Hire a temporary foreign worker through the agricultural stream: Recruitment and advertisement
Reinstatement of proof of advertisement submission
As of January 1, 2026, the requirement to provide proof of advertisement when submitting an LMIA application to hire temporary foreign workers for primary agriculture positions will be reinstated.
For inspection purposes, employers must continue to keep records of their recruitment efforts.
4. Recruitment and advertisement
Employers are required to conduct reasonable efforts to hire and train Canadians and permanent residents before offering a job to a temporary foreign worker (TFW).
Canadians and permanent residents include members of underrepresented groups in the labour market, such as:
- vulnerable youth
- Indigenous peoples
- newcomers to Canada
- persons with disabilities, and
- asylum claimants with valid work permits
For inspection purposes, employers must keep records of their recruitment efforts.
Recruitment
Recruitment is the process of finding and selecting qualified employees. All employers are encouraged to conduct ongoing recruitment efforts, including advertising the job or contacting the underrepresented groups that face barriers to employment.
Employers don’t need to use the services of a third-party representative or recruiter to conduct recruitment on their behalf to hire a TFW. However, if they choose to do so, they can pay for all the fees associated with this service.
Note: Employers can’t deduct or recover these recruitment fees from the wage of the worker.
Prioritized occupations
The program prioritizes certain occupations that are considered essential. The listed occupations have been prioritized across all provinces and territories, except in Quebec. For a list of occupations specific to Quebec, refer to Hiring in the province of Quebec.
Any refusal to process supersedes prioritization.
List of prioritized occupations
- 31100 – Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
- 31101 – Specialists in surgery
- 31102 – General practitioners and family physicians
- 31120 – Pharmacists
- 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- 31302 – Nurse practitioners
- 31303 – Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
- 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
- 32103 – Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
- 32109 – Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
- 32120 – Medical laboratory technologists
- 32124 – Pharmacy technicians
- 32129 – Other medical technologists and technicians
- 33101 – Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists' assistants
- 33103 – Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- 33109 – Other assisting occupations in support of health services
- 63201 – Butchers – Retail and wholesale
- 65202 – Meat cutters and fishmongers – Retail and wholesale
- 65310 – Light duty cleaners
- 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
- 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
- 85100 – Livestock labourers
- 85101 – Harvesting labourers
- 85103 – Nursery and Greenhouse labourers
- 94141 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
- 94142 – Fish and seafood plant workers
- 95106 – Labourers in food and beverage processing
- 95107 – Labourers in fish and seafood processing
Advertisement
A job posting is an announcement of a vacancy in a public medium such as newspapers, job posting Internet site, bulletin boards, etc. It provides a broad exposure of the vacancy to Canadians and permanent residents in Canada who would be potential candidates for the position.
To meet the minimum advertising requirements, employers must advertise on the national Job Bank or its provincial/territorial counterpart in British Columbia, Quebec or Saskatchewan. The advertisement must be posted:
- for a minimum of 14 calendar days starting from the first day the ad appears and is accessible to the general public
- during the 3-month period prior to the employer applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
Employers must also conduct recruitment activities consistent with the normal practice for the occupation for a minimum of 14 calendar days. To meet this requirement, employers can choose one or more of the following methods to advertise:
- on recognized Internet employment sites
- in local and regional newspapers, newsletters
- in ethnic newspapers and Internet sites
- in local stores, places of worship, community resource centres
- in local and regional employment centres
The advertisement must include the:
- company operating name
- business address
- title of position
- job duties (for each position, if advertising more than one vacancy)
- terms of employment
- wage (must include any incremental raises, performance pay or bonuses)
- a wage range can be used for the purposes of complying with the advertisements; however, the minimum wage in the range must meet prevailing wage
- benefits package being offered (if applicable)
- location of work (local area, city or town)
- contact information: telephone number, cell phone number, email address, fax number, or mailing address
- skills requirements:
- education
- work experience
Note: Third-party representatives or recruiters can be the main contact for any job advertisements posted on behalf of the employer. However, the ad must be listed under the employer's Canada Revenue Agency business number.
Direct Apply New
Job Bank's Direct Apply allows registered job seekers who are authorized to work in Canada to apply directly to your Job Bank postings by submitting their resume. By using Direct Apply, you can:
- manage and store all resumes submitted through Job Bank
- view and download all resumes for your records
You must consider job seeker applications submitted through Direct Apply.
Direct Apply is enabled by default. By disabling it or not considering Direct Apply applicants, you may be considered as not meeting the recruitment effort requirements.
Proof of advertisement
Employers must demonstrate that they meet the advertising requirements by providing proof of advertisement and the results of their efforts to recruit Canadians and permanent residents (for example, copy of advertisement and information to support where, when and for how long the position was advertised).
Advertisement waiver
Employers who are hiring a replacement worker under the agriculture stream aren’t required to re-advertise the vacant position when submitting an LMIA application for the replacement worker. This applies only if the replacement worker is in the same Job Bank economic region and the same occupation as the ones stipulated in the previous positive LMIA.
Note: Advertisement criteria vary slightly in the province of Quebec. For further information, consult Hiring in the province of Quebec.
Recruitment documentation retention
Records of the employers' efforts must be kept for a minimum of 6 years. This documentation can be requested at any time by ESDC/Service Canada, as the Department has the authority to conduct inspections to verify an employer's compliance with the conditions in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) (and confirmed in the LMIA letter and annexes) for a period of 6 years, beginning on the first day of the period of employment for which the work permit is issued to the TFW.