On September 19, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a US $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa sponsors and directing higher prevailing wages and priority for only the highest-paid workers. This sudden cost spike has made hiring global talent in the U.S. far more expensive and unpredictable.
The Opportunity
For companies looking to keep operations near the U.S. market, Canada is now a natural landing spot. Key advantages include:
- Proximity and time-zone alignment with the U.S.
- Stable institutions and robust trade agreements
- A skilled domestic workforce that can combine with global specialists
Firms already experienced in near-shore models can move quickly, but for many, the H-1B policy shock is the catalyst pushing them to consider Canada for the first time.
The Challenge
At the same time, Canada is tightening access to temporary foreign workers. This creates a paradox:
- Demand for specialized services is rising sharply.
- Supply of global talent is constrained by new restrictions.
Without policy flexibility, Canada risks losing contracts and the chance to build long-term competitiveness through knowledge transfer.
What Canada Needs to Do
To capture this opportunity, Canada should:
- Create targeted worker pathways for key sectors such as tech, engineering, and green energy.
- Treat immigration as an economic competitiveness tool, not just a population-growth measure.
- Balance compliance with flexibility, protecting workers while enabling growth.
- Pair Canadian professionals with foreign experts to transfer knowledge and build domestic capacity.
Conclusion
Near-shoring is no longer a slow-moving trend, it’s a strategic imperative accelerated by Trump’s H-1B fee. Canada has both a chance and a responsibility: to attract scarce talent and secure contracts moving out of the U.S., and to ensure immigration and labour policies are agile enough to deliver.
For comprehensive legal analysis or strategic case support, contact Greenberg Hameed PC.
The content of this bulletin is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on as legal advice.