits for 2025.
Increase of wage requirements for high-wage stream	Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) raised the minimum hourly wage requirements for the high-wage stream of the TFWP.	November 8, 2024

Here’s a closer look at the major updates to the TFWP in 2024:

Reduction in LMIA validity

Canadian employers looking to hire foreign workers under the TFWP need to complete the government’s labour market test, known as the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

During the pandemic, the government temporarily increased the validity period of a Labour Market Impact Assessment to 12 months to help address labour market challenges.

However, as of May 1, 2024, the validity of an LMIA has reverted to six months. This rollback was announced on March 21 by Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault.

*Employers participating in the Recognized Employer Pilot program are exempt from this change.

Visitors no longer able to apply for work permits from within Canada

On August 28, IRCC ended the temporary public policy that allowed certain visitors to apply for certain work permits from within Canada.

This temporary public policy was originally introduced in August 2020 as a COVID-19 pandemic measure, and had been set to end on Feb 28, 2025.

With this public policy having ended, many visitors were required to leave Canada prior to applying for job-offer supported work permits, including work permits issued under the TFWP.

Suspension of processing of low-wage LMIAs

On August 26, the Canadian government announced that it would no longer process LMIAs for the Low-Wage stream in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) with unemployment rates of 6% or higher.

This change came into effect on September 26, 2024.

The government added that exceptions will be made for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in food security sectors (primary agriculture, food processing, and fish processing), as well as construction and healthcare.

The government updates the list of CMAs with unemployment rates above 6% every three months. The next update is set to take place on January 10, 2025.

Quebec also halted processing of LMIA applications for low-wage positions in CMAs in the province with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher. This also came into effect on September 26, 2024.

The province also announced that it would suspend the processing of LMIAs to applicants in Montreal with job offers below the Quebec median hourly wage (which translates to $27.47 CAD).

This temporary measure was implemented on September 3, 2024 and is expected to be in place until March 3, 2025. It does not apply to employers applying for LMIAs in certain industries such as agriculture, construction, food processing, education, and health and social service sectors.

Duration of employment for workers through low-wage stream

In August, it was also announced that the maximum duration of employment for workers hired through the low-wage stream will be reduced to one year (from two years).

This change came into effect on September 26, 2024.

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Workforce composition caps

The percentage of low-wage workers a Canadian business can employ through the TFWP has undergone significant revisions over the years.

In 2022, the cap was temporarily raised to 30% for certain sectors.

In 2024, the following changes were made:

On May 1, 2024, the cap returned to 20%. Only businesses in the construction and healthcare sectors could continue employing up to 30% of their workforce through the low-wage stream of the TFWP.
However, on August 26, the government announced further reforms. It reduced the 20% cap to 10% of an employer’s total workforce. This applied to the low wage stream and came into effect on September 26.
Meanwhile, in sectors such as construction and healthcare, the cap on the proportion of low-wage positions reduced to 20%, also as of September 26.

Attestations no longer accepted

As of October 28, employers are no longer allowed to use attestations from the following as proof of providing a good or service:

a lawyer or any other member in good standing with a law society;
a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA); or
an official from a financial institution.

Increase of wage requirements for high-wage stream

On October 22, 2024, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) raised the minimum hourly wage requirements for the high-wage stream of the TFWP.

Effective November 8, candidates must earn the higher of the two options listed below:

at least 20% more than the median wage for their position in their region to qualify; or
the wage that is within the wage range that current employees at the same employer (hired for the same job, with the same skills and years of experience, and who work at the same location) earn.

Previously, to be eligible, candidates needed to earn the median wage for their position, in their area, as listed on Canada’s National Job Bank, or a wage within the range that current employees at the same employer earn (whichever is higher).

Annual targets established for TFWP work permits

For the first time, this year's Immigration Levels Plan – announced October 24 – set targets for temporary resident admissions.

The government has proposed the following breakdown for admissions of temporary residents in Canada for the next three years:

Temporary resident category	2025	2026	2027
Overall arrivals and ranges	673,650 (604,900 - 742,400)	516,600 (435,250 - 597,950)	543,600 (472,900 - 614,250)
Temporary Foreign Worker Program	82,000	82,000	82,000

As shown in the above table, net new work permits issued under the TFWP are set to remain 82,000 for the next three consecutive years.

These targets are in line with the government’s goal to reduce temporary resident levels as a proportion of Canada's overall population from 7% to 5% by the end of 2026.

Note: While the 2025 target is firm, the immigration levels set for 2026 and 2027 are notional targets. IRCC revises and confirms the next year’s target on or before November 1 each year.

Review proposing future changes

In 2024, the federal government's Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) held a series of meetings on the TFWP and submitted a report recommending changes to the program in the future.

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