Global tech workers flock to Canada: 32,000 newcomers in one year .
According to a recent report from The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) and Canada’s Tech Network (CTN), more than 32,000 worldwide tech industry personnel travelled to Canada for work between April 2022 and March 2023.
What follows will delve deeper into the TECNA and CTN research, which highlights some of the top destinations for IT employees in Canada and much more about the country’s tech industry landscape.
Understanding the TECNA and CTN reports
Canada has “largely” drawn considerable numbers of IT employees as a result of the country’s “immigration-friendly national policy and… labour cost advantage.”
In order to obtain insight into how globalization has impacted the migration of tech jobs in North America, TECNA and CTN contend that the rise of remote work has resulted in tech talent relocating away from traditional tech hubs more frequently. According to the paper, this is attributable in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To the research, worldwide net in-migration of tech talent to Canada remains high, mainly from India, Nigeria, and Brazil. Another cause for this country’s thriving tech economy is growing investment by US-based tech companies in Canada. To some extent, these investments have increased due to geographical proximity and a positive discrepancy in pay.
Canada will have over 400,000 software engineers by 2022, and the rise of the national tech workforce is not limited to the larger Canadian markets. Smaller jurisdictions, such as Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, have had the most rise in their tech workforces, with a year-over-year increase of 16.3%.
Smaller rural Canadian areas, such as Windsor, Ontario, have also had the most growth in tech workers in the last year, showing a trend toward rural regions caused in part by the expansion of remote work in North America.
It is worth noting that the number of tech workers in Windsor has increased by 28% in the last year.
Finally, according to the joint report from TECNA and CTN, the most in-demand tech skills in Canada are Customer Experience, Microsoft Azure, Analytical Skills, Amazon Web Services, React.js, Jira, Data Science, GitHub, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Relationship Management. This information may be useful for global IT talent considering relocating to Canada in the future.
Where are Canada’s “most attractive” IT hubs?
The TECNA/CTN survey also highlighted some of Canada’s most appealing cities for top IT talent, with two cities in Ontario (ON) and one in Quebec (QUE) placing among the top three.The research placed Mississauga (ON) #1, followed by Montreal (QUE) and Waterloo (ON). The sections that follow will delve deeper into what makes each of these places an appealing tech hub for newcomers.
Mississauga
Mississauga is part of North America’s second-largest information and communication technology (ICT) cluster, with over 300,000 tech professionals. It is home to approximately 1,000 enterprises in the information technology (IT) industry alone.
Tech innovation in this region is also actively encouraged by strong local government efforts such as the Mississauga Innovation and Technology Acceleration Program (MITAP), which is home to the operations of globally recognized IT corporations such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, HP, and Cognizant.
MITAP is a program in the technology sector that “provides funding, mentorship, and resources to local start-ups” in the region.
Mississauga is also home to numerous growing technology enterprises, including SOTI, Guidewire Software, HCL Technologies, and Infosys.
With a population growth prediction of 995,000 people in Mississauga by 2051 – a 33% increase from 2016 – this region of Canada promises to create a steady supply of IT talent in the near and distant future.
Montreal
Montreal has one of Canada’s most robust tech ecosystems, with a 31% growth rate from 2015 to 2020. This city is known as a key centre for artificial intelligence (AI) and IT, with worldwide firms like as Google, Microsoft, Meta, Samsung, and Intel choosing to base their offices here.
More than 200 game production studios, including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and WB Games, are headquartered in Montreal.
Developmentally, this city is also regarded as a breeding ground for numerous successful tech enterprises, including CGI, Hopper, Element AI, Imagia, and Nuvei. Furthermore, Montreal sponsors a number of significant start-up-focused events, such as Startupfest and MTL Connect: Montreal Digital Week. With almost 18,000 students participating in computer programs across the city, Quebec also provides significant academic support for the IT industry.
Waterloo
Waterloo ranks among the top 20 start-up ecosystems in the world, with approximately 1,570 tech-related businesses, including key industry staples such as BlackBerry and D2L.
Looking ahead, the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Conestoga College have a significant academic influence in this city, which helps build and develop a talented IT workforce locally. Waterloo also has a great quality of life, which allows it to continue attracting and maintaining outstanding talent. This is one of the reasons why Waterloo has nearly double the global industry average survival rate for ICT start-ups. Waterloo also gets significant venture capital investment, attesting to its status as a growing Canadian innovation centre.
Canada’s efforts to attract international tech workers
Understanding the TECNA/CTN report described above necessitates an awareness of Canada’s efforts to attract global tech talent.
This is being accomplished through the government’s new Tech Talent Strategy and category-based Express Entry draws, both of which will help to strengthen this sector across Canada by attracting more talented people in tech occupations across the country.
This is being accomplished through the government’s new Tech Talent Strategy and category-based Express Entry draws, both of which will help to strengthen this sector across Canada by attracting more talented people in tech occupations across the country.
The Canadian Tech Talent Strategy: The Government of Canada’s effort intends to expand on Canada’s success toward being “a leader in global tech talent recruitment” by…
· Developing a new Innovation Stream under the International Mobility Program (IMP)
· Promoting Canada as a destination for digital nomads
· Improving labour mobility in North America by creating a streamlined work permit for H-1B specialty occupation visa holders in the US (to apply to come to Canada)
· Improving existing programs that cater to workers in high-skill tech occupations
Express Entry Draws for Tech Occupations Based on Category
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began conducting category-based Express Entry drawings for federal immigration candidates who meet Canada’s top economic and demographic needs on June 28, 2023. One of the six categories for immigration candidates with job experience in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations has been picked for 2023. This is consistent with Canada’s stated objective to attract more global tech expertise.
IRCC has done one category-based draw for this group as of the time of writing, on July 5th, 2023. IRCC welcomed 500 individuals having a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 486 to apply for permanent residency in this country during this draw.
