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www.insidehalton.com |O A K V IL L E B E A V E R |Thursday, November 23, 2017 |4 4 C an ad ian tech firm s reporting increased U .S. jo b ap p lican ts J st over a year ago, Donald Trump was elected the 4 5 th president of the United States. It was reported that the night of the elec tion the traffic to Canada' s immigration web portal was so intense the site crashed. In the days following, many U.S. travel sites reported an increased interest in one-way tickets to Canada. Looking back on the hrst year of the Trump presidency, the world has been witness to the new president' s unpredictability and hard line domestic policies on immigration, trade, se curity, defence and more. For years, particularly in the late 1970s and m id-1990s, Canada has been on the wrong side of the "brain drain." Highly skilled Cana dians have moved elsewhere to work and live, but mostly to the U.S. One of the results of the Trump administra tion is a reverse brain drain. Many qualffied workers, who are either disenchanted with Trump, uncertain where their country is headed, or who no longer feel The Law Offices of welcome in the U.S., are moving to Canada. The perception of Canada relative to our neighbour to the south has changed. Many people from other coun Guest Contributor tries who have specialized talents may now think twice about moving to the U.S. and look to Canada instead. According to the 2 0 1 7 Reputation Insti tute' s annual ranking, Canada has again tak en top spot. The world views Canadians as "friendly and welcoming." In order for Canada to compete interna tionally and maintain a high standard of liv ing we must continue to attract the best and the brightest. A country' s success is in part measured by Dollars & Sense Peter Watson T homas H. M a r sh a ll , Q .C. P r o f e s s io n a l C o r p o r a t io n Barristers, Solicitors & Notaries Free V2 hour consultation and reduced rates for packages. the intelligence of its workforce. This is no different than other as pects of life. Companies with a skilled workforce will most likely do better than their competitors. But it isn't only the political climate in the U.S. that is motivating the influx of highly skilled workers. At about the same time as the U.S. election, the Canadian federal government began roll ing out measures to attract foreign talent. Then on June 12, 2017, it launched the Global Skills Visa Program, part of its Glob al Skills Strategy, that makes it easier for fast growing Canadian firms and multinational corporations to recruit low-risk, highly skilled, foreign workers to vacant jobs in Canada. The program fast-tracks these visas and short-term work permits, with a turnaround of two weeks instead of months, or in some cases, up to a year. This was good news to the tech industry, especially as the Information and Communi cations Technology Council of Canada had noted that Canada would face a shortage of about 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 information, technology, and communications workers by the year 2020. Whether people believe it was because of President Trump' s policy stances, our new visa program, or a combination of both, things are changing. In July, a survey of Canadian high-growth firms showed 62 per cent of those surveyed reported a significant increase in job applica tions from the U.S. Shopify Inc., a high-profile Ottawa firm specializing in e-commerce, reported a 4 0 per cent increase in applications from the United States during the first part of this year. But how does this affect us individually? Financial security starts with a strong eco nomic base. Highly skilled, specialized talent develop ing better products and services will increase company growth and provide more domestic employment. Employment income allows families to flourish. The government benefits because of in creased tax revenue, which in turn provides the social safety net our citizens enjoy. The reality of modern day life is that we live in a global village. Our openness and inclusiveness is a great asset that will help us flourish financially, and maintain our desired standard of living. -- submitted by Peter Watson, of Peter Watson Investments. MBA, CFP®, R.FP, CIM, FCSI ^ p R 'O J E C T Y O W E S T A T E ^ B Y ^ E N M R lN g Y O U R TM ! WILLS A N D PO W ERS O F ATTORNEY ARE UP TO DATE! 1 5 4 0 C orn w all R d.S u ite 2 0 5 ,O a k v ille · 9 0 5 -8 4 4 - 0 4 6 4 · o ak v iN efam ily law y er.ca _ i S ' A i * VOLUNTEERING w ith a Christmas PURPOSE!! Last year thousands of families ALLACROSS CANADAwere helped because Friends of the Army cared about families in need. 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