The Government of Canada has provided additional information around its extension and modification of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Workforce Solutions Road Map Measures.
The announcement offers information on the forthcoming update to Job Bank wage rates, as well as a reminder about the employer’s responsibility with respect to the wages of temporary foreign workers.
Each year, Job Bank publishes an update of median wages by occupation and by economic region for all of Canada. The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program relies on these wages to ensure that employers applying for temporary foreign workers through the TFW Program are offering wages representative of current labour market conditions.
The next annual wage update is expected to be published on November 29, 2023. The new wage rates will take effect on the day of publication.
Prior to submitting a new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to the TFW Program, employers should consult Job Bank for the updated median wages.
As a reminder, the TFW Program requires employers to pay the prevailing wage that is defined as the highest of either:
- the median wage for the occupation and economic region as posted on Job Bank*, or
- the wage that is within the wage range that an employer is paying the current employees hired for the same job and work location, and within the same skills and years of experience.
* For positions in Quebec, the instructions of the ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) continue to take precedence.
Employers who have temporary foreign workers currently employed are encouraged to make the necessary checks and adjustments to the salary.
Note that employers who submit their applications to the program prior to or within three months of the publishing of the new wages will not be required to undertake additional recruitment activities based on these new wages.
If you have questions on the TFW Program, please visit Canada.ca or communicate with the Employer Contact Centre.