The new rules introduced by the Canadian federal government now allow employers with multiple work locations to hire more temporary workers. This update was published on the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) website on August 18, 2026. It states that employers can now hire more than 10% or 20% of their workforce, depending on their industry.
Prior to the new rule, an employer could only hire up to 10% of their workers under the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Employers provided services in in-demand sectors, such as construction, health care and food production, can now hire up to 20% of their total workforce, representing a 100% increase.
Under the new rule, employers with fewer than 10 workers may hire one or two low-wage temporary foreign workers. This rule applies per work location, but only employers in in-demand sectors can hire two workers.
The change allows the workforce cap to be calculated based on the number of employees at each work location. This alternative calculation applies to locations with fewer than 10 employees where the standard percentage-based cap would otherwise allow the employer to hire fewer than one low-wage worker under the 10% limit or fewer than two workers under the 20% limit.
Before the change, this alternative calculation applied only to employers with fewer than 10 employees nationwide, regardless of how many work locations they operated.
For more details about the new rule, refer to the “Variation: Employers with fewer than 10 employees at a given work location” section under Program requirements for low-wage positions.
What Is a Low-Wage Position?
Under the new rule, a position is only considered low-wage when you’re paid less than 120% of the median wage in the region. This is according to the Job Bank. If the wage exceeds the threshold, the employer may hire a worker through the high-wage stream. There’s no workforce cap for this route.
How much is the threshold? As of August 2026, it’s $36.92 per hour in Ontario. Employers looking to hire or retain temporary foreign workers through the TFWP must comply with ESDC’s low-wage workforce cap as part of the approval process.
For a foreign worker to obtain or renew a work permit under the TFWP, their employer must first obtain a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from ESDC. The LMIA confirms that no qualified permanent resident or Canadian citizen is available for the position.
