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Farm Jobs in Canada for Foreigners — Seasons, Provinces, How Hiring Works

Farm work is the largest single block of Canada's LMIA system, and it is not close. Across the farm occupation groups in the current register window — harvesting labourers, livestock labourers, nursery and greenhouse labourers, specialized livestock workers and farm supervisors — ESDC recorded 9,347 approvals for 77,168 positions across 5,858 distinct employers. If a foreign worker holds an LMIA-based job in Canada, the odds are strong that it is on a farm.

The Primary Agriculture stream

Farm hiring runs through the Primary Agriculture stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which covers on-farm primary production: field crops, greenhouses, nurseries, livestock and similar operations. Recent ESDC lists fold the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) into this stream rather than reporting it separately. Two program features matter to workers:

No workforce cap. On-farm primary agriculture positions (NOC 80020, 80021, 82030, 82031, 84120, 85100, 85101, 85103) are exempt from the low-wage workforce cap entirely.
No processing fee. The $1,000 LMIA fee does not apply to on-farm primary agriculture positions in those same NOC codes.

Seasons decide everything

Approvals follow the growing calendar. Greenhouse and nursery hiring builds through late winter and spring; field planting follows; livestock work runs year-round with its own peaks; the harvest surge — the single biggest block, 55,816 approved harvesting positions in this window — lands in late summer and autumn. Employers apply months ahead of need, so the practical application season for harvest work is spring, not the week the crop comes off.

Where the farm approvals are

<div style="overflow-x:auto"><table><tr><th>Province / Territory</th><th>Approvals</th><th>Approved positions</th><th>Employers</th></tr><tr><td>Quebec</td><td>4,783</td><td>27,915</td><td>2,845</td></tr><tr><td>Ontario</td><td>2,156</td><td>28,156</td><td>1,365</td></tr><tr><td>British Columbia</td><td>1,231</td><td>13,927</td><td>817</td></tr><tr><td>Alberta</td><td>486</td><td>2,514</td><td>351</td></tr><tr><td>Saskatchewan</td><td>224</td><td>870</td><td>168</td></tr><tr><td>Nova Scotia</td><td>155</td><td>2,078</td><td>95</td></tr><tr><td>Manitoba</td><td>140</td><td>728</td><td>99</td></tr><tr><td>Prince Edward Island</td><td>85</td><td>440</td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>New Brunswick</td><td>68</td><td>466</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>Newfoundland and Labrador</td><td>17</td><td>71</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Northwest Territories</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr></table></div>

Quebec's greenhouse and field sector, Ontario's greenhouse belt and Prairies livestock operations anchor the map. The farm and harvesting directory, the livestock directory and the farm facet break the same data down by employer.

Pay, honestly

Farm wages in the register's world are set by the job offer and must meet the prevailing wage for the occupation and region (Job Bank publishes those wage reports) — most farm labour roles sit in the low-wage stream by threshold, which is exactly why the cap exemption for primary agriculture matters so much to this sector. Anyone quoting you a guaranteed monthly salary in foreign currency before a real job offer exists is inventing numbers; judge offers in Canadian dollars per hour, against the provincial threshold, using the Wage Threshold Checker.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to apply for farm jobs in Canada?

Employers apply for LMIAs months before the need. For harvest work peaking in late summer and autumn, applications move in spring; greenhouse and nursery hiring builds from late winter. Livestock hiring runs all year.

Do farm employers pay the $1,000 LMIA fee?

No. On-farm primary agriculture positions in the listed NOC codes (80020, 80021, 82030, 82031, 84120, 85100, 85101, 85103) are exempt from the LMIA processing fee — and no employer may pass any LMIA cost to the worker in any stream.

Does the 10% low-wage cap apply to farm jobs?

No. On-farm primary agriculture positions are exempt from the workforce cap, and they are also exempt from the CMA unemployment refusal rule.

What is the difference between the Primary Agriculture stream and SAWP?

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is the long-running bilateral program with Mexico and Caribbean countries for seasonal farm work. In recent ESDC employer lists, SAWP activity is reported inside the Primary Agriculture stream rather than as its own stream.

How many farm positions were approved recently?

In the current register window (decisions through June 2026), farm occupation groups total 77,168 approved positions, including 55,816 harvesting positions — the largest occupational block in the Canadian LMIA system.