# Canada's tech talent strategy

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://paragraph.com/@brandondonnelly), 2023-06-29

canada, canadian-immigration, economics, h-1b-visa, steam, stem, tech-talent-strategy, urbanism, us-immigration

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This past week at Collision Toronto, Canada unveiled a new "[Tech Talent Strategy](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/06/minister-fraser-launches-canadas-first-ever-tech-talent-strategy-at-collision-2023.html)" that includes a number of initiatives designed to attract more human capital across the science, technology, engineering, and math sectors. (Sidebar: The STEM sectors are great, but I'm really a fan of [STEAM](https://brandondonnelly.com/2015/01/07/stem-art-steam/).)

At a high level, these measures are intended to continue to grow Canada as a hub for global tech talent. So they cover things like promoting Canada as a destination for [digital nomads](https://brandondonnelly.com/2023/05/27/the-nomadification-of-cities/), improving the Start-up Visa Program, and dunking on US immigration policies by creating an open work permit stream for H-1B specialty occupation visa holders.

Overall, it seems great.

But there are people who are concerned about the pace of immigration in Canada. Over the past year (ending in Q2-2023), [the country added about 1.2 million people](https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/06/28/canada-sees-record-setting-population-growth-spurred-by-immigration-in-first-quarter-of-2023.html). This is a record. And perhaps the greatest concern, is that we simply aren't building enough housing and related infrastructure.

But I don't get this logic. Canada is a relatively small country. Attracting smart and ambitious people from around the world is good for us. And there are simple ways to address these concerns: build more housing and related infrastructure. I'm pretty sure that we can figure out how to do that.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://paragraph.com/@brandondonnelly/canadas-tech-talent-strategy)*