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Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Labour Market Opinion (LMO) Statistics

Following an employer’s application, a labour market opinion (LMO) is issued by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada. This LMO is provided to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and communicated to the employer. An LMO assesses the likely impact that hiring a temporary foreign worker (TFW) will have on the Canadian labour market and is required in some cases to complete a work permit application. Not all TFWs require an LMO to obtain a work permit. A number of exemptions exist, including those provided for in the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The decision to issue a work permit rests with CIC. A work permit may not be issued for all TFWs named on an LMO confirmation (i.e., an application that received a positive or neutral LMO). In addition, there may be a delay between the date of confirmation and the date on which a TFW obtains a work permit and/or enters Canada.

HRSDC s Labour Market Opinion (LMO) Statistics include annual and quarterly data on the number of temporary foreign worker (TFW) positions on LMO confirmations. Reporting is based on the number of positions rather than the number of LMOs since several positions can be requested on a single LMO.

A Foreword provides background information regarding the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and methodological notes relevant to the tables.

The archived statistics section provides access to previously released statistics.

In addition, a Glossary of terms and concepts, a release schedule as well as advice on comparing HRSDC's LMO data with CIC 's TFW entry data may be accessed by following the links below.