Newfoundland and Labrador has become the latest province to opt into the federal government's temporary public policy giving rural employers more flexibility to hire low-wage temporary foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), according to a federal webpage update on June 2. The policy, in force since April 1, 2026, will see Newfoundland and Labrador adopt both available measures across all sectors: eligible rural employers may retain their existing share of low-wage temporary foreign workers even where it already exceeds the 10% cap, and may apply a 15% cap rather than the standard 10% on the proportion of low-wage positions filled by foreign workers. The measures take effect provincially on June 11 and are expected to remain in place until March 31, 2027. Only employers located outside Statistics Canada–defined census metropolitan areas qualify, and those that fail to meet all regular TFWP requirements—including proving efforts to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents first—are excluded; British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec have already opted in, while Alberta and Nunavut are not participating.

A regulatory proposal that would introduce language testing for certain International Mobility Program (IMP) work permit applicants is moving closer to formal publication, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The department's Forward Regulatory Plan, in a page update dated April 7, 2026, now sets a target of spring or summer 2026 for pre-publication of the proposed amendments in Part I of the Canada Gazette, to be followed by a 30-day public comment period. The initiative was first listed in the Forward Regulatory Plan on July 2, 2025, and has since cleared two rounds of stakeholder engagement — consultations with provinces and territories in February 2025 and with private-sector stakeholders in November 2025 — meaning it is no longer a preliminary entry in a federal planning document. The proposal would amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to authorize IRCC to require applicants to submit language proficiency test results from a designated third-party organization, with the stated aim of improving the reliability, transparency, and efficiency of language assessments under the IMP. The amendment is not yet in force, no regulatory text is public, and IRCC has not confirmed which IMP streams will be affected, which tests will be accepted, what minimum scores will apply, what exemptions may exist, or when the rule would take effect. Spousal open work permits (SOWPs) are not named by IRCC but are widely regarded by immigration practitioners as the category most likely to be affected. Until the regulatory text is published, no applicant is required to take a language test as a result of this proposal.

Canada's federal government announced on May 6, 2026 that a sweeping overhaul of the regulatory framework governing the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) will come into force on July 15, 2026 — the most significant regulatory upgrade since the CICC succeeded the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) on November 23, 2021. The new rules give the College stronger disciplinary teeth, allow the federal government to step in and take over the College's board if it fails to protect the public, and establish, for the first time, a dedicated compensation fund to provide redress to clients who suffer financial losses because a CICC-licensed consultant engaged in theft, fraud, misappropriation of funds, misrepresentation, or refusal to cooperate with professional liability insurance; at the same time, the College's public register will be expanded with additional disclosures about each licensee, making it easier for the public to verify a consultant's licensing status, good standing, and disciplinary history — and squeezing the operating space of so-called "ghost consultants."

The Canadian federal government has announced a temporary easing of rules for rural employers using the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. Under the new policy, eligible rural employers in participating provinces and territories will not only be allowed to maintain their current number of low-wage temporary foreign workers, but will also be able to increase the cap on these workers from 10% to 15% of their total workforce. The move is being seen as a targeted policy adjustment aimed at addressing persistent labour shortages in rural and remote communities. However, the measure will apply only in provinces and territories that choose to participate, and the federal government has not yet released a list of those jurisdictions.