The federal government announced Tuesday the introduction of the country’s first-ever Tech Talent Strategy. The initiative hopes to bring skilled individuals from around the world knowledgeable in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to Canada.
The announcement comes as part of the government’s renewed commitment to deconstructing entrenched racial biases in the country’s political, cultural and professional fabric.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser said the revamped plan includes “new measures and improvements on existing measures to help businesses in Canada thrive in a competitive landscape.”
Minister Fraser outlined the following “aggressive attraction measures” in his statement.
- The development of an Innovation Stream under the International Mobility Program to attract highly talented individuals.
- A return to the 14-day service standard for work permits under the Global Skills Strategy (processing time has been more than two weeks due to the on-going impacts of Covid-19 and an increase in applications)
- Improvements to the Start-up Visa Program
The program is designed to attract potential newcomers to Canada who possess high levels of skill with hopes to “enshrine Canada as a world leader in a variety of emerging technologies,” Fraser said.
The first STEM round for category-based selection will open the week of July 5, which will continue throughout the year, alongside general invitation rounds, François-Philippe Champagne, minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
STEM expertise is outlined as people with superior capabilities in areas such as data science, software development and programming, mathematics, statistics and actuarial, and electrical and electronic engineering.
More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
