As of August 18, 2026, employers can hire 1-2 low-wage temporary foreign workers per small work site, not just per company nationwide — a change that helps chains and multi-site businesses.
If you work in the low-wage stream of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a quiet rule change from August 18, 2026 just made it easier for employers running several small locations — think regional franchise operators, multi-site care providers, or chains with under-10-employee branches — to sponsor workers at each site.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) updated its low-wage stream guidance to change how the workforce cap is calculated for employers with multiple small work locations. Normally, an employer can hire no more than 10% of its total workforce as low-wage temporary foreign workers, or 20% in the priority sectors of health care, construction, and food production.
There's always been an exception for very small employers: if applying the 10%/20% cap would round down to less than one permit (or less than two, for the 20% sectors), an employer with fewer than 10 employees can hire one or two low-wage workers regardless of the percentage math. Until now, that exception only applied if the employer had fewer than 10 employees company-wide.
As of August 18, ESDC now applies that same small-employer exception per individual work location, not just per company. A business with 15 locations, each employing 8 people, previously had its cap calculated against its entire 120-person workforce. Now, each of those 15 locations can independently qualify for the one-or-two-worker minimum, because each location has fewer than 10 employees on its own.
The calculation counts everyone at a location: full-time and part-time staff, temporary foreign workers with approved LMIAs who haven't started yet, and vacant positions the employer is actively requesting workers for on an LMIA application. Part-time employees — those averaging under 30 hours a week — count as half a person toward the cap.
| Sector | Standard cap | Small-location exception |
|---|
| General (most sectors) | 10% of workforce | 1 low-wage worker per site under 10 employees |
| Health care, construction, food production | 20% of workforce | 2 low-wage workers per site under 10 employees |
This sits alongside the rural exception introduced in March 2026, which lets provinces raise the cap to 15% for employers specifically located in rural areas — a separate lever from the multi-site change.
None of the underlying LMIA requirements changed. To hire a low-wage worker, an employer still needs a positive or neutral Labour Market Impact Assessment showing no qualified Canadian or permanent resident is available, and still has to meet the low-wage stream's added obligations: covering the worker's transportation to and from Canada, ensuring housing that costs less than 30% of the worker's pre-tax income, and providing private health insurance where provincial coverage doesn't apply.
The low-wage/high-wage line itself is set by the regional median wage on the federal Job Bank — in Ontario, for example, that threshold currently sits at $36.92/hour. Jobs above the threshold fall under the high-wage stream, which was never subject to the workforce cap in the first place.
It's also worth remembering that most Canadian work permits don't run through the TFWP or an LMIA at all — they come through the International Mobility Program, which is LMIA-exempt. This year's admissions targets are 60,000 through TFWP versus 170,000 through IMP, so this change affects a real but specific slice of the system.
If you're an employer running several small branches — clinics, cafes, care homes, franchise locations under 10 staff each: recalculate your cap location by location, not against your combined headcount. A business that couldn't get a low-wage LMIA approved under the old company-wide math may qualify now, site by site.
If you're a low-wage worker or prospective worker targeting a multi-location employer: this widens the number of employers who may now be eligible to sponsor a low-wage LMIA application, particularly at smaller branches that were previously boxed out by their parent company's total size. It doesn't change your own eligibility — you still need a job offer and an approved LMIA — but it can open doors at employers who couldn't previously make the math work.
If your employer operates in a city still under the low-wage LMIA processing moratorium: this change doesn't touch that restriction. Employers in urban areas with unemployment above 6% remain barred from hiring or renewing low-wage permits regardless of the workforce cap math, unless their city has come off that list.
Tip
If you're an employer with multiple small locations, don't assume this automatically clears you for an LMIA — the exception only changes how the workforce cap is calculated. You still need to demonstrate a genuine labour shortage at that specific location and meet every other low-wage stream requirement, including housing and transportation costs. Run the location-by-location headcount first before committing to a recruitment process that assumes eligibility.
LMIA & Work Permit Guide | Low-Wage LMIA Freeze Update | LMIA-Exempt Work Permits | Work Permit Guide
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration advice. Always verify information with official IRCC sources and consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or licensed immigration lawyer for advice specific to your situation.