As Canada and the U.S. took divergent paths on immigration during President Donald Trump’s first administration, B.C.’s tech sector capitalized on high-skilled foreign talent hitting Vancouver rather than Silicon Valley.
But a similar wave of tech talent has yet to reemerge in the province during Trump’s second administration, according to some industry sources.
“People are in wait-and-see mode,” said Nathan Wawruck, director of permanent placement services in tech at Robert Half Canada Inc.
He said the immigration climate in the U.S. has so far not delivered a significant uptick in talent coming to B.C.
Immigration policies during Trump’s first term led American companies to eye the Canadian tech market, according to a March 2019 survey from Envoy Global Inc.
The survey on 400 U.S. hiring professionals revealed that 65 per cent of respondents believed Canadian immigration policies were better than American policies. Another 38 per cent of respondents said they planned to expand to Canada, while 21 per cent said they already had at least one office there.
Since then, Wawruck said the province’s tech landscape has changed, which could be hindering the attraction of top talent even amid stringent immigration policies in the U.S.
He said Vancouver’s high cost of living is a big factor for workers considering a potential move to the B.C.
Wawruck said another defining factor is relatively low wages in the Vancouver tech sector compared with other Canadian cities.
The annual compensation for a software engineer in Vancouver was US$102,700 last year, with an average apartment rent of US$1,425 per month, according to CBRE Group Inc.’s Global Tech Talent Guidebook 2025.
Vancouver wages are lower and rent in the city is pricier compared with Toronto, which had an average software engineer compensation of US$108,800 and an average apartment rent of US$1,370 per month.
The CBRE report found Montreal was the most affordable of the two, with an average apartment rent of US$865, while wages for software engineers were marginally lower than Vancouver’s at US$102,200.
Wawruck said the last significant factor is the lack of job openings in the city, which are lower now than compared with the pandemic.
During that period, record-low interest rates allowed cheap capital to flow through the global tech sector and stoke significant investment in B.C.
Despite a weaker Canadian dollar, which could be attractive for American companies looking to invest in the province, Wawruck hasn’t witnessed the same amount of investment or openings of satellite offices in Vancouver over the last two years.
“For somebody who's thinking, ‘Should I move to Vancouver to get a job?’ — it might not be the best time to do it,” he said. “And interestingly, none of that stuff has much to do with Trump.”
VanHack CEO Ilya Brotzky, whose Vancouver-based company facilitates international recruitment in the tech sector, told BIV it’s “basically business as usually.”
He said current American immigration policies haven’t affected the local tech sector workforce just yet and there hasn’t been a major influx of talent arriving in B.C.
While there’s been a steady demand for tech talent over the past decade, that demand has also slightly declined due to concerns over affordability, safety and housing, according to Brotzky. He said the province is still a top destination for talent, but the factors he mentioned have led some to explore markets like the Prairies and Maritimes.
Brotzky said remote job recruitment in the U.S. has been increasing, with more American companies hiring tech talent from Canada or Latin America.
Despite some economic headwinds in Vancouver limiting short-term tech recruitment, Wawruck said B.C. could capitalize on attracting tech talent in the long term if uncertainties over U.S. immigration policies persist.
He said the industry is in a bit of a tough spot at the moment.
“But at its base, we've got a really strong, diversified tech sector,” Wawruck said. “Investment will come back and the investors will get confidence back. I think that'll be the first thing to happen.”
–With files from Tyler Orton
