Their loss, our gain: Canada positioned to recruit top talent from U.S. brain drain

CBC

12-03-2025

Social Sharing
Jennie Massey is always on the lookout for talent. She is a partner with executive search firm, KBRS, and actively recruits senior level executives from around the world.
Right now, her eyes are on the United States.
She said job applicants from the states would typically make up between five and ten per cent of their applicants. That number has ballooned to 30 per cent, and that's just since the inauguration of Donald Trump.
"That is a significant increase in a relatively short period of time and I only expect that to grow," she said.
The number of job seekers is rising fast. Tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has eliminated an estimated 100,000 federal jobs through buyouts and mass layoffs already this year.
Those cuts have been in several federal departments, including Defence, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice. Other agencies like USAID, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have also been impacted.
President Trump has called it an effort to root out government waste, fraud, and shrink a bloated federal workforce. But the so-called bloat next door could mean a boon for employers here, including in areas of great demand, like health care.
"I have been really encouraged by the number of medical professionals reaching out to us looking for opportunities to move north of the border," Massey said.
"And if this is a moment in time for us to inspire some … practicing medical professionals in the US that are thinking about Canada as a safe haven during what is a particularly challenging time."
Massey said Canada should be thinking about how to "identify and attract some of the best and the brightest … that might be keen to join our research institutes, our academic institutions, our government, our healthcare organisations, our businesses and industries."
N.B. immigration numbers cut by half
The sudden increase in job seekers south of the border, comes at a time when Canada is restricting the number of economic migrants it lets in. In October, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a reduction in immigration levels, in an effort to stabilize population growth and relieve pressure on the housing market.
For New Brunswick, Ottawa allocated 2,750 economic immigration spaces under two programs: the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Provincial Nominee Program. That is half the number of spaces available last year.
UNB political science professor, Ted McDonald, believes the reduction was appropriate, given the aggressive immigration strategy in recent years, and the country's inability to absorb everyone in a way that was mutually beneficial. He said those adjustments "need time to work themselves out."
But he said the high demand is still good news for recruiting people to areas where there are skill shortages, such as in healthcare, education and the trades.
"When there are fewer spots available and there's an increase in supply, increase in the number of people who want to come, then the competition's going to get fiercer," he said. And applicants from the U.S. have some natural advantages.
"People moving from America will have language skills… they'll have been educated probably in the United States, they'll have American experience. Those are all attractive characteristics … for entry into Canada because you're more likely to be able to move into employment."
Push and pull factors
McDonald isn't surprised by the recent uptick in interest south of the border. He said the same thing happened during Trump's first term in office.
"But this seems different," he said. "This feels different."
"I think the actual job losses, the budget cuts across government, but also … we're hearing from academics where funding has been cut and just the chilling effect in the American universities on the freedom of speech and the ability to undertake research."
Massey said she received 14 applications the morning after Trump's January inauguration, mostly academic talent looking to join Canada's universities and colleges.
"That is a very significant number overnight. We would usually get much, much fewer than that."
She said there is typically a push and pull factor for recruiting people, and right now "Canada has an enormous pull factor, and for many individuals, the US has significant push factors."
"I'm hearing from parents who have children that identify as queer and are worried for their well-being and their safety in the school system. I'm hearing from healthcare professionals who are struggling with the ethics of the abortion ban. So those push factors create an enormous opportunity for Canada … to capitalise on some of that intellectual talent."
"Given that the US has made some questionable decisions, I think there is an opportunity for us to think about how we position ourselves in a way in which we can be welcoming and encouraging and inviting to those that perhaps no longer feel welcome and included in the United States."