How the rule works

Since September 26, 2024, Service Canada does not process an LMIA application when two conditions are met at the same time:

• the offered wage is below the provincial or territorial wage threshold, and
• the work location is in a census metropolitan area with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher at the time the application is submitted.

In British Columbia the threshold is 38.40 Canadian dollars an hour for LMIAs received as of July 17, 2026. Before that it was 36.60.

The unemployment table is updated every three months. The October 9 table applies to applications submitted from that day until January 7, 2027. The next update is scheduled for January 8, 2027.

An application that falls under this rule is not processed. ESDC states that it does not charge the processing fee and that it sends a letter with the reason.

British Columbia, city by city

Applicable unemployment rate, in percent, by the period in which the application is submitted:

Of the seven areas in the province, four are outside processing and three are inside. In the previous period it was six outside and one inside.

What the table shows and does not say

Vancouver is going up. The table publishes three periods and Vancouver rises in all three: 6.5, 6.7 and 7.0. Each update left it further from 6%, not closer.

The picture can flip in a single quarter. Kamloops went from 7.0 to 3.6, the lowest rate of the 41 areas in the new period. Chilliwack went from 7.9 to 5.6. Of the three periods the table shows, both were outside processing in only one.

Kelowna is the third highest in the table. At 8.6 in the new period, only Oshawa, at 9.8, and London, at 9.1, are higher.

The submission date is what counts. The rule looks at the rate in effect on the day the LMIA is submitted. A low-wage LMIA for Kamloops or Chilliwack submitted on October 8 fell under the rule. Submitted on October 9 or later, it is processed, which is not the same as approved. That window runs until January 7, 2027: the next table can keep it open or close it.

The rest of the country

Of the 41 metropolitan areas in the table, 30 are at 6% or higher. In the previous period it was 26.

Still outside processing, among others: Toronto at 7.5, Montréal at 7.2, Calgary at 6.4, Edmonton at 7.6 and Ottawa-Gatineau at 7.9.

Lethbridge landed on exactly 6.0 and falls under the rule: the rule says 6% or higher.

What is outside the rule

ESDC continues to process applications for certain occupations in these sectors:

• primary agriculture,
• construction,
• food manufacturing,
• hospitals,
• nursing and residential care facilities,
• certain in-home caregiver positions in a private household: registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, home childcare providers, and attendants for persons with disabilities, home support workers and personal care attendants.

Also outside the rule:

• positions in support of permanent residence only, with no work permit application,
• short-duration positions, generally 120 calendar days or less, that are truly temporary or highly mobile. The exemption has to be requested in writing.

Two points about the work location:

• It is decided by postal code, not by the name of the city. ESDC asks you to enter the complete postal code of the work location in the Statistics Canada census search and look at the “Census metropolitan area / Census agglomeration” level.
• A census agglomeration is not a census metropolitan area. If the result is a census agglomeration, or if that level does not appear, the application remains eligible for processing.

Raising the wage is not an automatic way out

The rule only reaches positions below the threshold. But ESDC warns that offering a higher wage is not enough to qualify as a high-wage position: the offered wage should be similar to what Canadians and permanent residents are paid for the same job and work location, with similar skills and experience. It adds that adjusting the wage to fit a stream or avoid a requirement could lead to a negative LMIA decision.

What to check now

• If you work in Vancouver, Kelowna, Abbotsford-Mission or Nanaimo, check three things: whether your hourly wage is below 38.40, whether your sector is among the exemptions, and when your permit expires relative to January 8, 2027.
• If your employer is in Kamloops or Chilliwack, the window to submit the LMIA is open from October 9 until January 7, 2027.
• If your employer is in Victoria, applications are still processed, but the rate is two tenths below 6%.
• Confirm the postal code of the work location before taking anything for granted, in either direction.
• Be wary of anyone offering you a “guaranteed” LMIA in an area at 6% or higher. If the position falls under the rule, the application is not processed. Nobody can guarantee you a result, and anyone who charges for Canadian immigration advice has to be authorized.