Whether you know it as Toronto, the Tdot, or “The 6ix”, you have probably heard about the hyper-growing, incredibly hipster, city in one way or another. Real estate prices have risen faster than any other market in the last decade, The Raptors took home their first NBA championship, and Drake for better or worse has made “The 6ix” a global cultural destination.
In the midst of all this growth, Toronto has built a strong startup and technology scene. In the last five years, companies like Shopify, Wealthsimple, and Clearco (formerly Clearbanc) have all been valued at over a billion dollars. In the past 5 years, Toronto added more tech jobs than Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington — why?
Traditionally, 25% of Canadian engineering and technology talent has migrated to the USA, but the tide has changed. While U.S. immigration laws become increasingly restrictive, more international skilled workers are coming to Canada — the country has welcomed tens of thousands of foreign tech workers in the last three years alone. A staggering 40% of workers in the tech sector are immigrants, according to Canada’s Information and Communications Technology Council report. To put that into perspective, immigrants make up 25% of Canada’s overall workforce.
Canada issues work permits to highly skilled immigrants in mere weeks, and permanent residency — the equivalent of a green card — in less than six months. The same can take some immigrants years of being tied to a company in the USA if they are lucky enough to get hired and sponsored.
This alone has influenced companies like Uber, Google, Microsoft, and Uber to open offices north of the border to help talented immigrants worldwide. We can’t wait to see the first company Canada Goose Jackets at a conference!
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