Priority Processing in LMIA Applications

Meurrens LawLabour Market Impact Assessments

Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA“) applications typically take 1-4 months to process. However, the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (“ESDC“) processes LMIAs for in-demand occupations (skilled trades), highly paid occupations (top 10%) or short-duration (120 days or less) entries within a 10 business day service standard.

High-Demand

To be considered a High-Demand LMIA, the position must be for a skilled trade on the list of eligible occupations below, and the wage being offered for the position must be at, or above, the provincial / territorial median wage where the job is located.

Tables about unemployment, Median wages, 10-day speed of service.

NOC
2006
NOC
2011
Occupation Title
7212 7202 Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations
7215 7204 Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades
7219 7205 Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
7271 7271 Carpenters
7216 7301 Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades
7217 7302 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
8211 8211 Supervisors, logging and forestry
8221 8221 Supervisors, mining and quarrying
8222 8222 Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling services
8241 8241 Logging machinery operators
8252 / 8253 8252 Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
9211 9211 Supervisors, mineral and metal processing
9212 9212 Supervisors, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities
9214 9214 Supervisors, plastic and rubber products manufacturing
9231 9231 Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing
7351 / 7352 9241 Power engineers and power systems operators
9424 9243 Water and waste treatment plant operators
7231 7231 Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors
7261 7233 Sheet metal workers
7263 7235 Structural metal and plate work fabricators and fitters
7264 7236 Ironworkers
7265 7237 Welders and related machine operators
7241 7241 Electricians (except industrial and power system)
7242 7242 Industrial electricians
7243 7243 Power system electricians
7244 7244 Electrical power line and cable workers
7245 7245 Telecommunications line and cable workers
7246 7246 Telecommunications installation and repair workers
7251 7251 Plumbers
7252 7252 Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
7253 7253 Gas fitters
7311 / 7317 7311 Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
7312 7312 Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
7313 7313 Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
7314 7314 Railway carmen/women
7315 7315 Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors
7318 7318 Elevator constructors and mechanics
7371 7371 Crane operators
7372 7372 Drillers and blasters – surface, mining, quarrying and construction
7373 7373 Water well drillers
8231 8231 Underground production and development miners
8232 8232 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers
9232 9232 Petroleum, gas and chemical process operators

Highest-Paid

To be considered a Highest-Paid LMIA, the wage being offered for the position is at or above the top 10% of wages earned by Canadians or permanent residents in the province/territory, where the job is located.  This amount is:

Tables about unemployment, Median wages, 10-day speed of service. 

Province/Territory Wages prior to
May 3, 2018
2016 Wage ($/hour)
Wages effective
May 3, 2018
2017 Wage ($/hour)
Alberta $50.00 $50.00
British Columbia $42.00 $43.00
Manitoba $40.26 $41.00
New Brunswick $38.41 $38.46
Newfoundland and Labrador $42.74 $43.00
Northwest Territories $58.00 $58.97
Nova Scotia $39.42 $40.51
Nunavut $53.85 $53.42
Ontario $46.00 $46.15
Prince Edward Island $36.06 $37.90
Quebec $40.87 $42.03
Saskatchewan $45.00 $45.13
Yukon $47.00 $46.15

Short Duration

To constitute a Short Duration LMIA, the length of employment must be 120 calendar days or less. It is applicable for any occupation. The wage being offered for the requested occupation must be at or above the provincial / territorial hourly median wage for the occupation.

Things to Note

There are several things that employers should know about the 10 day service standard, including that:

  • An Employer Compliance Review or Inspection takes precedence over the 10-Day Speed of Service.
  • To be eligible for the 10-Day Speed of Service a file must be complete. If additional information is required, an application will alos be removed.
  • Complex files will also be removed from the 10-Day Speed of Service.
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