The clear message that Canada is delivering with the startup visa program coming out of the pandemic is that Canada is open for business, according to Marco Mendicino, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship.
This stands in stark contrast to America’s approach, which requires foreign-born founders to jump through hoops to comply with the country’s complicated immigration procedures. While the US has sought and failed for years to establish a startup visa aimed at immigrant entrepreneurs, Canada is one of two dozen nations that have started the concept and are now courting them.
The startup visa program in Canada began in 2013 as a 5-year trial program and was made permanent in 2018. Since its inception, 200 International entrepreneurs representing 200 businesses have made the city their permanent home. Edtech unicorn ApplyBoard, established by brothers Martin, Massi, and Meti Basiri, who came from Iran to Canada for education and now employ over 500 people, is one of its success stories.
Mendicino claims that bringing in overseas students, at least some of whom will go on to become digital entrepreneurs and business owners, will help Canada’s economic development and employment.
“We think immigration gives Canada a competitive advantage, and it is through immigration we will remain competitive on a global scale,” Mendicino adds. He refused to comment on immigration policies in the United States.
“The long-term demographic pressure that we face from dropping birthrates and an older population is the reason we want that talent to stay in Canada,” Mendicino, who hails from a family of Italian immigrants to Canada, adds. Immigration is required to keep our long-term commitments to universal healthcare, public education, and retirement security.
The government of Canada is promoting immigrant entrepreneurs as part of a larger plan to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents this year. This is a 14% increase over the prior objective of 351,000 before the epidemic, and the nation intends to keep increasing those numbers in the coming years.
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