Canada Is Officially Removing the LMIA Requirement for High-Wage Job Offers From November 3, per CTV
The employer proof step is being dropped
Canada is officially removing the LMIA requirement for qualifying high-wage job offers from November 3, ending the step where employers had to prove no Canadian was available for the role, per CTV. The change is part of the Express Entry rebuild announced by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab, and it replaces a multi-week Labour Market Impact Assessment process, and its $1,000 fee, with a single assessment of whether the offer itself is genuine.
The removal is broader than the headline points system. From November 3, an LMIA will not be required for a qualifying offer to earn the new Express Entry points, and a temporary public policy will also exempt candidates invited to apply on or after that date from LMIA requirements when the offer is used to meet the job offer rules of the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. LMIAs remain in place for work permits and hiring outside this high-wage Express Entry context.
Job offer points are back, in three tiers
The offers that qualify sit in 186 high-wage occupations, ranked by how far the occupation's median wage sits above the national median. Offers in occupations paying at least twice the median wage earn 100 Comprehensive Ranking System points, those at 1.5 times earn 70, and those at 1.3 times earn 50. The offer must generally be full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least a year after the candidate becomes a permanent resident.
Job offer points have been worth zero since March 25, 2025, when Ottawa removed them as a temporary anti-fraud measure aimed at the illegal buying and selling of LMIAs. IRCC says it will keep verifying that offers are genuine, and candidates already in the pool will have their scores recalculated automatically, a process that could take up to two weeks and will pause invitation rounds while it runs.
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Options market and stocks to watch
Faster processing for high-wage hires is a marginal positive for Canadian employers competing for scarce skilled labour, and the US-listed expressions of a stronger Canadian economy remain EWC, the iShares MSCI Canada ETF, and the New York-listed Canadian banks RY and TD, whose hiring and lending books are geared to the domestic labour market.
The next catalysts are administrative: the recalculated Express Entry scores once the pause ends, and the 2027 to 2029 Immigration Levels Plan due by November 1, which sets the targets this system feeds into. Follow Canadian policy stories on the Unusual Whales news feed.
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