LMIA processing times by province: what to budget for in 2026.

Employers planning a hire around a posted LMIA service standard are usually planning around the wrong number. The standard reflects processing once a file is complete and in queue — not the weeks it can take to assemble a file that clears the recruitment and advertising checks first.

The service standard vs. the real queue

High-wage and low-wage streams are processed differently, and volume shifts by region and season. A file submitted with every recruitment step properly documented moves close to the posted standard; one missing a required advertising channel or underpriced wage gets sent back for correction, which resets the clock.

What slows an LMIA down before it even gets in the queue

The recruitment period itself — usually a minimum number of weeks of advertising across specific platforms — has to be completed and documented before the application can even be filed. Employers who start that clock late are often surprised the LMIA hasn’t even been submitted by the date they expected an approval.

Most LMIA delays we untangle for employers didn’t happen at IRCC or Service Canada — they happened three weeks earlier, in a recruitment step nobody flagged as a deadline.

Building a buffer into your hiring timeline

We build the recruitment and advertising window backward from the date the employer actually needs the worker, then add real turnaround time for the wage and duties checks, so the posted service standard becomes the last step, not the whole plan.