Total work-permit holders
31,255
2015–2026
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Nova Scotia
All programs · 2015–2026
At a glance
Work-permit-holder summary
Change over selected period
+930
2015–2026
Percentage change
+62.2%
2015–2026
Largest program
Agricultural Workers
16,625
Trend analysis
Annual work-permit-holder trend
Annual totals for the selected destination, program category, and year range.
Geographic selection
Nova Scotia
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
62.2% from 2015 to 2026
Latest annual total
2,425
2026 published total
Leading province or territory
Nova Scotia
Highest total for the selected filters
Largest program category
Agricultural Workers
16,625 work-permit holders
Ranking
Top provinces and territories
- Nova Scotia 31,255
Ranking
Program categories
- Agricultural Workers 16,625
- Other Temporary Foreign Workers with LMIA 14,630
Detailed records
Annual totals
Annual work-permit-holder totals for the selected filters.
| Year | Work-permit holders | Annual change | Annual percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,495 | — | — |
| 2016 | 1,575 | +80 | +5.4% |
| 2017 | 1,565 | -10 | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 2,005 | +440 | +28.1% |
| 2019 | 2,210 | +205 | +10.2% |
| 2020 | 2,105 | -105 | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 2,570 | +465 | +22.1% |
| 2022 | 3,415 | +845 | +32.9% |
| 2023 | 4,280 | +865 | +25.3% |
| 2024 | 3,935 | -345 | -8.1% |
| 2025 | 3,675 | -260 | -6.6% |
| 2026 | 2,425 | -1,250 | -34.0% |
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.