Recent moves by U.S. technology giants Meta, Google and Amazon to significantly beef up their presence and staffing levels in Canada have cemented the country’s status as a growing hub for technology talent.
While Canada’s tech boom may be welcome news for those who dream of working for these tech giants, it comes at a cost for local startups, which suddenly have to compete with foreign Goliaths for the country’s best and brightest.
“The more companies are being created and built, the more pressure there is,” said Jeremy Shaki, co-founder of Lighthouse Labs, a Toronto-based technology education company that offers coding boot camps and other services for people looking to level up their careers.
Shaki says it’s no secret why large foreign tech firms are eager to set up shop in Canada; beyond the access to new customers, Canadian universities are cranking out skilled workers at a rapid clip — and they often come at a fraction of what they would cost in places like Silicon Valley.
In late March, Meta (formerly known as Facebook) announced plans to hire up to 2,500 people in Toronto and in other parts of Canada, while Google says it’s looking to triple its workforce here. Amazon wants to hire for some 600 tech jobs.
But in pure financial terms, these companies have the resources to outbid everyone else when it comes to securing the right person, and that can make things difficult for local firms trying to compete.
More than just money
Ron Spreeuwenberg faces that challenge every day. He’s the CEO of HiMama, a software company founded in Toronto in 2013. HiMama makes software solutions for the child-care industry and employs roughly 180 people, more than half of whom have been hired in the past two years.
Now boasting 10,000 customers, the company has expanded its hiring pool well beyond their home base of Toronto, with staff across Canada and the U.S.
Canada’s days of being little more than a source of cheap coders are over, says Spreeuwenberg.
“I think we had a period of time where we were lucky, where we could find really great quality talent at lower compensation rates,” he said in an interview. “But people have found out about us and it made it challenging.”
WATCH | How small startups compete with the big guns:
Fighting to keep Canada’s tech talent
3 days ago
Duration 0:50
Ron Spreeuwenberg, CEO of Toronto-based software company HiMama, says his business is booming but it is getting harder and harder to compete with U.S. giants setting up shop in Canada because of all the technology talent here. 0:50
The biggest thing Spreeuwenberg says he hears time and again from new hires is that they want the opportunity to grow and develop their skills. “The No. 1 reason why people choose a company or a role is what the company does and the opportunity for them, in terms of learning and development, and the challenge,” he said.
That said, he acknowledges money helps. “We know we’re competing against companies … who certainly can afford a lot more than us when it comes to compensation.”
Spreeuwenberg says a major selling feature for recruiting would-be hires to HiMama from outside Canada is the country itself, as is the opportunity to work toward the company’s goal of improving childhood development.
“Those are very important for us and things that a lot of our employees care deeply about,” he said.
Meta recently announced plans to hire up to 2,500 more people in Canada, as part of a plan to pivot toward what is called the metaverse. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
That desire to do good work and help solve problems is a major theme at another Canadian startup, Mysa, based in St. John’s. Founded as a Kickstarter project in 2016, the smart thermostat company has grown from just two employees at launch to more than 100 across Canada today, serving more than 150,000 customers.
Just as Shopify is synonymous to Ottawa, and BlackBerry is to Waterloo, the 800-pound gorilla of the technology sector on the East Coast is Verafin, a St. John’s-based cybersecurity firm that made headlines last year when it was bought by Nasdaq for nearly $3 billion.
While not a household name in the rest of Canada, Verfin’s successes have shone a light on the region’s booming technology sector, said Mysa co-founder Joshua Green.
That means he, too, is dealing with the same compensation conundrum other startups face: It’s hard to compete with deep-pocketed big tech.
But just as HiMama appeals to people looking to live in Toronto, he’s able to make a similar pitch.
“That quality of living, of being able to work for a technology company while also living in a place like Newfoundland and Labrador, is appealing to not everyone, but a growing number of people,” Green said.
“And the No. 1 reason why I think people want to join — our mission and the purpose of why we exist as a company — is to fight climate change.”
Investment money pouring in, too
The HiMamas and Mysas of the world aren’t just attracting the attention of tech giants like Google, Meta and Microsoft when it comes to hiring; they’re also attracting U.S. investment dollars.
HiMama recently secured $70 million in funding from Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital — a sign of just how on the radar Canada’s tech ecosystem has become.
“There’s a lot of interest from investors outside of Canada in Canadian companies because of the talent and the quality of the startups,” said Craig Leonard, a partner with venture capital fund Graphite Ventures.
“But also, they are relatively less expensive at times than some of the companies who would be built in, in some of the other ecosystems, [like] say, in the United States.”
According to a recent report from commercial real estate firm CBRE, Toronto is the third-largest technology hub in North America. Ottawa and Vancouver also rank in the top dozen, well ahead of places like Austin, Texas, Portland, Wash., and Chicago.
Though it may be hard to believe, there are more tech workers in Toronto than there are in Seattle, which is home to Amazon and Microsoft.
Not that long ago, lower salaries would have been a major selling point for a U.S. tech company looking to establish a beachhead in Canada. But the pandemic changed things some, as the shift toward virtual offices allowed Canadian companies to attract talent from around the world.
“It also levelled up the salaries and the opportunity for Canadian talent to go and work for other companies,” said Leonard.
WATCH | Tech at its best is a ‘flywheel’ of talent, this investor says:
Canada a ‘flywheel’ of tech talent
3 days ago
Duration 0:36
Craig Leonard with investment firm Graphite Ventures says the right tech ecosystem for everyone is one where companies invest in their employees to create value for them, but also end up creating the next generation of companies in the process. 0:36
For Dr. Alexandra Greenhill, the CEO of Vancouver-based health-care-focused artificial intelligence firm Careteam Technologies Inc., a little healthy competition is good for everyone, making companies of all sizes better, while also spurring on the next generation of startups.
“If we do this right, it could be a very positive thing for the country,” she said in an interview. “But if we don’t do this right, it can be a disaster.”
Greenhill said she recently lost a handful of great people to Amazon, after it set up shop in her backyard of Vancouver and were “offering two to three times the salary that I offer my engineers.”
While she doesn’t begrudge anyone for leaving, she’d like to see large rivals invest a little more in training less experienced workers, as opposed to simply hoovering up a local talent pool that’s been painstakingly created over time.
“We can give them all kinds of perks and interesting things to do and whatnot, but the pure dollars are just completely out of our league and drive all the prices up,” she said.
Though Greenhill admits it’s a constant struggle, she’s optimistic about Canada’s tech future, because she can see what’s possible when the right environment is created — one that encourages foreign companies to come in and participate in the ecosystem, rather than just take from it.
Technology giants, including Netflix, Google, Amazon and Facebook (now known as Meta), have been on a hiring spree in Canada of late. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg)
She’s on the board of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster, a government-led initiative seeking to fast track Canada’s status as a digital hub. Greenhill says the initiative combines the carrot of government cash to fund tech projects, with the stick that strings come attached to that money.
Specifically, foreign tech giants wishing to participate have to invest themselves and set up roots, too.
“They have a role to play in making the ecosystem a better, stronger place,” she said.
A rising tide lifts all boats
With the backing of government, the supercluster initiative plays something of a convener role, Greenhill said, holding big tech “accountable for their commitments and inviting them to behave like good corporate citizens.”
And instead of seeing big tech as an adversary, they can help to cross-pollinate the whole ecosystem. “They set up accelerators, they become mentors, they create joint projects with the local companies,” she said.
To the investment community, dollars and cents will always be top of mind, but Graphite’s Leonard says the best outcome for Canada’s tech sector is one where there’s a lot of collaboration and competition.
“If you get that consistent investment … it creates a flywheel effect of anchor companies that then develop that talent,” he said. “They start companies, those companies exit, that talent goes back into the pool, as well as investment dollars.”
Without that collaboration and long-term commitment, there will be no rising tide to raise all boats.
“If we don’t do anything, you can end up being a country that just exports talent,” Greenhill said.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
