Canada has a plan to steal high-skilled immigrant tech workers from the U.S., and it is not using a smokescreen to hide its strategy.
America’s northern neighbor recently announced a new Tech Talent Strategy that streamlines work permits for tech workers holding H-1B visas in the U.S. The strategy also expands a pathway to permanent residency for foreign entrepreneurs who secure support from specially designated investors.
America’s tech sector has taken notice and is fretting about Canada siphoning off imported tech-savvy workers.
“Very smart move,” Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian tweeted. “AMERICA let’s do better at attracting and retaining the world’s talent.”
Starting July 16, Canada will make its H-1B specialty occupation visa-holder work permit available for one year or when it receives 10,000 applications, whichever comes first.
“Approved applicants will receive an open work permit of up to three years in duration, which means they will be able to work for almost any employer anywhere in Canada,” the Canadian government announced. “Their spouses and dependents will also be eligible to apply for a temporary resident visa, with a work or study permit, as needed.”
The plan also allocated more slots to its Start-up Visa Program, which gives a pathway to permanent residency for immigrant entrepreneurs who win the backing of designated Canadian venture capital funds and investors.
America’s tech sector has suffered layoffs in recent months with Big Tech companies shedding thousands of employees that may make Canada an attractive new home. For example, Amazon said in January it would eliminate more than 18,000 jobs, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced plans to scrap 12,000 positions.
“Really disappointing to see the U.S. [failing] to embrace the immigrant talent that has contributed immensely to our economic growth,” Scott Kupor, the managing partner at major venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, tweeted in response to Canada’s new high-tech worker visas.
Not everyone views Canada’s strategy as a competitive threat to America’s tech industry.
“They might be able to poach a few, but the reality is that most of these workers are ordinary folks doing grunt tech work for low pay, according to our analysis of the visa data,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies that advocates for low immigration.
“And if Canada does end up luring some away, that’s not a disaster for the United States, because we do not have a shortage of talented tech workers,” she said.
The U.S. government selects 85,000 people for H-1B visas each year and it received more than 780,000 applications for the visas as of April, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services message to stakeholders.
The federal immigration agency said the number of applications this year was up nearly 300,000 from the preceding year, which has swelled annually in recent years. According to the agency, the exploding number of applicants has prompted concerns that some people may be looking to manipulate the system by submitting multiple registrations.
Ms. Vaughan said the U.S. should study Canada’s strategy to determine whether to tighten its H-1B visas to focus on workers with the highest skills and consider whether Canada’s start-up program can serve as a model for America.
Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser credited his country’s tech and start-up community with helping develop the immigration strategy.
“We’re enthusiastic about the ambitious goals we have set in immigration because they aren’t just about numbers — they are strategic,” Mr. Fraser said in a statement. “With Canada’s first-ever immigration Tech Talent Strategy, we’re targeting newcomers that can help enshrine Canada as a world leader in a variety of emerging technologies.”
Canada has recently made major strides in new tech development, particularly in the growth of its artificial intelligence workforce in Ontario. More than 22,000 AI jobs were created in Ontario during 2021-2022, up 210% year-over-year, according to a report prepared by Deloitte for the Vector Institute.
The AI job growth comes amid a longer-term trend of a booming tech talent pool building up north. Real estate firm CBRE’s 2022 Scoring Tech Talent report found Toronto and Vancouver created substantially more jobs than tech degree graduates. Toronto added more than 88,000 tech jobs between 2016 and 2021 and Vancouver grew by more than 44,000 tech jobs.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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