Canada's visa programme attracts growing number of tech workers

TORONTO/OTTAWA: A fast-track visa programme that Canada launched in 2017 has attracted a growing number of tech workers, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown is set to further boost intake once COVID-19 restrictions ease, lawyers say.

“The fact that people started contacting me pretty much the next day is perhaps a suggestion that there are going to be more people interested,” Hyndman said.

U.S. technology companies including Amazon.com, Alphabet, Facebook and Netflix have in recent years expanded their Canadian operations, although most companies declined to comment on their GSS usage or how Trump’s recent announcement will impact their hiring plans.

Tobi Lutke, the chief executive officer of Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, was quick to tout the Canada’s attraction following Trump’s immigration move.

The programme “has made it possible to hire top talent beyond our borders,” said Sandeep Anand, senior lead on the global mobility team at Shopify, adding that it has helped relocate employees to Canada.

The majority of approved applicants to the fast-track visa programme were computer programmers and interactive media developers, followed by information systems analysts and consultants, the IRCC data shows.

Indian citizens accounted for 62.1% of successful applicants to the fast-track programme, followed by Chinese citizens. Nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens also have seen their applications approved.

The GSS data only covers the period up to March of this year, just before broader immigration in Canada fell off a cliff due to border closures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Lawyers, however, don’t expect it to last.

Betsy Kane, one of the founding partners of Capelle Kane Immigration Lawyers in Ottawa, said the programme is going to see a surge of applications.

“Whenever one door shuts, the other door is sought.”