The federal government┬аis looking to poach talent from abroad through three new initiatives announced at a technology conference on Tuesday.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced what he called a “digital nomad strategy” that will allow workers with a foreign employer to stay and work in Canada for up to six months. If they get a job offer while in the country, he said, they can remain in Canada even longer.
He said those workers will “spend money in communities in this country.”
The strategy is similar to a temporary visa policy in place in Mexico. That policy┬аhas attracted large numbers of American workers south, where┬аthey earn dollars while┬аspending┬аpesos and take┬аadvantage┬аof a┬аlower cost of living. While the policy has┬аboosted the local economy, its critics say it┬аalso has driven up rents.
Fraser’s remarks to the Collision tech conference┬аin Toronto were focused on┬аthe need to attract qualified workers to Canada’s technology sector. Some of his announcements were targeted specifically at that industry тАФ┬аpart of what the┬аministry is calling a “tech talent strategy.”
By the end of this year, Fraser said, the federal government will be developing an immigration stream for “some of the world’s most talented people that will be able to come to Canada to work for tech companies, whether they have a job offer or not.”
He did not explain exactly who will qualify or how many people will be admitted to the stream. A news release issued after┬аhis remarks said the government will create an “innovation stream” under its international mobility program for skilled workers who are “in select in-demand occupations” or are destined for work with┬аcompanies the government selects as “contributing to our innovation goals.”
The third new program announced Tuesday was specifically aimed at the United States. By July 16, Fraser said, the government will create an┬аopen work-permit stream to allow 10,000 American┬аH-1B visa holders to come and work in Canada.
In its news release, the ministry┬аsaid the program will also provide for study or work permits for their family members.
H-1B visas allow foreign nationals to temporarily work in the U.S. in certain specialized occupations, including the technology sector. Tech companies went on a hiring binge during the pandemic but have since starting laying people off in large numbers.┬аThat’s forcing┬аa lot of H-1B visa holders scrambling┬аto find new jobs before┬аthey’re forced to leave the U.S.
Fraser said he’s been watching that dynamic very closely and sees it as an “opportunity” for Canada.
