Catherwood LibraryILR School

The Trump administration’s “Buy American, Hire American” strategy is likely to have a deleterious effect on industries which rely on outsourced or imported talent. This, along with the earlier ban on immigrants from seven Muslim countries as well as anxiety over H-1B visas for skilled workers, has many nervous tech employees with U.S. work visas considering friendlier digs up north. Canada has been outspoken about its pro-immigration stance, and has been working on building a tech ecosystem in Vancouver and the Toronto-Waterloo corridor which, while not rivaling Silicon Valley by any means, has been steadily encouraging Canadian tech entrepreneurs and is now looking for global talent for its MaRS enterprise. MaRS is an ambitious public-private partnership between the Canadian government and Canadian tech companies, with headquarters near the University of Toronto that house four towers holding over 6,000 employees from both small and large companies, including Facebook, Paypal, Etsy, AirBnB, and Autodesk. The Canadian government hopes that those trying to avoid political maneuvering of immigrants due to the U.K.’s Brexit or the U.S. immigration policies will come to MaRS, offering companies the benefit of less competition and cheaper labor due to the exchange rate, and offering employees better work-life balance, less turnover, and for Canadian expats living in Silicon Valley, an opportunity to return home.