Increase of median hourly wage in Quebec

Employment and Social Development Canada (EDSC) has announced an increase in the median hourly wage in Québec from $23.08 to $25.00 effective April 30, 2022. We regret that the information was released without prior notice or an announcement for a transitional period.

This recent modification may impact applications of employers who recruit workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). More specifically, employers should take notice if:

• their request for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) hasn’t been submitted before April 30, 2022
• their target position is not eligible for facilitated LMIA processing
• the hourly wage of target position is between 23,08$ and 25$

These employers would now have their LMIA applications filed under the low wage job stream requirements.

However, it is possible that as of May 24 of this year the position for which you wish to recruit becomes eligible for facilitated LMIA processing. The list of occupations that should become eligible for facilitated LMIA processing on that date can be found here. As a reminder, the benefits of facilitated LMIA processing include the following:

• There is no limit on the number of foreign workers that can be hired
• No job posting is required.

We invite you to contact our experts for further information or questions.