- Canada updated the Temporary Foreign Worker Program on August 18, 2026, letting qualifying small work locations use site-based hiring limits.
- Construction sites with fewer than 10 employees can use the 20% cap, allowing up to two low-wage workers at a qualifying location.
- Employers still need a positive or neutral LMIA, and the updated count includes part-time staff, vacant jobs, and approved but unstarted workers.
Employment and Social Development Canada changed the low-wage Temporary Foreign Worker Program rules on August 18, 2026, allowing eligible construction sites with fewer than 10 employees to calculate hiring limits at the site rather than across the company.
The change gives employers with several small projects more room to hire. Each qualifying location can be assessed separately, instead of being folded into the employer’s total workforce.
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Construction falls among the sectors eligible for the higher 20% cap. That allows up to two low-wage temporary foreign workers at a qualifying site.
The standard limit remains 10%. A qualifying site under that calculation can hire one low-wage worker.
The updated approach targets employers operating across multiple locations. Construction companies with separate small job sites may therefore qualify for hires at more than one location, subject to the applicable cap and other program requirements.
The rule does not remove the Labour Market Impact Assessment requirement. Employers still need a positive or neutral LMIA showing that qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available for the job.
The revised calculation sets different hiring limits by site
The site-based calculation applies when the location has fewer than 10 employees. Construction is included in the group eligible for the higher limit, alongside food manufacturing, hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, health care, and specified in-home caregiver occupations.
| Applicable cap | Maximum at a qualifying small location |
|---|---|
| 10% cap | One low-wage worker |
| 20% cap for construction and other identified sectors | Two low-wage workers |
The work must fall within the program’s low-wage rules. Pay below 120% of the regional median wage meets the cited low-wage threshold. In Ontario, that threshold is cited as CAD 36.92 per hour.
The calculation also reaches beyond people already on the payroll. Updated guidance counts full-time and part-time employees, temporary foreign workers with approved but unstarted LMIAs, and vacant positions covered by LMIA applications.
Part-time workers averaging under 30 hours a week count as 0.5. That rule affects the employee total used to determine whether a location remains below the 10-employee threshold.
Employee counts include workers and unfilled LMIA-backed jobs
Employers assessing a location must account for:
- Full-time employees.
- Part-time employees.
- Temporary foreign workers with approved but unstarted LMIAs.
- Vacant positions covered by LMIA applications.
- Part-time workers averaging under 30 hours a week, counted as 0.5.
The location-based method changes where the total is calculated. A company’s workforce at other job sites no longer automatically determines the cap for an eligible location with fewer than 10 employees.
The revised method can affect more than construction. The same flexibility applies to other multi-site employers, including restaurants, care facilities, and retail businesses, when their locations meet the applicable conditions.
Other 2026 changes add a rural allowance and longer LMIA processing window
Rural employers have had access to a 15% cap since March 13, 2026. That allowance is separate from the higher cap available to construction and the other identified sectors.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated a related LMIA processing measure on August 21, 2026. The change extended the concurrent processing window from 60 days to 90 days for certain applicants in Canada who are waiting on an LMIA.
That processing measure concerns timing for eligible in-Canada applicants. It does not replace the site-based cap rules or the requirement for a positive or neutral assessment.
The federal changes arrive as Canada sets its temporary-worker levels for the year. The 2026 target for admissions through the TFWP is 60,000, while the overall temporary foreign worker target is 230,000.
Construction employers must still match the number of requested workers to the location, the sector category, the wage rules, and the labour-market assessment. The updated calculation took effect August 18, 2026.
