While immigration policy in the US becomes stricter, Canada’s more welcoming immigration system has US tech companies taking notice.
According to a recent survey by Envoy Global, 60% of US companies view Canada’s immigration policy as better than that of the US, and plan to expand their business there.
Canada recently announced a plan to bring in 350,000 foreign nationals per year between now and 2021, which will likely sustain the significant growth experienced by Canada’s tech industry over the last few years. In 2017 Toronto created nearly 30,000 tech jobs, totalling more than the Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington combined.
In addition to becoming increasingly skills-based, Canada’s Global Talent Stream (GTS) immigration pathway is much faster and easier on newcomers than the H1-B visa in the US. It takes only a few weeks instead of six months, is less expensive, and allows spouses of newcomers to work as well.
Combined with the increasing number of international students, Canada is making life easier for newcomers, setting itself up to become the prime destination for skilled immigrants.