Why Canada’s New Work Permit Isn’t a Death Knell for U.S. Tech Industry 

2023/07/03 Leave a comment

Useful reminder of policies that USA needs to consider and that Canada shouldn’t take for granted its current advantages:

In a move aimed at attracting top tech talent, Canada’s Immigration Minister announced Tuesday the creation of an open work permit stream for H-1B visa holders in the United States. The program will allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the U.S. to work in Canada and provide study or work permits for their family members as well.

The new initiative, which is part of the country’s new Tech Talent Strategy, is set to launch on July 16, 2023. Under the program, approved applicants will receive an open work permit valid for up to three years. This permit grants them the freedom to work for any employer anywhere in Canada, offering increased flexibility and opportunities.

Although the plan has the potential to attract top talent in the tech sector, there are several factors that may limit its effectiveness in poaching workers from the United States. These include:

  1. High Taxes and Cost of Living: Canada’s high taxes and cost of living, particularly in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver, may deter some entrepreneurs and tech workers from moving there permanently. The United States has a wider range of affordable cities to live in, which could be more appealing to prospective immigrants.
  2. Strong Existing Tech Ecosystem in the U.S.: The United States already has a well-established tech ecosystem with massive tech hubs in Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Austin. The networks, infrastructure, and resources available in these hubs may still be more attractive to tech talent and entrepreneurs.
  3. Talent Mobility and Dual Intent: Talented individuals who secure Canadian citizenship may choose to return to the United States once they have more secure immigration status. The U.S. may still be perceived as a more lucrative market for career development, so achieving Canadian citizenship could be a stepping stone rather than a final destination.
  4. Limited Scope of Canada’s Initiative: The new program will remain in effect for one year or until 10,000 applications are received. This is a limited scale compared to the size of the tech industry in the United States.
  5. Brand and Perception: The global brand and perception of the United States as a land of opportunity and the center for innovation could continue to attract talent even with competition from Canada.

What the U.S. Can Do:

  1. Reform Immigration Policies: The U.S. could reform its immigration policies to make it easier for highly-skilled talent to obtain visas. This includes reducing processing times, increasing visa quotas, and providing clearer paths to permanent residency and citizenship.
  2. Encourage Investment in Emerging Tech Hubs: Encouraging investment in emerging tech hubs in the U.S. through tax incentives, grants, and other supportive policies would create more options for tech talent.
  3. Engage with the Tech Industry: By engaging with tech companies and understanding their needs, the U.S. government can develop policies that directly address the concerns of the industry.
  4. Educate and Train: Invest in education and training programs that build a domestic talent pool that can complement the foreign tech workforce.
  5. International Partnerships: The U.S. could forge closer ties with other countries to develop international technology partnerships that could benefit both the U.S. and foreign talent.

While Canada’s new strategy is commendable and may attract some talent, it doesn’t mean the U.S. will be left with few tech workers. The U.S. has the ability to adapt and respond to competitive pressures by leveraging its established tech ecosystem and enacting policies that are supportive of high-skilled immigration and innovation.

Source: Why Canada’s New Work Permit Isn’t a Death Knell for U.S. Tech Industry

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Canada gets ‘more aggressive,’ launches bid to attract high-tech nomad workers from U.S., abroad

2023/06/29 Leave a comment

Good initiative. One that has a clear productivity/per capita GDP objective, unlike many other recent initiatives. Getting extensive coverage in Indian press as well as in USA:

Ottawa is trying to attract more high-skilled workers by launching a program in mid-July to allow about 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the United States to work in Canada.

The H-1B visa allows companies in the U.S. to employ foreign workers in specialized job categories, such as in the technology sector, which has laid off at least 150,000 workers in 2023 so far, according to data from Crunchbase.

“We have been watching very closely what’s been going on in the United States. Where we have seen a public narrative around layoffs, we have been having private conversations about opportunities,” Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser said at the Collision conference, a tech event in Toronto on June 27.

Approved applicants will receive an open work permit of up to three years.

The minister also said Canada would launch its “digital nomad strategy” to allow people who work for a foreign employer to live in Canada for up to six months.

“(They can) live in this country and should they receive a job offer while they are here, we are going to allow them to continue to stay in Canada,” he said.

Canada has recently taken several steps to tackle its labour shortage, from increasing immigration targets to changing the existing system to bring in more newcomers.

The number of job vacancies in Canada in 2022 averaged 942,000, two-and-a-half times the average of 377,000 in 2016, according to Statistics Canada.

The substantial growth in the number of job vacancies recorded during this period suggests the economy is battling a labour crunch. But Statistics Canada in a report on May 24 said “employers’ difficulties to fill job vacancies requiring high levels of education cannot, in general, be attributed to a national shortage” or local shortage of highly educated job seekers.

The agency said vacancies may arise because of a mismatch between the skills required by employers and the skills possessed by highly educated job seekers. A labour crunch, however, has been observed for jobs requiring a high school diploma or less education since 2021.

Fraser said the country will launch a new pathway for permanent residency for workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and make it easier for people to immigrate to Canada under the Start-up Visa program, which allows newcomers to become permanent residents by starting a business that creates jobs for Canadians.

The announcements are part of Canada’s first-ever “Tech Talent Strategy,” the immigration ministry said in a statement.

The information and communications technology sector employed nearly 720,000 workers and accounted for more than 44 per cent of all private research and development spending in Canada in 2021, the ministry said. The sector was also responsible for more than 15 per cent of Canada’s overall gross domestic product growth between 2016 and 2021.

The Business Council of Canada, an association of about 150 companies, including Microsoft Canada Inc. and Google Canada, said the federal government’s new announcements were a step in the right direction.

“Specialized talent is needed not just in the tech sector but across the Canadian economy,” Trevor Neiman, the association’s director of digital economy, said. “The move shows that the government is changing its attitude a bit around retention. They have been more aggressive on the international stage to attract talent.”

In a separate announcement, the Ontario government said it would invest $1.3 million to train 54 women, newcomers and others from underrepresented groups for in-demand careers in the trucking sector. The province said it needs about 6,100 truck drivers to fill job vacancies.

Source: Canada gets ‘more aggressive,’ launches bid to attract high-tech nomad workers from U.S., abroad

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