How Canada Can Win the War for Talent

The way we work is evolving and these changes are occurring faster than ever before. The adoption of models such as remote work, hybrid work, and work-from-anywhere was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and has become business as usual for a substantial number of companies, especially those in the technology sector. At the same time, the demand – and competition – for highly skilled workers in STEM fields, such as technology and engineering, is increasing. 

These trends can and should be to Canada’s benefit. Thanks to its proximity to the world’s largest innovation economy (the United States) and its forward-thinking immigration policies, Canada is uniquely positioned to win the war for talent. 

The Trends Influencing the Future of Talent

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. It helped demonstrate that individuals and teams can be highly productive even without being physically present in the same office. This caused companies to rethink their people strategy and opened companies up to the idea of remote work and distributed teams.  

Today, most companies have adopted some form of a remote or hybrid work model. For some, it is cost-driven (less office space and lower cost of labour), but for many, the main driver is access to highly skilled talent that they cannot find (or compete for), which is an especially prevalent issue in the US. In addition to navigating local talent shortages, US companies also face the challenge of restrictive immigration caps on importing technology talent. 

Last year, 80% of American companies surveyed in Envoy’s 2023 Immigration Trends Report cited US work visa-related issues as the main reason they either transferred foreign national employees abroad or relocated employees to work remotely. For the vast majority of those companies (62%), Canada was their country of choice – and it is no surprise as to why. 

Not only does Canada share a border, time zones, and business congruency with the US, but Canada also has strong IP protection laws as well as a welcoming, merit-based immigration system. World-class technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon – who have a proven track record of attracting high-skilled talent – have already demonstrated that they see Canada as a smart place to invest by opening large offices and announcing growing long-term hiring targets in the country. 

As the world’s leading innovation ecosystem, the US is often the first country to attract the best talent from around the globe – but if much of the world’s best technology talent is unable to settle in the US, Canada is more than willing to welcome them. 

Canada’s immigration system has long been recognized as one of the best in the world, providing the country with a significant global recruiting advantage. Thanks in large part to immigration policies introduced over the previous decade, Canada has the opportunity to substantially increase its pipeline of the best international technology talent straight into the nation’s rapidly growing innovation ecosystem. 

How Immigration is Helping Canada Win the War for Talent  

The story of Khayyam Zubair, an experienced software engineer from Pakistan, highlights how Canada’s immigration system is helping to grow that pipeline. Nearly a decade ago, Zubair moved to the US to pursue an advanced Master’s degree at Capital University. With dreams of building a life and career in America, he started working for a growing US company.  

However, after facing countless work visa challenges, including three failed H-1B visa lottery attempts (a highly sought-after US work visa, capped at only 85,000 visas a year) Zubair turned his sights to Canada. In just a few short months, with the support of our company – MobSquad – he resettled in Toronto in January 2023, where he now proudly resides.

This was made possible because Canada has implemented several targeted immigration programs, such as Express Entry and the Global Talent Stream that help expedite Canadian work permits and Canadian permanent residency for highly skilled workers (like Zubair) and their families.  

Provinces have been responsive as well, introducing programs such as the Alberta Accelerated Tech Program and the Atlantic Immigration Program, both of which have been effective recruiting tools for the best global talent. Canadian immigration programs have been highly successful and even replicated in some form by other countries seeking an immigration and talent advantage.   

Key tenets of these programs include expedited processing (with Global Talent Stream work permits approved in as little as two weeks), year-round availability, and merit-based admission processes. This enables Canada to attract and retain talent looking to fulfil their North American dream, which can at times be challenging to do in the US. For example, foreign nationals applying for a US H-1B visa are selected every year via a lottery, and in 2022 only 26% of applicants were successful. 

Canada, on the other hand, made it easy for a highly skilled person like Zubair to find the stability and sense of belonging he had been seeking. And, at a time when Canada is struggling to fill highly skilled technology roles, the country needs more people like him – the innovators, inventors, and problem solvers of today and tomorrow. So, how do we get more of them to call Canada home? 

How Canada Can Win the War for Talent

The war for talent is a multifaceted challenge that cannot be solved with just one solution. We need to ensure Canada remains amongst the most desirable choices for immigrants, by building out infrastructure, health care, and housing to support a growing population. We need to support entrepreneurs locally and abroad who want to build the next great company in Canada by encouraging local IP and R&D generation as well as team growth within Canada. And of course, we need to maintain and expand upon competitively advantaged immigration policies that enable the best talent from anywhere in the world to come to Canada.

To win the war for highly skilled talent, Canada must continue to be innovative with immigration programs, embracing technology to further streamline processes and remove barriers for highly skilled talent seeking entry. Live immigration status trackers as well as further expanding upon online submission capabilities are examples of areas the immigration system can continue to improve on.

Attracting the brightest minds from across the world in combination with retaining the best talent trained in Canada will undoubtedly ensure the next wave of exciting and innovative companies are being created locally, by the very same talent that was brought into and retained within Canada. This will result in increased research and development spending, local IP generation and innovation, job creation, GDP growth, and long-term economic prosperity, all in Canada. The future of work is upon us, and Canada stands to benefit significantly.