1. In the past five years, Canadians have seen sustained year-over-year growth in venture capital- a driving force of the tech industry. The Canadian VC sector has emerged as a major global contender with providing five and ten year investment returns. The sector’s growth is also reflected in the number of active Canadian General Partners (GPs) which has doubled over the past five years, driven both by emerging and established funds.

2. Canada has emerged as a destination for global talent. The success of Ottawa-based e-commerce giant Shopify is a great example of how Canada is becoming a talent magnet in recent years. Noting the depth of technical talent and world class universities, iconic global players such as Amazon, Google, and Apple are making moves north, and their investments are driving substantial job gains.

3. Favorable immigration policies! Canada has been responsive to the needs of the growing tech sector with progressive immigration policy, doubling down every time the U.S. pulls back on immigration. Canada now welcomes five times the number of skilled immigrants as a percentage of its population than does the U.S.

4. Canada’s track record of resilience makes this country hopeful for the future. Times are undeniably tough right now and economy is anticipated to shrink and jobs may be lost. However, a core competency for Canada which is its talent-based immigration could create an opportunity to doble down its position globally. As the U.S. consistently closes channels to immigration, Canada will continue its pattern of opening up by promising to accept skilled immigrants in 2020 and 2021. In an economy where one of five tech workers is foreign born, Canada may very well be the place the next generation of entrepreneurs and operators choose to make home.

If you are a company looking to relocate to Canada or sponsor your foreign workers, please get in touch with us and we will gladly assist you.