• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, November 25, 2016

Many voiced their desires to emigrate from the United States to Canada if Donald Trump won the presidency. The Canadian ad tech market has started to experience an uptick in job applications from below its border.

Canada will probably deal with less of a brain-drain than before,  due to the outcome of the election.

Canada has one of the most comprehensive and straightforward visa application programs when it comes to skilled labor.

“With Donald Trump likely to implement a more restrictive immigration policy, we are expecting to see a stronger group of candidates that are willing to move to Canada instead of the United States,” Patrick Hopf, president and co-founder of SourceKnowledge, told Red White and Blog.

For a long time, Canada has seen a brain drain of talent funneling toward Silicon Valley and other strong ad tech markets in the United States. Hopf believes Trump’s election will slow that movement — and possibly cause it to start moving in the other direction.

“We see Donald Trump’s election as an opportunity for Canada to really grow its ad tech market. The day after the election, we saw a significant uptick in applications for one job at SourceKnowledge, all from candidates working in Silicon Valley,” continued Hopf.

The cumulative effect of this development could mean more ad tech offices in Canada, specifically in the “Waterloo-Ottawa corridor” -- Canada’s equivalent of Silicon Valley.

As the immigration situation in the United States sours, Canada will look increasingly attractive to foreigners both working in the United States and those looking to make a move to North America.

“The hiring market in Canada will become more competitive, with a more skilled workforce and potentially interesting incentives for investors to take a look north of the border,” concluded Hopf.