Foreign workers and employers in Montreal and Laval will have to wait longer before applying for or renewing low-wage work permits. The province has extended its moratorium on low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) until December 31, 2026.
This means employers in these regions can’t hire or renew permits for workers earning below $34.62 per hour, which is Quebec’s current low-wage threshold. The pause affects applications under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which requires a positive or neutral LMIA to issue a work permit.
The moratorium first began in August 2024, and was originally set to end in November 2025.
The suspension includes LMIA applications made through Quebec’s facilitated process and renewals for workers already employed in Montreal and Laval. The facilitated process usually helps employers hire for in-demand or specialized jobs without proving that no Canadians are available. However, under this freeze, even those simplified applications face a pause if they fall under the low-wage category.
Quebec’s decision aims to manage its labour market and address ongoing housing and affordability challenges.
The freeze applies to all cities and boroughs within the Montreal and Laval administrative regions. These include:
Baie-D’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Côte-Saint-Luc, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Dorval, Hampstead, Kirkland, Laval, Dorval Island, Montreal, East Montreal, Montreal West, Mount Royal, Pointe-Claire, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Senneville, and Westmount.
Employers in these areas cannot apply for low-wage LMIAs during the moratorium period.
The province has made some exceptions for certain jobs and sectors. The freeze does not apply to:
Some industries are also exempt from the freeze, including:
These sectors can continue to submit and renew LMIA applications as usual.
Quebec’s move reflects a wider national approach. Canada’s federal government has taken similar steps to limit low-wage TFWP permits in cities with unemployment rates of 6% or higher.
Currently, 32 metropolitan regions across Canada are affected by federal LMIA freezes. These restrictions aim to balance job opportunities, manage temporary resident levels, and ease housing pressures.
While Quebec has pushed its freeze until December 31, 2026, other provinces have set deadlines until January 6, 2026. The federal department updates affected areas every three months based on new unemployment data.
These coordinated efforts show both provincial and federal governments are tightening rules to ensure fair access to jobs for Canadian residents while addressing population and housing challenges.
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