published on 14 March 2025 @ 10:43 am · COMMENT

Quebec Extends Prohibitions on Low-Wage LMIAs and Restricts Access to Facilitated LMIA Process

The Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) of Quebec has recently updated requirements for Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs), including the extension of the refusal to process certain Low-Wage LMIA applications and revisions to occupations eligible for the facilitated LMIA process.

Since September 2024, the MIFI has been refusing to process LMIA applications for low-wage positions in the Montreal region, with exceptions available for certain essential sectors (agriculture, construction, food processing, education, health and social services). As a result, most employers in the Montreal region unable to offer a wage exceeding the provincial median wage of $32.96 have not been able to fulfill their labour needs through the hiring of foreign workers. This temporary refusal to process has now been extended to November 30, 2025, and expanded to include the Laval region as well as the Montreal region.

In addition to expanding the refusal to process LMIA applications, the MIFI has also significantly revised the list of occupations eligible for the facilitated LMIA process, slashing this list from 267 occupations in 2024 to just 76 occupations for 2025. The facilitated LMIA process is designed to expedite LMIA applications for in-demand occupations by allowing employers to bypass ordinarily onerous recruitment requirements. These changes aim to ensure that access to the facilitated LMIA process is aligned with what the MIFI deems to be current labor market needs.

Staying informed about these continual changes is crucial for Quebec employers that may need to hire foreign workers in the coming year. The extension of these restrictions highlights the Quebec government’s emphasis on incentivizing employers to hire local Canadian staff where possible and relying on LMIAs only for specialized occupations where there is a gap in the labour market.

filed under: IMMIGRATIONPERMANENT RESIDENCE