NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyans seeking employment in Canada will have to navigate revised immigration and hiring rules after the Canadian government announced changes to its Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Programme.
The reforms, announced on Friday, November 6, 2026, include longer employment authorisation periods for foreign workers, additional exemptions for certain occupations and proposed restrictions on the types of low-wage jobs employers can offer migrant workers in different parts of the country.
One of the immediate changes allows Canadian employers applying through the programme’s Low-Wage Stream to obtain Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) approvals covering employment periods of up to two years, compared with the previous maximum of one year.
The revised provision applies to LMIA applications submitted from November 6, 2026. It is intended to give employers greater certainty when recruiting foreign workers and reduce the need for repeated applications.
An LMIA is a document issued by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) assessing whether an employer has a genuine need to recruit a foreign worker because suitable Canadian citizens or permanent residents are unavailable to fill the position.
However, an LMIA approval does not automatically grant a foreign applicant permission to enter or work in Canada. Successful candidates must still meet the requirements for a Canadian work permit.
Canada to restrict foreign hiring in some cities from 2027
The government has also proposed additional restrictions targeting low-wage foreign employment, with implementation scheduled for March 1, 2027.
The changes will depend on individual provinces and territories agreeing to participate in the proposed arrangements.
Under the plan, employers in large metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 250,000 and unemployment rates below 6 per cent will only be able to recruit foreign workers for selected occupations identified as facing labour shortages.
The eligible occupations will be drawn from Canada’s Canadian Occupational Projection System, alongside additional jobs that provincial and territorial governments may identify based on their labour market needs.
Provincial and territorial authorities will also have the power to remove occupations from the eligible lists where local employment conditions do not justify recruiting workers from abroad.
Similar targeted restrictions will apply to rural areas within large metropolitan regions and smaller metropolitan areas with populations between 100,000 and 250,000.
However, employers in rural communities outside these metropolitan arrangements will retain access to all occupations covered by the programme’s Low-Wage Stream.
The changes could reduce opportunities for Kenyans seeking entry-level and other low-wage positions in some Canadian cities, particularly where their preferred occupations are not included among those approved for foreign recruitment.
Employers may hire more foreign workers in selected areas
The proposed reforms will also give participating provinces and territories the option of allowing eligible employers in designated communities to increase the proportion of their workforce made up of temporary foreign workers.
Under the arrangement, the maximum would rise from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of an employer’s workforce under the Low-Wage Stream.
Employers in priority sectors, including healthcare, construction and food processing, will retain the existing 20 per cent limit.
The Canadian government said the additional flexibility would help communities experiencing labour shortages while maintaining safeguards intended to ensure that local workers are considered first.
Canada adds early childhood educators to exemption list
Separately, the government has expanded the occupations exempted from restrictions on processing low-wage LMIA applications in metropolitan areas where unemployment stands at 6 per cent or higher.
From November 6, early childhood educators joined healthcare, construction and food processing among the priority areas exempted from the restriction.
The adjustment is intended to help employers address staffing shortages in childcare and other essential services, even in areas where unemployment levels would otherwise prevent the processing of low-wage foreign-worker applications.
Canadian Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu said the reforms were intended to balance the needs of businesses with the government’s commitment to prioritising Canadian workers.
“While Canadians must always be first in line for available jobs, employers in key sectors continue to face labour shortages that can limit growth and affect communities across the country,” Hajdu said.
She added that the proposed changes, developed in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, would help ensure the programme remained responsive to labour-market demands.
What the changes mean for Kenyans
For Kenyans hoping to secure employment in Canada, the reforms present both opportunities and potential challenges.
The extension of LMIA employment periods could make longer-term recruitment arrangements easier for employers seeking foreign workers through the Low-Wage Stream.
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However, the proposed occupational restrictions could make it more difficult to secure certain low-paying jobs in major cities, depending on the occupations approved by provincial and territorial authorities.
Applicants will therefore need to pay attention to the location of prospective employment, the occupation being offered and whether the employer is eligible to recruit through the programme.
The Canadian government also announced additional funding to improve support for temporary foreign workers. Budget 2026 provides 82 million Canadian dollars over four years for the Migrant Worker Support Programme, which helps foreign workers understand their employment rights and access assistance while working in Canada.
The government said the broader reforms were intended to address genuine labour shortages, strengthen worker protections and ensure that temporary foreign recruitment complemented rather than displaced Canada’s domestic workforce.
For prospective Kenyan applicants, the changes underline the importance of checking the latest immigration requirements and verifying employment offers before paying recruitment fees or making travel arrangements.
