For foreign workers who wish to work in Canada—and for employers looking to hire them—the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process is an essential step.
Because LMIA applications are heavily influenced by the unemployment rate in each region, it is extremely important to stay up to date with the latest data.
This article explains in detail how the unemployment rates from October 10, 2025, to January 8, 2026, affect LMIA applications.

Due to the LMIA application restrictions announced by the Government of Canada on September 26, 2024, employers can no longer submit LMIA applications for low-wage positions in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
The unemployment rates are updated quarterly.
The latest data, which applies to LMIA applications between October 10, 2025, and January 8, 2026, has now been released.
This quarter’s data shows a slight overall increase in unemployment nationwide, with growing contrasts between metropolitan areas.

Areas not listed here are not subject to these restrictions.
Unemployment rates are updated quarterly (April–June / July–September / October–December / January–March).

In particular, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia have seen unemployment increases of 1 to 3 percentage points across multiple cities, clearly indicating a weakening labor market.

• Toronto: 8.9% → 9.5%
• Oshawa: 9.2% → 9.5%
• Windsor: 11.0% → 11.3% (the highest in the country)
• Edmonton: 7.6% → 9.0%
• Nanaimo: 7.3% → 9.7%

These cities—mainly reliant on manufacturing, services, and residential construction—are showing signs of slowdown, reflecting reduced labor demand.

In contrast, Quebec has shown relative stability.

Saguenay (4.3% → 4.2%) and Trois-Rivières (5.2% → 5.1%) saw slight improvement, while Drummondville recovered significantly (5.6% → 4.7%).

Meanwhile, Quebec City (4.1% → 4.6%) and Montreal (6.9% → 6.7%) recorded only minor fluctuations, indicating that the province’s overall labor market remains stable.

In Western Canada, unemployment increases were more pronounced.
Alberta continues to experience adjustments in its energy-related sectors, while British Columbia may be affected by declining housing starts and a slowdown in the construction industry.

• Red Deer: 5.6% → 8.7%
• Lethbridge: 5.2% → 8.5%
• Abbotsford–Mission: 6.1% → 8.1%
• Nanaimo: 7.3% → 9.7%
• Kamloops: 8.7% → 8.6% (remaining high)

Approximately 80% of metropolitan areas nationwide now exceed the 6% unemployment threshold during this period, meaning more regions will face restrictions on new LMIA applications for low-wage positions.

In particular, nearly all major CMAs in Ontario and British Columbia now surpass this threshold, which could significantly affect employers’ hiring plans for foreign workers.