Hiring a Japanese Chef in Toronto: LMIA Limits and Ontario Rules

If you run a Japanese restaurant in Toronto and want to bring a cook over from Japan, the first thing to know is that the most common route is closed at the moment. This guide explains why, what the market pays, what Ontario now requires in every job ad, and the routes that still work. For the national picture, see hiring a Japanese chef in Canada.

1. Toronto is on the refusal list

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) does not process low-wage LMIA applications for jobs in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher. For applications submitted from 10 July to 8 October 2026, the Toronto CMA's rate is 7.3%, so Toronto is on the list.

It is not alone in the region. Oshawa (8.5%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (8.1%), Barrie (7.9%), Hamilton (6.9%) and Guelph (7.4%) are on it too, as is Ottawa-Gatineau (6.7%). St. Catharines-Niagara, at 5.8%, is not. Opening a second site in a suburb inside the Toronto CMA does not help, because the rule follows the CMA.

The list is revised every quarter from Labour Force Survey data, and the current one runs to 8 October 2026. With the rate at 7.3%, Toronto would need a large fall in unemployment to come off it, so plan on the assumption that it stays for now.

2. What Toronto pays chefs and cooks

Job Bank's wage data for the Toronto Region (updated 19 November 2025, reference period 2023 to 2024):

The low figures match Ontario's minimum wage. The general minimum is C$17.60 an hour until 30 September 2026 and rises to C$17.95 on 1 October 2026, in line with the Ontario consumer price index. The student minimum rises from C$16.60 to C$16.90.

Read the cook figures carefully. The median cook in the Toronto Region earns C$18.00, only 40 cents above the current minimum and 5 cents above the October rate. That is the pay floor for an LMIA (the prevailing wage is the higher of the Job Bank median and what you pay your own staff in the same job), but it is not the market rate for a skilled Japanese cook. A sushi cook who can handle fish properly and work the counter is worth considerably more, and paying that is what keeps them.

3. The C$36.92 question

The low-wage refusal only applies to positions paid below Ontario's median wage threshold, which from 17 July 2026 is C$36.92 an hour. At 40 hours a week, that is about C$76,800 a year.

If you pay at or above it, the job is in the high-wage stream, which is not affected by the CMA list. The high-wage stream also allows a work permit of up to three years instead of one, and has no 10% cap.

But notice where C$36.92 sits against the data above: even Job Bank's high figure for chefs in Toronto is C$34.62. Paying the threshold puts the job above almost every chef salary in the region. For an executive chef or a head chef running a high-end omakase counter it can be justified. For a line cook it cannot. The high-wage stream also requires a transition plan and four weeks of advertising within the three months before you apply.

4. Ontario's job posting rules since January 2026

Since 1 January 2026, Ontario's Employment Standards Act has set rules for publicly advertised job postings. They apply to employers with 25 or more employees on the day the posting goes up:

• Pay. The posting must state the expected compensation or a range. A range can be no wider than C$50,000 a year. The rule does not apply to jobs paying over C$200,000.
• AI. You must say whether you use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants.
• Vacancy. You must say whether the vacancy actually exists.
• No Canadian experience requirement. Neither the posting nor the application form may require Canadian experience. This matters for chef ads, which often ask for "local experience". Ask for the skills instead.
• Follow-up. If you interview someone, you must tell them within 45 days of the last interview whether a hiring decision has been made.

If a third party or a job board posts for you, you remain responsible. These rules sit alongside the LMIA advertising requirements, which have their own content rules: English or French are the only languages you may state as a job requirement in an LMIA advertisement. You can describe Japanese cuisine skills in detail, but you cannot require Japanese. Our sushi chef job description template can be adapted to both.

5. Four ways to hire in Toronto now

Hire someone already in Canada

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs counted 18,101 Japanese nationals in the Toronto metro as of 1 October 2025. Some are permanent residents, some are spouses of workers or students with open work permits, some are working holiday participants. None of them needs an LMIA from you.

International Experience Canada (Working Holiday)

Japanese citizens aged 18 to 30 can work in Canada for up to 12 months on an open work permit under IEC. No LMIA, no compliance fee, and the CMA list does not apply. The IRCC quota for Japan in 2026 was 6,433. See Canada working holiday for Japanese chefs.

High-wage LMIA

For a senior hire paid at least C$36.92 an hour. Up to three years, transition plan, four weeks of advertising, C$1,000 fee. The process is in our LMIA step-by-step guide.

Wait, or look outside the CMA

If you also operate outside a listed CMA, a low-wage LMIA is possible there, with eight weeks of advertising, the 10% cap and a one-year limit. For a Toronto site, the only other option is to wait for the quarterly list to change.

6. Step by step

1. Decide the real pay for the job, then compare it with C$36.92. That tells you which stream, if any, applies.
2. If you have 25 or more employees, fix your job ad template for Ontario's rules: pay range, AI statement, vacancy statement, no Canadian experience requirement.
3. Advertise locally and to Japanese speakers already in Canada, including working holiday participants.
4. If a senior role justifies the high-wage stream, start the four weeks of advertising and the transition plan.
5. Update pay for the 1 October 2026 minimum wage increase, and check the CMA list again once the current period ends on 8 October.
6. Put the offer in writing. Our contract checklist covers the essentials.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. The CMA list changes quarterly and Ontario's minimum wage changes each October. Check the linked pages before acting.