Recently, there’s been a lot of media buzz regarding the notion that Canada has secretly become the next new “tech hub.” The buzz, of course, is due — in large part — to the anxiety many are feeling concerning President Donald Tump’s executive order on H-1B visas for foreign workers.
Vanity Fair, in September, for instance, wrote that, “Highly skilled tech employees are absconding to Canada.” Start-ups in the Canadian tech hub of Toronto say that they’ve been receiving “steady, double-digit increases” in job applications from the United States since the 2016 election,
But politics aside, I’d like to express a contrarian view and not only provide my thoughts on the matter, but more importantly, make two specific points abundantly clear: For one thing, there will always be a “Silicon Valley,” in California, and it’s not going anywhere; and there’s a “Silicon Valley of the North” in Canada (Do U.S. readers even know this?).
Which brings me to my second point: Canada has always been an innovative “tech hub” (and that’s no secret). The True North, in fact, has a long history of being technologically innovative.
O, Canada! The True North strong and free (and innovative)
Over the past decade or so, Canada has proven itself a leader in technology and innovation. One only needs to look at the success Canadian tech companies like Hootsuite, FreshBooks and Shopify have had to be reminded of that fact.
More importantly, Canada has a long history of individuals and companies who have demonstrated their ability to push the technological innovation barrier. From the invention of the radio, to that of the BlackBerry,…
