Canada sees steep hike in IT job applications; as US toughens immigration policies

As Donald Trump, the US President, tries to tighten further American Immigration policies, a lot of technology workers are shifting to Canada.

 

Online website Axios reported on 20 September that many startups in the tech hub of Toronto are saying that they were witnessing solid increases in Job Applications from the neighbouring US since the presidential election of 2016.

 

It adds that this may be the first solid evidence that President Trump’s tough stance on immigration may be changing the course of the global race on which country attracts the most talented workers.

 

Axios adds that Trump’s attempts to limit immigration either through his executive order or Twitter have made Canada, China and France Work vigorously to lure techies and scientists who in normal course would have headed to the US.

 

The online website is quoted by siliconbeat. com as saying that reports from Toronto indicate a threat to America’s status as the unrivalled crowd puller of the world’s best scientific talent.

 

The global boom in artificial intelligence — a major thrust area for tech companies in Silicon Valley — has a power centre in Toronto, where a 20-storey startup incubator is located close to a major university and nine research and teaching hospitals.

 

Axios said that about 250 artificial intelligence, energy, medical, financial technology and other startups have operations in the MaRS Discovery District, besides Autodesk, IBM, Merck and the Vector Institute, a new research centre for AI, that is said to have received around CAD200 million in government and industry funding.

 

That facility and some esteemed tech companies focusing on AI are enticing the US techies to the city, which the Canadians refer to as ‘T.O.’

 

Zoom.  ai CEO Roy Pereira was quoted as telling the Axios that he had never seen techies from the Silicon Valley applying for positions in Canada, though he has been in technology for over 20 years in Canada and in Silicon Valley as well.

 

According to Axios, a survey in July by the startup accelerator revealed that 62 percent of the burgeoning companies in Canada that responded said they had seen a conspicuous rise recently in job applications from people based in the US.

 

Zoom. ai has seen almost one out of three engineering-position applications originating from the US compared to almost none. Pereira said applicants cited that they were concerned over the direction that the US was taking.

 

Axios reported that a Figure 1, a company referred to as ‘Instagram for doctors’, witnessed applications from the US double for senior roles and grow 50 percent for engineering jobs in January when compared to the same month in 2016.

 

Three tech execs told the site that Canadian expats in America had contacted them about the job opportunities in Toronto, pointing out that many of Canada’s best and brightest were keen to return home.

 

Apart from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver also are becoming homes to the fledgeling tech sector.

 

If you are looking to Work in Canada, get in touch with Y-Axis, a company of repute for immigration services, to apply for a work visa.