Minister pleased with visa promotion visit

Canada’s Immigration Minister Steven Harper believes his recent visit to Silicon Valley to promote the country’s new Start-Up Visa has been a success.

“The message was delivered loud and clear to the entrepreneur community in Silicon Valley that Canada is open for business,” said Minister Kenney. “The new Start-Up Visa will help Canada attract the world’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to build businesses, create jobs, and fuel economic growth.”

North American Business

North American Business

During his time in Silicon Valley, the Minister met with foreign entrepreneurs and influential figures in the start-up and tech communities, including founders of start-ups, accelerators, other business leaders, venture capitalists, angel investors and immigration experts to promote the Start-Up Visa and explain why Canada is a great place to start a business and invest.

During his visit, Minister Kenney was a featured guest speaker at Stanford University where he spoke to scholars, researchers, and students who have a high potential for becoming candidates for the Start-Up Visa. While at Stanford, he also met with Dan Siciliano, a legal scholar and entrepreneur with expertise in corporate governance, corporate finance, and immigration law, and Vivek Wadhwa, Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization and author of The Immigrant Exodus, one of The Economist’s Books of the Year for 2012.

He was also the featured guest speaker at an event hosted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, attended by many prominent entrepreneurs and investors.

“There is huge interest in Canada’s new Start-Up Visa and in Canada’s expanding tech sector,” said Minister Kenney. “Canada’s strong economic growth, low taxes and business costs, excellence in research and innovation, and top quality of life all make Canada a top country for innovative entrepreneurs looking to build their businesses. If you are a start-up entrepreneur and want to build a dynamic company that can compete on a global scale, then Canada’s Start-Up Visa Programme is for you.”

The Start-Up Visa, which opened for applications on 1st April, provides Canadian private sector organisations with access to a broad range of entrepreneurs – including the world’s best and brightest – in whose ideas they can invest.

At the same time, the programme provides immigrant entrepreneurs with valuable assistance in navigating the Canadian business environment, which can be a challenge for newcomers, and enables them to build innovative companies that can create Canadian jobs and compete on a global scale.