Trump Is Making Canada Great Again
While America closes its borders, its northern neighbor is poaching some of the best tech talent in the world.
By RICHARD FLORIDA and JOSHUA GANS October 01, 2017
It’s no secret that the United States has long dominated cutting-edge technologies, from personal computers and biotech to smartphones and social media. One big reason: America’s track record of attracting global talent, like the Scottish-born steel magnate Andrew Carnegie or the Hungarian-born Andrew Grove, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry, or, more recently, Google’s Sergey Brin—and many other entrepreneurs in between and afterward.
But that edge may be disappearing thanks to the new president. Just eight months into office, President Donald Trump has moved to cut legal immigration by half over the next decade, increase security along the border, build a wall with Mexico, ban travel indefinitely from several countries and overturn DACA, the Obama-era policy that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors. The Trump administration has also suggested limiting “startup visas” for high-tech entrepreneurs entering the United States, and massively cutting America’s funding for scientific research. Trump’s aggressive “America first” posture on trade and international diplomacy has transformed the United States into something of a pariah nation, out of touch with the basic norms and values of advanced democracies.
Trump might see these proposals as part of his core political agenda to prioritize Americans and their jobs, and make the United States “great again.” But, while America turns inward, another country stands to benefit: Canada.
Why? It’s not just that Canada has opened centers for refugees streaming over the border from the United States, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally welcoming some of them to the country. Canada is specifically recruiting the skilled, ambitious talent that drives innovation and economic growth, including top thinkers and workers in technology and industry. Canadian universities—which rank among the world’s best in fields like computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and artificial intelligence—are aggressively recruiting foreign students, who in turn are matriculating in Canada at higher levels than before Trump’s election. And Canadian cities—particularly Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, which rate among the best places in the world to live—are attracting more venture capital to fund the tech industry, on par with American tech hubs like Seattle and Austin.
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http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/01/donad-trump-making-canada-great-again-215651
