Quebec LMIA Requirements

When an employer in Quebec is hiring a worker or professional, certain job advertising may be required to comply with the requirements of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), unless otherwise exempted by applicable law or regulation(s).

All hiring procedures to Quebec labour market requires an LMIA to be completed before the foreign national can engage in any paid work in Quebec. However, certain category of persons are exempted from the requirement to have an LMIA prior to the work permit application. To read more about LMIA exempt category, click here.

Whilst an LMIA is required, certain categories of occupations are exempted from the LMIA advertising requirements in Quebec. These are known as “facilitated” LMIAs. Occupations that fall under the high-skilled category are eligible for facilitated LMIA. They are:

• Managerial occupations (NOC Skill Level 0)
• Professional occupations (NOC Skill Level A)
• Technical occupations (NOC Skill Level B)

Also, under the facilitated LMIA process in Quebec, the “transition plan”, which is by default a mandatory requirement for all high wage employments is waived off when the LMIA is applied for a candidate’s hiring for the first time. However, the transition plan is required if an LMIA is required for the 2nd time onwards for the candidate (if applying for the same occupation). 

To learn more about the generic LMIA process, click here.

Also, irrespective of the fact if the application falls under the facilitated LMIA category, the wage given to the worker or professional is required to be consistent with the wage offered for the same position for Canadian citizens as well as permanent residents for the same job or occupation in the specific region/geography.

As of 29 April 2017, survey by the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), the median hourly wages for a person employed in high-wage category is C$ 21 in Quebec (Source: https://www.statcan.gc.ca). To see the median hourly wages that is in effect in various provinces and territories in Canada, click here.

Proof of job advertisements and/or local recruitment efforts are not applicable if an employer in Quebec is hiring for workers or professionals from outside Canada in the below job categories: