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Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

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Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#41

Post by computomatic »

afavour wrote: post #16
varun_ch wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a current Waterloo student (who is not particularly tied to any specific place). I’m curious about this and I’d like to know more. Why US for 5 years and why back?

Can’t speak for the OP but it’s often about what’s most valuable at different points in life. Depending on where you are in the US, having kids can be a formidable experience. Poor leave, expensive childcare, etc etc. It can change the calculation for whether the extra money in the US is actually worth it.

And to simplify, there’s also really only two reasons to move:

1) more interesting work opportunities; and

2) more money

And the delta on (1) has never been smaller thanks to remote work post-covid (even after all the RTO).

So basically, at some point, you start asking if the extra money is worth it.

(Depending where you come from in Canada, lifestyle in SF might be better overall - but then you can just move back to somewhere else in Canada and have it all.)

Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#43

Post by throw0101a »

windowshopping wrote: post #2

Is this new? I thought this had been the case for decades.

Over 150 years:

> Colonial administrators in Canada observed the trend of human capital flight to the United States as early as the 1860s, when it was already clear that a majority of immigrants arriving at Quebec City were en route to destinations in the United States. Alexander C. Buchanan, government agent at Quebec, argued that prospective emigrants should be offered free land to remain in Canada. The issue of attracting and keeping the right immigrants has sometimes been central to Canada's immigration history.[245]

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_capital_flight#Canada

Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#45

Post by enraged_camel »

MarxOk wrote: post #40

It's the pay, it's always the pay. If our salaries were closer to the U.S. this wouldn't be happening.

It’s more than that, right? Canadian real estate is bonkers for example, and would still be even if we magically elevated Canadian salaries to US levels.

Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#46

Post by transitorykris »

QGQBGdeZREunxLe wrote: post #32
jandrewrogers wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TN1 visa allows Canadians to work in the US indefinitely in most professional-type roles e.g. teacher, engineer, accountant, etc. It doesn’t require much more than a job offer to get the visa. It is a non-immigration visa so it isn’t a path to citizenship, just an American job. Many Canadians take advantage of this.

There was a pathway to citizenship until last week.

Immigrant intent on a TN is a big no-no

Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#47

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

The not-so-top secret way to get rich as a Canadian new grad in tech is to get a job at a unicorn by way of TN status, hop around for ~5-10 years, possibly getting an H-1B, but never pursuing a greencard.

Accumulate wealth by any means necessary. If you find yourself with nice RSUs or options, hang on to them or exercise them, respectively.

When you're fed up move back to Canada and enjoy no exit tax and enjoy the step-up cost basis on all your assets. Sell all your RSUs and pay nearly zero capital gains. Use your imagination here.

(If you are unlucky and only have losses, well, you'll never really be able to use them tax-wise.)

Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#49

Post by metalman »

jt2190 wrote: post #25
notatoad wrote: post #4

>ROGER: Okay, how does this compare to the ’90s when we saw a brain drain then? Is it larger? Different sectors? >FRANCIS: No, I think, Roger, you pointed to it correctly. This is not an issue that is brand new for Canada. oh, okay then. so, the same thing is happening as has always happened. the only interesting thing about this article is trying to determine if it's motivated by the opposition party trying to score…

Literally the next sentences: > It’s one that we’ve been facing for quite some time. The reason we wrote this report, however, is to highlight the fact that we’re sort of in this moment in time right now, with our relationship with the U.S. deteriorating and us trying to diversify our trading partners, to highlight the fact that we are still not really all that competitive. Our productivity growth is quite low and ha…

The monumental obstructions to getting anything done in Canada, from bloated beurocracys that are in the business of denying the service they were created to provide is a huge obsticle to starting a business here in Canada, hence the fever dream of joining the EU and exploiting millions of imigrants to do the actual physical stuff for cheap and obiediently, lest they run afoul of the many rules ,regulations and conditions on which there forever pending citizenship depends, which favors existing LARGE businesses to scale up,leaving high talented people with little real oportunity. So ya, a lot of people set out to get a grub stake or just give in and take the highest bid.

Re: Canada losing top talent as workers head to the U.S.

#50

Post by QGQBGdeZREunxLe »

transitorykris wrote: post #46
QGQBGdeZREunxLe wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a pathway to citizenship until last week.

Immigrant intent on a TN is a big no-no

Plenty of people have filed an I-485 and been awarded Green Cards on a TN status. That was a completely acceptable path until last week.

Peter Roberts the immigration attorney that regularly posts here can validate that.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36913448

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