Canada’s top tech talent has long moved to the US for better opportunities, but Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats are raising questions about how to build a stronger ecosystem at home.
Last week, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney declared that the “old relationship” his country had with the United States was “over,” and it’s “clear the US is no longer a reliable partner.” Carney’s comments came after the US announced sweeping new tariffs on Canada and President Donald Trump spent months making inflammatory comments that have alarmed Canada’s leaders, including suggestions that the country would be “better off” if it was annexed by the US. Tensions finally boiled over last Wednesday when Trump said he will impose 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made cars, a move that could have a major negative economic impact on Canada—once one of America’s staunchest allies.
Among Canadians in Silicon Valley, the rift between the two nations is sparking a new kind of national pride, as well as a lot of uncertainty. For now, at least, Trump’s tariffs on Canada don’t extend to software, so the flow of digital goods and services between the two countries remains mostly uninterrupted. But the chaos has prompted some prominent founders and investors to urge young Canadians to build companies at home and strengthen the local tech ecosystem, while Canadian tech companies with large operations in the US are wondering if they need to change strategies, or even headquarters.
“I think the biggest thing happening right now is that Canadian founders are having to adjust to a new reality in which two fundamental assumptions we’ve taken for granted for decades can no longer be counted on,” says Chris Neumann, a Vancouver-based venture capitalist and former startup founder. “Namely, that the US is a reliable trading partner and that the US and Canada have a stable, mutually beneficial free-trade agreement.”