For decades
was
For talents with a high level of qualification, attracting innovators who helped to build a silicone valley and lead to its economic dominance. However,
Immigration policy is shifting
-For example, the proposed annual fee of $ 100,000 for companies hiring the owners of the H-1B-signal visa about the continued deviation from openness.
Deviation offers Canada a unique opportunity to become the main place in the world for
Entrepreneurial and innovative talent
The field but to capture it, we must resist not only the mistakes of America, but also our own.
Located at the intersection. While our model, based on points, has long admired, in recent years we saw a drift to the volume of excessive cost, without a clear goal.
A
Program of a temporary foreign worker
Foreign student flows and asylum systems quickly expanded, which contributed to about three million temporary residents. The result was the repulsion and growing anti -immigrant mood in Canada.
But the problem is not immigration, this is the wrong policy. Our haste to fight abuse and a stunned system led to large -scale reforms, some of which do not consider the true root of the problems and can even restrain a highly qualified, entrepreneurial talent, Canada should remain competitive. We just throw a child with water for a bath.
The long -standing problem of Canada's performance requires a more intelligent approach, which considers immigration as a strategic lever for
The field, as the age of the population and the birth rate decreases, the birth rate is reduced, then how the country's tolerance is reduced to risk. Immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators are necessary to change this trend.
But entrepreneurship is only part of the story. The Canadian economy also depends on the scaling of existing firms in sectors – technology, life sciences, improved production – which are faced with chronic lack of highly qualified workers. Without access to world talents, Canadian companies risk stagnation, losing positions to competitors in more flexible jurisdictions.
To unlock the potential, Canada must take into account its immigration paths and the viability of all its entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Canada should restructure the current immigration tracks and develop new flows for highly qualified workers and innovators, with the processing of terms that correspond to the speed of technological development and innovation.
Our main federal entrepreneurial program, startup visa (SUV), is a clear failure in its current form. Criteria of displacement, reduction of consumption and a stunning 53-month processing time indicate that this program did not act in accordance with thoughts. This should be significantly reformed or completely canceled.
On the contrary, a new proposal of immigration, refugees and citizenship of Canada (IRCC) on creating a category of leadership and innovation as part of the current program of the permanent resident, Express Entry, is a step in the right direction. This new category, potentially launched in 2026, is aimed at attracting and quickly tracking senior managers, scientists and researchers, some of which currently do not have a clear path to Canada.
Most urgently, Canada should immediately open the iteration of its H-1B work permits program, which closed in 2023. This initiative of the IRCC has provided certain owners of the H-1B visa of the Canadian permission to work for up to three years. He was extremely popular, reaching his quota within a few days after launch.
Finally, Canada should work together with provinces and territories using its relevant candidate immigration programs to attract and retain talents.
The focus of Canada should not only attract talent, but also provide this talent. Smart immigration system does not end at the border; He builds ecosystems that help beginners to prosper. This requires a cultural shift in our financial institutions, more support for risk at an early stage and updated attention to increased mobility.
The concentrated financial sector of Canada, in which several large institutions prevail, traditionally did not contribute to competition or risks. This creates a structural barrier for entrepreneurship and innovation, especially for beginners who lack established credit stories or networks.
If we want the innovations led by immigrants and our existing firms are scaled, we need financial institutions and the investment community at an early stage to develop, offering more inclusive financing models and covering the type of risk that contributes to long -term growth.
For example, Canada should expand alternative financing channels, such as community lenders, credit unions and Fintech platforms that offer flexible underwriting and loans. Partnership of a public-private one can also help compare qualified beginners with firms in priority sectors, such as technology and artificial intelligence. In addition, financial literacy and mentoring programs should be adapted to beginners and scale to guarantee that they can navigate the system and succeed.
We must also rethink how we measure success. Immigration policy should not be overly affect the amount of consumption, short -term absorption of the labor market or political meetings of the day. Instead, we must focus on long -term economic contributions: business formation, creating jobs, export activity and increasing performance. These are metrics that matter in the economy based on knowledge.
The solution is not to deviate from immigration, like the United States, but to reform it and use it in our interests. We need a system that is stable, transparent, flexible and economic strategic, so Canada can become a global center of innovation and a place where
The best minds in the world come to build
Field
Time to act now.
J. Ari Pandes – Associate Professor of the Department of Finance and Deputy Dean at the Haskinsky University School of Kalgary. Tara Pandes is a Canadian immigration lawyer and the founder of Odyssey Law, based on an immigration company based in Kalgary.
