Total work-permit holders
450,635
2015–2026
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Ontario
All programs · 2015–2026
At a glance
Work-permit-holder summary
Change over selected period
+825
2015–2026
Percentage change
+2.7%
2015–2026
Largest program
Agricultural Workers
292,675
Trend analysis
Annual work-permit-holder trend
Annual totals for the selected destination, program category, and year range.
Geographic selection
Ontario
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
2.7% from 2015 to 2026
Latest annual total
31,280
2026 published total
Leading province or territory
Ontario
Highest total for the selected filters
Largest program category
Agricultural Workers
292,675 work-permit holders
Ranking
Top provinces and territories
- Ontario 450,635
Ranking
Program categories
- Agricultural Workers 292,675
- Other Temporary Foreign Workers with LMIA 128,070
- Live-In Caregivers 23,095
- Caregivers 6,795
Detailed records
Annual totals
Annual work-permit-holder totals for the selected filters.
| Year | Work-permit holders | Annual change | Annual percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 30,455 | — | — |
| 2016 | 30,840 | +385 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 29,135 | -1,705 | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 32,335 | +3,200 | +11.0% |
| 2019 | 34,550 | +2,215 | +6.9% |
| 2020 | 30,110 | -4,440 | -12.9% |
| 2021 | 34,235 | +4,125 | +13.7% |
| 2022 | 41,485 | +7,250 | +21.2% |
| 2023 | 50,675 | +9,190 | +22.2% |
| 2024 | 54,665 | +3,990 | +7.9% |
| 2025 | 50,870 | -3,795 | -6.9% |
| 2026 | 31,280 | -19,590 | -38.5% |
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.