The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) recently overhauled its immigration program to focus on the province’s major economic priorities: “care”, “build” and “innovate”. The BCPNP’s April 23, 2026 announcement is great news for foreign workers already in careers falling under these three major pillars but decidedly discouraging news for others who were looking to the BC PNP as a lifeline for their chances to remain in Canada on a permanent basis. Here are the key changes that you need to know about.
BlogEmployer update: government tightens rules for filing low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Applications
21 April 2026by Victor Ing
Effective April 1, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) implemented stricter rules that dramatically affect the immigration landscape for Canadian business owners who want to hire low-wage workers (defined as those earning less than $36.60 per hour in British Columbia) through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). These new rules were implemented without warning and will increase the administrative burden on Canadian employers. The goal is to ensure employers make every effort to hire Canadian youth to fill vacant positions before seeking permission to hire a foreign worker. Here is what employers need to know.
On March 20, 2026 the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that new income calculation rules for Canada's Super Visa program will take effect starting March 31, 2026. This update will make it easier for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada as long-term visitors. The Super Visa program allows parents and grandparents living abroad to obtain visas to Canada and authorizes them to stay for five years at a time as visitors. This five-year period is also extendable by two years after arriving in Canada. In exchange, Super Visa applicants must meet certain income and medical insurance requirements, since visitors are not allowed to work in Canada and are not eligible to receive provincial or territorial health coverage.
On February 18, 2026, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released its finalized list of skills and occupational categories that will receive priority invitations to apply under Canada’s Express Entry system in 2026. For most of 2025 IRCC’s list included only six categories but it has now been revamped to include the newly created category targeting foreign medical doctors with Canadian work experience, which we recently blogged about, as well as four new additions for researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience, candidates with experience in select transport occupations, and skilled military recruits. In this blog, we will review these major changes to the Express Entry system and let you know what to look out for in the coming months.
BlogEmployer Alert: Vancouver’s Unemployment Rate Dips Below 6% – Act Fast!
20 January 2026by Victor Ing
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) released new data on January 9, 2026 showing that Metro Vancouver’s unemployment rate fell below 6%. This is a pivotal threshold for employers looking to obtain permission through a Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) to hire low-wage foreign workers, which includes any foreign worker being paid a wage of $36.60 or less per hour. In this blog we’ll discuss why this development is so important and what employers and foreign workers alike need to know over the next few months and beyond.
On October 8, 2025 the Minister of Public Safety introduced to Parliament Bill C-12, entitled the Strengthening of Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act. Bill C-12 providessweeping powers to the government to control all facets of immigration processing, affecting both potential immigrants as well as those already living in Canada. Suffice it to say there has been no shortage of concern over exactly how the government plans on using these incredible powers, but in this blog we will provide an overview of what the buzz is about and why some of the concern may be overblown.
BlogCanada’s New Normal: Temporary and permanent immigration to Canada will stay low and flat for years to come
18 November 2025by Victor Ing
On November 7, 2025 the Honourable Lena Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, released her department’s annual report on immigration admission levels, setting out key immigration objectives for the next three years. Like all previous reports, this one features concrete data regarding last year’s (2024) immigration levels in Canada, while setting new admission targets for the next three years from 2026 through to 2028.
BlogExpectation Overload: Employers now subject to more scrutiny when hiring foreign workers under Labour Market Impact Assessments
14 October 2025by Victor Ing
In September 2025, Service Canada introduced a new rule applicable to employers who wish to hire foreign workers through Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) stream. The rule requires employers to use the “Direct Apply” feature on the Canadian Job Bank – a previously optional feature that allows job seekers to digitally submit their resumes to a hiring employer on the Canadian Job Bank platform, rather than only through traditional methods such as email or mail. Employers who do not use the Direct Apply feature can expect to receive a negative LMIA result, so read on to find out more about this new requirement.
BlogBeware of Ghost Consultants and the Promise of Quick Fixes in the Immigration Sphere
16 September 2025by Victor Ing
Throughout the past year my partner, Catherine, and I have been warning prospective immigrants about how difficult it has become to qualify for temporary and permanent resident visas in Canada due to our government’s concerted efforts to drive immigration levels down from previous highs that we saw during the pandemic. According to a recent Globe and Mail poll, most Canadians are in favour of these policies to reduce both temporary and permanent immigration. With public sentiment on their side, it is unlikely that the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will ease current immigration restrictions soon. Against this backdrop when immigration options are limited, and entering or remaining in Canada seems a remote possibility, prospective immigrants need to be alert to potential bad actors on the immigration scene promising unrealistic results and quick fixes to all their immigration woes. The problem of “ghost consultants” is a longstanding one in the immigration field and you should be on the lookout for them.
BlogBaby it’s cold out there….and it’s going to get colder! Why the Humanitarian and Compassionate application is not always the answer.
26 August 2025by Catherine Sas, K.C.
The Canadian immigration world is not that welcoming these days and it hasn’t been for the past couple of years as our many blogs have discussed. Express Entry (EE) scores are higher than most applicants can meet, draws for EE applicants focus only on in Canada applicants, the business immigration programs have been either shut down (until the end of 2026 for self-employed (SE) applicants) or significantly reduced for Start Up Visa (SUV) applicants, and the TFW program and international students have had caps introduced. Overall there is a tightening of the belt in terms of immigration processing and prospective applicants are feeling the pinch. When people can’t get what they want, they turn to other options and the most obvious choice is the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H and C) application. Spoiler Alert: Here’s more bad news - the H and C application is not meant to solve everyone’s problems.
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