Canada is pivoting away from the random selection of immigrants accepted into the country to a more precise screening system that prioritizes those who are already successful contributors to the national economy.
Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced the major change to the government’s Express Entry ranking system for foreign workers who have temporary status and are seeking permanent residency in Canada.
Beginning Nov. 3, temporary workers who have a job offer in a “high-wage occupation” receive bonus points.
The immigration minister’s office told New Canadian Media that this is, “the first step in broader planned reforms to modernize the Express Entry system and better align skilled worker selection with Canada’s economic and labour market needs.”
The spokesperson said the pending reforms will use proven metrics, such as work experience, earnings, language skills and education gained in Canada as the predictor for success.
“The reforms build on what is working by placing greater emphasis on the strongest predictors of economic success, while helping Canada select skilled talent to meet evolving labour market needs,” they said.
But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) did not respond to a question about whether this change came in response to lobbying from business groups or employers.
Both the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) – which represents small and medium enterprises across the country – say they had not sought this change, but welcomed the reforms.
Adam Hajji, who leads the Chamber’s immigration committee, and Corinne Pohlmann, the CFIB’s executive vice-president of advocacy, were enthusiastic about the removal of the “pain” of Canada’s existingLabour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Employers have to complete the federal assessment before they can hire a foreign worker. Removing this requirement would help employers address urgent staffing needs for occupations such as nurse practitioners, Hajji said.
Hajji said the government has trouble processing LMIA applications, which certify that there are no Canadian candidates for the job to be filled by a foreigner. The current backlog is 98 days, he said, and the request could still be turned down.
Haji said the number of refusals has increased dramatically since the Carney government reversed course on immigration numbers last year, adding to the uncertainty for both employers and foreign workers.
The IRCC spokesperson said removing the employer’s LMIA requirement will not mean lowering the safeguards that “ensure Canadians are first in line for available jobs.” and IRCC officers will validate all job offers.
NCM previously reported how temporary foreign workers find themselves trapped within the federal bureaucracy when renewing their work permits.
NCM interviewed independent experts to ask whether the removing LMIAs for a specific high-wage category could have unintended consequences.
Cassandra Fultz, a regulated Canadian immigration consultant and founder of Doherty Fultz Immigration in Toronto, said her firm has seen fraudulent LMIAs and job offers for years. By the time people contact her, she said, the foreign worker has already paid their employer to process the paperwork. She said most fakes are easy for an experienced adviser to spot, but some are convincing.
John Shields, a Toronto Metropolitan University professor emeritus of politics and public administration, who researches immigration policy, said it’s hard to predict the potential fallout of the new system.
“That’s unclear to me, how much fraud was actually going on,” he said, adding he doesn’t know how the government plans to crosscheck job offers.
“I’m not sure exactly how they’re going to monitor this.”
The immigration minister’s Oct. 16 announcement defined high-wage occupations as those earning 1.3 times the median Canadian wage, which is currently $47,650, based on the latest Statistics Canada data.
Copyright 2026, New Canadian Media. All rights reserved.
George Abraham and Shilpashree Jagannathan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media.