In the backdrop of changes in the H-1B visa policy by the Donald Trump-led US administration, Canada is positioning itself as an alternative destination for foreign tech sector workers who would have earlier opted for the United States. This could significantly affect Indians, who are the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa system.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently signaled that they are preparing to attract such talent as Canada is reviewing its immigration policies.
“What is clear is that the opportunity to attract people who previously would’ve got so-called H-1B visas,” Carney told reporters in London on Saturday, adding that many of those workers are in the tech sector and willing to move for work.
Last week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a steep fee of $100,000 on fresh H-1B visa petitions, creating panic among the foreign workers in the American tech sector, particularly the Indian community who constitute more than 72% of the H-1B visa-holders. Trump's move led to chaos as there was confusion about the status of existing H-1B visa holders. White House later clarified that the fee was applicable only to fresh petitions after September 21, 2025. In its order, the US administration justified the fee citing the “abuse” of H-1B visa and “threat to national security”.
Canadian government is now eying to absorbing this type of talent and will have a “clear offering on that,” Carney said in London.
{{/usCountry}}Canadian government is now eying to absorbing this type of talent and will have a “clear offering on that,” Carney said in London.
{{/usCountry}}Other countries such as the UK and Germany are also trying to position themselves as an alternative to the US for global tech sector workers who now face stringent rules to get into the US. “Canada could integrate policies on this lucrative opportunity,” Vancouver Sun quoted Vivek Savkur, founder of the Surrey-based B.C.-India Business Network, as saying.
“Cities like Vancouver or Toronto will thrive instead of American cities,” Garry Tan, CEO of famed San Francisco startup incubator Y Combinator, which has helped start Airbnb Inc. and Stripe Inc., wrote on X. He later deleted the post where he termed the US visa fee a “massive gift to every overseas tech hub” by erecting a “toll booth” for smaller US firms to hire talent.
Tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. have offices in major Canadian cities and could accelerate hiring there to skirt the US fee, Bloomberg reported. Amazon had more than 8,500 corporate and technology employees in its tech hubs in Vancouver and Toronto as of a year ago and Microsoft had 2,700 staff in a development hub in Vancouver as of April.