Employers in Canada hiring foreign workers for low-wage positions under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must meet new recruitment requirements from April 1, 2026. The changes apply to Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications and aim to prioritise hiring of Canadians and permanent residents.

Under the revised rules, employers must advertise job vacancies for at least eight consecutive weeks, up from the earlier four-week requirement. The advertisement must be completed within three months before submitting an LMIA application, and the full duration must be met before filing.

Mandatory outreach to youth job seekers

Employers must now demonstrate targeted efforts to recruit youth aged 15 to 30, a requirement that did not exist earlier. They must show that reasonable efforts were made to encourage young candidates to apply.

This includes posting vacancies on youth sections of Job Bank and other youth-focused job boards, engaging with schools or colleges, participating in youth employment programmes, or using platforms commonly used by younger job seekers. These steps are additional to existing recruitment requirements and do not replace them.

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Focus on protecting domestic workforce

The changes are intended to help protect the local labour market and reinforce priority hiring of citizens and permanent residents before employers turn to foreign workers.

The updated rules apply specifically to low-wage roles and will impact how employers prepare LMIA applications going forward.