Total work-permit holders
298,980
2015–2026
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
British Columbia
All programs · 2015–2026
At a glance
Work-permit-holder summary
Change over selected period
+3,515
2015–2026
Percentage change
+25.2%
2015–2026
Largest program
Other Temporary Foreign Workers with LMIA
159,245
Trend analysis
Annual work-permit-holder trend
Annual totals for the selected destination, program category, and year range.
Geographic selection
British Columbia
A single province or territory matches the selected filters, so a geographic comparison chart is not shown.
Program distribution
Work-permit holders by program category
LMIA means Labour Market Impact Assessment. A Labour Market Impact Assessment is a government assessment that many employers must obtain before hiring a temporary foreign worker. It helps determine whether hiring the worker is expected to have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market.
Key insights
What the data shows
Highlights calculated from the selected destination, program category, and year range.
Overall movement
Work-permit-holder totals increased
25.2% from 2015 to 2026
Latest annual total
17,445
2026 published total
Leading province or territory
British Columbia
Highest total for the selected filters
Largest program category
Other Temporary Foreign Workers with LMIA
159,245 work-permit holders
Ranking
Top provinces and territories
- British Columbia 298,980
Ranking
Program categories
- Other Temporary Foreign Workers with LMIA 159,245
- Agricultural Workers 125,340
- Live-In Caregivers 11,165
- Caregivers 3,230
Detailed records
Annual totals
Annual work-permit-holder totals for the selected filters.
| Year | Work-permit holders | Annual change | Annual percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13,930 | — | — |
| 2016 | 16,035 | +2,105 | +15.1% |
| 2017 | 17,265 | +1,230 | +7.7% |
| 2018 | 20,890 | +3,625 | +21.0% |
| 2019 | 24,770 | +3,880 | +18.6% |
| 2020 | 20,105 | -4,665 | -18.8% |
| 2021 | 23,860 | +3,755 | +18.7% |
| 2022 | 32,515 | +8,655 | +36.3% |
| 2023 | 39,000 | +6,485 | +19.9% |
| 2024 | 37,300 | -1,700 | -4.4% |
| 2025 | 35,865 | -1,435 | -3.8% |
| 2026 | 17,445 | -18,420 | -51.4% |
Data source
About this dataset
These records measure Temporary Foreign Worker Program work-permit holders by province or territory of intended destination, published program category, and the year in which permits became effective.