Trudeau’s fast track for tech workers hits virus roadblock

Bloomberg

Justin Trudeau’s fast-track visa program gave Canada an edge over the US in the global race for talent. The pandemic is eroding it, leaving some tech startups and their recruits in limbo.
The visa has been used to accelerate the arrival of thousands of software engineers, computer programmers and other professionals since 2017. But the number of people entering Canada this year under the global skills strategy program was down 49% through August, data obtained by Bloomberg show. The government says it’s committed to immigration, but acknowledges Covid-19 has caused delays.
Approvals are now taking months, far from the rapid processing — as little as two weeks — that made the visa popular with the tech industry, according to companies with pending requests. The situation is particularly troublesome to Canadian startups, which can’t compete on salaries with global tech giants but could at least count on fast immigration procedures to help them secure new staff.
Higher immigration is a signature policy of Trudeau’s government, which has made welcoming foreigners a cornerstone of Canada’s long-term economic plan. In contrast with the US, which keeps making employment-based visas harder to get, Canada has touted an open-arms approach to skilled labor, hoping to make up for years of brain drain to Silicon Valley.
Canada said it plans to attract 401,000 permanent residents next year, boosting pre-virus goals by 50,000 to spur economic recovery. The targets, though, assume a return to normal international travels. To help boost the numbers, the government will make it easier for international students and temporary workers already in the country to become permanent residents.
Companies of all sizes have taken advantage, including the Canadian outposts of foreign firms.