Ottawa extends maximum duration for some low-wage temporary foreign worker positions

Employers filing new low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment applications can now request employment periods of up to two years, double the previous one-year maximum, the federal government announced November 6.

The change applies to applications submitted on or after November 6. Ottawa also added early-childhood educators to the list of occupations exempt from the refusal-to-process rule in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher.

Employment and Social Development Canada says the targeted changes are meant to reduce repeated applications and help fill shortages in child care. The government pointed to $151.5 million over five years proposed in Budget 2026 for administration and compliance work in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Other measures described in the announcement are not yet in force. Beginning March 1, 2027, Ottawa proposes to let provinces and territories opt into region- and occupation-specific access, with higher low-wage workforce caps in selected sectors. Those changes remain contingent on provincial or territorial participation.

Source

Employment and Social Development Canada announcement, published November 6, 2026.

Illustrative stock photo: Gautam Arora / Unsplash, under the Unsplash License. The classroom does not depict workers or an employer covered by the announcement.