Guides
How Canadian tree services hire foreign arborists through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
This arborist guide explains how Canadian tree services hire foreign climbers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, from LMIA rules to work permits.
Put responsibility on the employer
Weak version: A common false start is to treat the candidate as the person who must secure permission to work, while the company waits.
That reverses the sequence: without the employer's required approval, a tree service cannot assume a foreign arborist may take the offered role or begin on the planned date.
Better version: Put the company at the front of the file. In most cases, it applies to Employment and Social Development Canada for a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, pays the fee and accepts the associated compliance duties. Only after a positive decision can the worker use the LMIA number in a work-permit application; the assessment is not the permit.
The steps, with the authorities named
The legal base is the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, where section 203 sets out when a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) is needed. Two federal bodies split the work. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), through Service Canada, decides the LMIA. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decides the work permit.
- Confirm the stream and wage using the ESDC wage tool.
- Advertise on Job Bank and other permitted channels, and keep the evidence.
- The employer applies for the LMIA online through the ESDC employer portal and pays the CAD $1,000 fee.
- After a positive LMIA, the employer gives the worker the offer letter and LMIA number.
- The worker applies to IRCC for a work permit, online or on paper with form IMM 1295, if the worker is outside Canada.
- IRCC issues the permit, and the worker travels and starts work.
For an LMIA-exempt offer, the employer instead submits the offer of employment through the IRCC employer portal and pays the CAD $230 compliance fee, and the worker then applies to IRCC with the offer number. Quebec adds the provincial certificate, issued by its immigration ministry.
At the provincial level, the workplace-safety regulator and the workers' compensation board vary by province, for example WorkSafeBC, WSIB in Ontario, Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta and CNESST in Quebec. They apply to the foreign climber as to the rest of the crew.
Test the exception before relying on it
Weak version: Do not treat nationality, language or overseas experience as an exemption by itself. A mistaken assumption can derail hiring: arborists and climbers are not covered merely because an applicant holds a trade ticket, comes from the United States or has worked for a related business abroad.
Better version: Check the exact route instead. CUSMA lists foresters, not arborists or climbers. An intra-company transferee must have one year of full-time work in the prior three years in a managerial or specialized position. Francophone Mobility applies to French-speaking applicants headed outside Quebec, and its eligible occupations and terms change, so verify them on the IRCC page.
Weak version: Treating Quebec as an ordinary federal case, or assuming overseas qualifications transfer automatically, can leave an otherwise promising hire unable to take the offered job. An exemption from the LMIA requirement does not remove the need for the right permission to work.
Better version: Quebec adds a provincial step: a Quebec Acceptance Certificate is required alongside federal approval. Overseas trade credentials do not reliably carry over, so examine provincial credential rules before promising the role. Even when an exemption works, the worker still needs the correct work permit before any shift begins.
Make the application follow a paper trail
Weak version: A short-lived advertisement, missing records and a worker sent to apply before the employer has approval make a weak file. If local recruitment fails, repeating the same approach without reviewing the posting or pay leaves little evidence of what the company tried.
Better version: Choose the occupation and region in the ESDC wage tool for the prevailing wage, then set the stream: high-wage at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage, low-wage below it. Advertise for four consecutive weeks during the three months before filing, using Job Bank and two other permitted channels, such as WorkBC, ISA chapter job pages or union halls. Preserve dated evidence.
Weak version: Saying that no Canadian applied is not enough if the company cannot show where and when it advertised or how it considered applicants. A high-wage application also needs its transition plan, so leaving that work until filing can slow the process.
Better version: Save posting URLs, dated screenshots, applications, interview notes and a written reason for each rejection. Add a transition plan for a high-wage role. Once approved, give the LMIA number to the worker for a work permit application. For earlier recruitment options, consider reliable staff sources.
Fix compensation before advertising
Weak version: Copying a broad market rate and choosing the stream later puts the process in the wrong order. Pay rates seen in job ads are not the benchmark: the stream turns on the provincial or territorial median hourly wage, and the prevailing wage for the occupation and region comes from the ESDC wage tool.
Better version: Establish the pay band before recruitment. Look up the prevailing wage in the ESDC wage tool and compare the offered wage with the provincial or territorial median hourly wage that ESDC publishes. The offered wage determines the stream, and low-wage applications are not processed in census metropolitan areas where the unemployment rate is 6 percent or higher.
Weak version: Setting pay without considering the stream can also leave the employer unprepared to explain how dependence on foreign workers will be reduced. Travel allowances should not be used as a substitute for hourly pay for the work performed.
Better version: For a high-wage position, describe in the transition plan how reliance on foreign workers will be reduced. Pay the same rate a Canadian worker receives for the same duties; travel allowances do not replace hourly pay. Pay rates and labor costs show what a crew position costs, and the hiring and training guide discusses role and pay structures.
Check the recruitment file with a practical test
Weak version: An employer who says no suitable local applicant came forward, but has no dated advertisements or assessment notes, may have to reconstruct the effort later. A file should make clear why the vacancy went to a foreign worker without relying on memory.
Better version: Consider a hypothetical BC interior firm seeking a climbing arborist for storm season, with an offered wage above the provincial median hourly wage. The company should preserve the recruitment evidence and record how it assessed each applicant. A concise file can be checked against this list:
- Keep the Job Bank URL and dates showing four consecutive weeks of advertising.
- Save dated screenshots of WorkBC and an ISA chapter job page for the same period.
- Retain each application and its screening notes.
- Write a dated reason for rejecting each candidate.
Allow for two separate clocks
Weak version: Promising a first shift based only on the advertising period ignores the employer's assessment and the worker's separate permit application. The application fee does not buy approval, and documents the candidate must supply may add further delay.
Better version: Allow several months from the first posting to the first shift, and check current processing times when filing, because ESDC and IRCC each publish their own and the figures change. The LMIA fee is CAD $1,000 per position, while an assessment-exempt offer has a CAD $230 employer compliance fee.
Weak version: Assuming that approval alone fixes the start date overlooks possible extra time for biometrics, a medical exam or police certificates. Informal promises about travel or housing can also create problems if the employer later fails to meet them.
Better version: Allow for those checks, each of which can add weeks. Some offers include flights and housing for the first weeks, but an employer's promises become compliance obligations. Put any such terms in the offer itself rather than leaving them as an informal understanding.
Keep the conditions visible after arrival
Weak version: Treating approval as the end of the employer's work, or letting someone continue after a permit expires, risks a breach. A permit names an employer and often an occupation and location, so the worker cannot simply change employers using the same permit.
Better version: Keep the approved conditions visible once the worker joins the crew. Pay the agreed wage, match hours to the offer, and reconcile payroll deductions and T4 slips with the declared wage. Check the named employer, occupation and location on the permit; a different employer needs a new assessment and permit. Calendar renewals six months ahead.
Weak version: A hire is not fully managed if the employer keeps no training or payroll records, fails to report an injury, or overlooks a permit lapse. A foreign worker remains subject to the same applicable safety requirements as the rest of the crew.
Better version: Retain safety training records (the employee training checklist shows what to keep), report injuries to the provincial workers' compensation board, and keep immigration and payroll records for six years, confirming the period on the program page. Review CSA Z133 and provincial OHS rules before the climber works aloft. An American climber usually also needs an LMIA; CUSMA does not cover arborist or climber work.
