The rampant misuse of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) has become a growing concern within Canada’s immigration system. Fraudulent practices have increasingly come to light, with temporary residents, including international students, reportedly paying exorbitant amounts—sometimes as high as $75,000—for fake job offers. These fraudulent job offers are often designed to artificially boost a candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score under the Express Entry program, providing an unfair advantage in a highly competitive system.

This widespread exploitation undermines the integrity of Canada’s immigration framework, creating a black market for LMIAs and disadvantaging genuine applicants who follow the rules. Fraudulent job offers also exploit the vulnerability of hopeful immigrants, many of whom are willing to make significant sacrifices to improve their chances of securing permanent residence.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller has recognized the gravity of this issue, describing the extent of the fraud as severe enough to warrant major policy changes. Among these proposed reforms is the removal of CRS points for valid job offers under Express Entry. While this move could make the system more equitable by deterring fraud, it may also have unintended consequences, such as penalizing legitimate candidates who have secured authentic, LMIA-backed job offers. Nonetheless, Minister Miller emphasized that these bold measures are necessary to protect the integrity and fairness of Canada’s immigration process.