Toronto is having a big tech moment
The following article, which appeared on CNN’s website on January 20, 2018, speaks volumes about Toronto both in terms of the strength of its technology sector and the cultural/ethnic diversity of the city. The article makes specific mention of the fact that the percentage of foreign-born residents in the Greater Toronto Area region — 39.7% — exceeds every other city in North America. Toronto is praised for both its education system and for being the benefactor of Canada’s generous Immigration program. The article is reproduced in its entirety from the CNN website and is a recommended read for immigrants and intending immigrants, considering where to reside in Canada and whether to settle in Toronto.
After promising to search North America for the perfect home for its next headquarters, Amazon has narrowed its list to 20 cities — 19 of which are in the United States. The one exception? Toronto.
An outlier on Amazon’s list, Toronto has earned the attention of the technology world due to its diverse population, talent pool and welcome stance on immigration.
“It’s got this incredible aspiration for inclusivity,” Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, the urban innovation arm of Google’s parent company which is developing a Toronto neighborhood, said at an event Wednesday. “If Amazon sees what we see here, it won’t even be a close call.”
Toronto is the fourth largest city by population in North America, with 2.8 million people. Its percentage of foreign-born residents in the region — 39.7% — exceeds every other city on Amazon’s list. Its population has grown by more than 400,000 people in the last five years.
Toronto’s appeal to the tech sector, which relies on foreign workers, has grown amid diverging stances on immigration from the U.S. and Canadian governments. Last year, Canada launched a program to process work permits and visa applications for skilled workers within two weeks.
The Trump administration has moved to tighten access to H-1B visas, a popular route to tech jobs for foreign workers. Its 2017 travel ban for six majority-Muslim countries also rattled the tech industry, triggering foreigners to give more serious consideration to education and work outside the U.S.
“The more inclusive we are, the more we will win against communities that are trying to exclude any group of talent,” Karen Greve Young, vice president of corporate development and partnerships at Mars, a Toronto organization that supports startups, told CNN Tech.
In 2017, the University of Toronto’s computer science program saw a 50% increase in graduate school applicants, according to its director of professional programs, Matt Medland.
The university is also home to a superstar in the world of artificial intelligence, professor Geoffrey Hinton. Tech giants such as Google and Amazon see artificial intelligence as essential to the future of their companies.
In its bid to host Amazon’s second headquarters, Toronto promised to boost the number of the students graduating with STEM degrees. Toby Lennox, CEO of Toronto Global, which organized Toronto’s submission, believes talent is why Toronto was the only non-U.S. city to make Amazon’s list.
“We’re able to meet their needs across the board,” Lennox said. “Once you match that with an immigration system and an education system that is so welcoming, it makes for large employers a real opportunity.”
Lennox said he heard from a company interested in Toronto because it needed workers who could speak four different Portuguese dialects.
“We’ve just made the playoffs,” Toronto Mayor John Tory told CNN Tech. “But it’s a long way to the prize.”
Parents/Grandparents Sponsorship Program to Reopen in New Year
In 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced a new process for application intake for sponsoring parents and grandparents. Now, potential sponsors must first notify IRCC that they are interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents by submitting an “Interest to Sponsor” form. Using a random selection process, IRCC will then invite potential sponsors to apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents.
Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Program will reopen in 2018 and that the “Interest to Sponsor” form will be available at noon EST on January 2, 2018. Those who wish to apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents in 2018 must first fill out this online form. It will be available until noon February 1, 2018.
Abrams & Krochak will be contacting all of its clients with pending Parent/Grandparent Sponsorship Applications at the beginning of January 2018.
Multi-Year Immigration Levels Plan Announced
On Wednesday, November 1, 2017, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), announced the Government of Canada’s multi-year Immigration levels plan that will grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually.
Beginning with 310,000 new permanent residents in 2018, the plan will grow to 330,000 in 2019 and 340,000 in 2020, trending towards one percent of the population by 2020.
Each Immigration class will see a steady increase over the three-year period. The majority of the increase will be in economic programs.
Canada Immigration – New Definition of Age of Dependants Now in Force
On Friday, October 27, 2017, the Government of Canada has changed the definition of the age of dependants from “under 19” to “under 22,” as it had promised to do.
This change applies to all new applications received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on or after October 24, 2017.
IRCC also announced that it would allow for the addition or sponsorship of some children whose parents had existing applications in process on May 3, 2017, or who have applied since that time.
Permanent residence applicants who wish to add or sponsor a child who was 19, 20, or 21 years of age on May 3, 2017, or on the date IRCC received the parents’ application (if between May 3, and October 23, 2017) should notify IRCC as soon as possible, using a web form, as the notification period will end on January 31, 2018.
Once IRCC has been advised, they will contact applicants directly to tell them what they need to do to sponsor or add their child to their application.
Archives
- January 2024
- November 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- January 2023
- November 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- October 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
- October 2020
- September 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- December 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- April 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- April 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- August 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- June 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- August 2012
- June 2012
- March 2012
- January 2012
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008