Plan cheered by tech sector which has struggled to attract candidates from U.S.
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will launch a fast-track visa program designed to attract top global talent on June 21, the federal government said on Thursday, just as Silicon Valley's foreign workers feel the heat of United States President Donald Trump's curbs on immigration.
The plan, which will clear highly skilled workers for entry within two weeks, compared with a typical current wait of six to 12 months, was cheered by the country's technology sector, which has long struggled to attract top class executives and the brightest engineers while California and New York beckon.
"At a time when it is said that the world needs more Canada, to meet that demand while helping Canadian tech companies scale up, now is the time Canada needs more of the world," said Benjamin Bergen, executive director of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a group of chief executives of fast-growing tech companies.
The addition of the global talent stream to the government's temporary foreign worker program will help employers navigate the application process to hire foreign talent for jobs where there is a demonstrated gap in the Canadian labour market.
The program will track employers' commitments to create jobs, transfer knowledge and train Canadian workers, and facilitate new investment in Canada.
