Hiring a Japanese Chef in Montreal: LMIA, CAQ and French Rules

Montreal has the most layered system in Canada for hiring a cook from abroad. Federal LMIA rules apply, Quebec runs its own selection process on top, the Charter of the French language governs your job ads and contracts, and low-wage hiring in the city is currently blocked twice over. This guide covers what is specific to Montreal. The national picture is in hiring a Japanese chef in Canada.

1. Two separate blocks on low-wage hiring

Montreal employers face two measures that stop low-wage LMIAs, and they have different end dates:

• The Quebec measure. According to ESDC, until 31 December 2026, certain LMIA applications for low-wage positions in the economic regions of Montréal and Laval will not be processed.
• The national CMA rule. ESDC refuses low-wage applications in census metropolitan areas with unemployment of 6% or more. For applications submitted from 10 July to 8 October 2026, the Montréal CMA is at 6.8%, so it is on the list.

Even if Montreal's unemployment rate fell below 6% at the next quarterly update, the Quebec measure would still apply to the Montréal and Laval regions until the end of 2026. Other Quebec CMAs are well below the 6% line: Québec City at 4.0%, Sherbrooke 4.3%, Saguenay 3.4%.

2. Montreal wages and the C$36.00 threshold

Job Bank's wage data for the Montréal Region (updated 19 November 2025):

Montreal's chef median of C$24.00 is actually higher than Toronto's C$22.00 and Vancouver's C$23.00, and its cook median of C$20.00 is higher than Toronto's C$18.00.

Quebec's general minimum wage has been C$16.60 an hour since 1 May 2026. The minimum for employees who receive tips is C$13.30.

Quebec's median wage threshold for LMIAs, effective 17 July 2026, is C$36.00 an hour, the lowest of the four largest provinces (Ontario C$36.92, Alberta C$37.50, BC C$38.40). At 40 hours a week that is C$74,880 a year. A job paid at or above it goes in the high-wage stream, which neither low-wage block affects, allows up to three years, and needs four weeks of advertising and a transition plan. Job Bank's high figure for Montreal chefs is C$33.80, so C$36.00 is a head chef salary, not a line cook's.

3. Quebec's joint process: LMIA plus CAQ

For jobs longer than 30 consecutive days, the LMIA application goes to Service Canada and Quebec's Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) at the same time. The worker also needs a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) for temporary work, in most cases.

The Quebec side works like this:

• The worker fills in the forms and sends their documents to you. The employer submits the application through the Employer Portal in Arrima. The worker does not apply to MIFI separately.
• The fee for a temporary foreign worker is C$233, as of 1 January 2026, adjusted each year.
• Documents include the employment contract, passport, CV, diplomas and transcripts, and employment references, in French or English or professionally translated.

Once in Quebec, you must declare the hire to the CNESST, help the worker get a social insurance number and health card, and report significant changes to the job within 30 days. You may not make the worker pay for the LMIA.

After Quebec and Ottawa both approve, the worker applies to IRCC for the work permit (C$155, plus C$85 biometrics where required). The general process is in our LMIA step-by-step guide.

4. The facilitated process does not cover cooks

Quebec has a facilitated LMIA process for occupations on its list of in-demand professions, which removes the requirement to prove recruitment efforts. The 2026 list took effect on 24 February 2026 and runs to 23 February 2027.

Chefs (62200) and cooks (63200) are not on it. The only food preparation entry is for qualified or experienced bakers and pastry chefs under NOC 63202, limited to that specific title. If you are hiring a Japanese pastry chef, check that entry. See hiring a Japanese pastry chef.

5. French language rules for employers

This is the part of hiring in Montreal that differs most from anywhere else in Canada. The Charter of the French language, as amended in 2022 (chapter 14 of the 2022 Quebec statutes), puts specific duties on employers:

• Job ads in French. Any job offer you publish must be in French (section 41). If you also publish it in English or Japanese, the French version must go out at the same time, by the same kind of channel, reaching a comparably sized audience (section 42).
• Contracts in French. A written individual employment contract must be drawn up in French. The parties can be bound by another language only at their express wish, and for a standard form contract only after the employee has seen the French version (section 41).
• Requiring Japanese. You may not require knowledge of a language other than French for a job unless the nature of the duties requires it, and even then you must first take all reasonable means to avoid the requirement (section 46). If you do require it, the job posting must state the reasons.

For a Japanese restaurant, the third point needs thought. Requiring Japanese for a head chef who must read supplier documents, train from Japanese recipes and communicate with a Japanese owner may be justifiable. Requiring it for a line cook is harder to defend. Write down the reasons before you advertise. Note that an LMIA advertisement separately allows only English or French as a stated language requirement.

6. Routes that work

• Local hires with existing work rights. Montreal does not appear among the 50 cities with the most Japanese nationals in Japan's 2025 statistics (the 50th had 3,242), so its Japanese community is much smaller than Vancouver's 28,090 or Toronto's 18,101. Look beyond Japanese nationals to cooks of any background trained in Japanese cuisine. See training local staff in Japanese cuisine.
• IEC Working Holiday. Japanese citizens aged 18 to 30, up to 12 months, open work permit, no LMIA. See Canada working holiday for Japanese chefs.
• High-wage LMIA at C$36.00 an hour or more, through the joint Service Canada and MIFI process.
• Low-wage LMIA outside Montréal and Laval, in a region and CMA not covered by either block.

7. Step by step

1. Fix the wage and compare it with C$36.00. Below that, assume a Montreal or Laval site cannot use the low-wage stream for the rest of 2026, and check the exceptions on ESDC's pages if you think your job may be one of them.
2. Write the job ad in French first. Publish any English or Japanese version at the same time and on the same channels.
3. If you need Japanese, decide whether the duties genuinely require it and state the reasons in the posting.
4. Search locally and among working holiday participants.
5. For a high-wage hire, advertise for four weeks, prepare the transition plan, and file with Service Canada and MIFI together.
6. Prepare a French employment contract, with another language version only if the employee expressly wishes.
7. Plan French support for anyone you hope to keep beyond three years.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Quebec and federal measures change often, and the Montréal and Laval suspension is currently set to end on 31 December 2026. Check the linked pages before acting.