August 18, 2014

Stalled US Immigration Reform Means Growing Tech Industry for Canada

merica’s inability to reform its immigration policies has given Canada the opportunity to “benefit from the dysfunctional [US] immigration system”, as Environment and Social Development Minister, Jason Kenney, recently remarked. The Canadian tech industry, in particular, has greatly profited from this situation.

From small start-ups to large tech companies, Silicon Valley employers are looking towards Vancouver as an ideal tech hub to install new, temporary offices.

Facebook, for instance,  installed a Vancouver base for new engineering hires in May 2013, joining start-ups and tech giants such as Microsoft Corp., Sony Pictures Imageworks, Hootsuite, Bench, Mobify and incoming Amazon.com Inc.

As these businesses look globally for computer developers and software engineers, many of these would-be employees face visa hurdles in order to work in the US; Canada offers an appealing alternative.

(Sources)