India has constituted the largest contingent of tech industry professionals globally who have relocated to Canada between April 2022 and March 2023, as per a recent report released by The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) and Canada’s Tech Network (CTN).
Among a total of over 32,000 tech workers, a substantial 15,097 originated from India, followed by 1,808 from Nigeria. This trend can be attributed in part to Canada’s welcoming immigration policy and its advantage in terms of labour costs, the report highlighted.
The city of Mississauga, which houses almost 1,000 IT companies employing over 300,000 tech experts, along with Montreal, witnessing a 31 percent surge in its tech ecosystems between 2015 and 2020, were identified as the leading Canadian urban centres in terms of accessing this talent pool.
The report, titled ‘Tech Workforce Trends: The Migration of Tech Workers and Tech Jobs Since the Pandemic’, asserted that the considerable influx of tech specialists addresses the demand for skilled labour in the face of a worldwide scarcity of talent. This trend also paints a promising and prosperous future for Canada’s tech workforce.
Migration data revealed that a total of 1,900 tech professionals chose Mississauga as their destination, while Montreal welcomed 959 tech workers within the time span of April 2022 to March 2023.
While the primary source of net in-migration of tech experts originates from India, Nigeria, and Brazil, Canada is also drawing tech talent from the United States, including Indian professionals from major American cities such as Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
In a bid to entice top-tier tech talent, Canada has introduced open work permits for holders of H1-B visas from the United States. Given that Indians constitute nearly 75 percent of H1-B visa holders in the US, this initiative is poised to particularly benefit them.
The report has also outlined the most appealing Canadian cities for premier tech talent, with Mississauga, Ontario securing the top position, followed by Montreal, Quebec, and Waterloo, Ontario.
Ontario stands as the province housing the largest number of tech professionals within the nation. Nevertheless, smaller provinces like Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador are undergoing the most rapid expansion. Both provinces have noted a remarkable year-over-year surge in their respective tech workforces, amounting to 16.3%.
Windsor, Ontario has exhibited the most substantial growth in tech employees over the past year, marking a notable 28% increase. It’s succeeded by Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and Timmins, Ontario, in terms of growth rate. This change reflects a broader trend in the workforce, wherein predominantly remote tech workers are relocating from major urban hubs to more rural locales.
The Top 10 International Areas Contributing to Ontario’s Tech Workforce Net Migration (Talent Gained – Talent Lost)
1. Karnataka, India (+797 net change)
2. Maharashtra, India (+688 net change)
3. Gujarat, India (+417 net change)
4. Telangana, India (+392 net change)
5. Tamil Nadu, India (+386 net change)
6. Ukraine (+353 net change)
7. Quebec, Canada (+309 net change)
8. Delhi, India (+290 net change)
9. Kerala, India (+246 net change)
10. Nigeria (+217 net change)
