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Canada鈥檚 diversity and immigration policies are playing key roles in the country鈥檚 growing reputation as a global leader in artificial intelligence, say two of the country鈥檚 top minds in the field.聽

Steve Irvine, a veteran of Facebook and Instagram and the founder and CEO of integrate.ai, returned to Canada two years ago to build his new artificial intelligence (AI) company after six years in California鈥檚 famed Silicon Valley.

At first, it seemed like a no-brainer that he would build integrate.ai in Silicon Valley. But his research led him to conclude that Toronto was the place to set up shop.

Speaking at Fortune Magazine鈥榮 Global Forum this week in Toronto, Irvine said the diversity of Canada鈥檚 biggest city was one of the major factors that led him to establish integrate.ai there.

鈥淒iversity is the reality here in Canada,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e one of the most diverse countries in the world, Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and that brings a lot of perspectives on these issues. Not only can we get great top-end technical talent and research talent, but we naturally have a pool of more diverse candidates who bring interesting perspectives to the big issues we鈥檙e dealing with.鈥�

Immigration policies pave the way

Contributing to this reality are policies like Canada鈥檚 Global Skills Strategy and its program, which provides work visas for eligible international workers in as little as two weeks. The hardline immigration polices of the current U.S. government under President Donald Trump are giving top AI minds an added incentive to choose Canada over Silicon Valley.

鈥淚t鈥檚 never been easier to bring top international talent into the country,鈥� Irvine said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy now to get them in from a visa standpoint, but with everything that鈥檚 happening geopolitically, we鈥檝e noticed a big difference 鈥� there鈥檚 a lot of top-notch talent that would normally be on their way to Silicon Valley right now that have changed their plans. [Canada] is a great alternative for them 鈥� it gets them over to North America, into a big hub that is close to all the other hubs that they would care about, but they can live in a city where they can feel comfortable and that gives them the same level of opportunities.鈥�

Raquel Urtasun, who leads Uber鈥檚 self-driving car research program in Toronto, told the Global Forum that she moved to Canada because 鈥淐anada was, is and will be at the forefront of AI.鈥�

Originally from Spain, Urtasun was teaching at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago when she decided to join the University of Toronto鈥檚 Department of Computer Science.

Dubbed an AI 鈥渟uperstar鈥� by Wired Magazine, Urtasun said Canada鈥檚 diversity and its immigration policies are playing a key role in luring AI talent north of the border.

鈥淚 came to join the University of Toronto, which is one of the top places for doing AI research,鈥� she said. 鈥淎lso, immigration policies are very good here and, as a foreigner, I really appreciate the diversity that we see. I subscribe to Canadian values and I moved here from the U.S. and it was great to see.鈥�

As co-founder of Toronto鈥檚 Vector Institute, she鈥檚 seen the same feeling growing among its community of international AI researchers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a year and a half and we鈥檙e starting to see a lot of talent stay in Canada,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have retained a lot of talent and there is so much talent coming from outside that doesn鈥檛 necessarily have ties to Canada but wants to be here because this is the place to be. We鈥檙e really building an ecosystem here that will allow Canada to maintain that.鈥�

Canada鈥檚 鈥榦pen to people鈥�

Sharing the stage with Irvine and Urtasun was Canada鈥檚 Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains.

Bains said ensuring Canadian companies have access to the foreign workers they need to fill skills gaps in the local workforce is a key aspect of 鈥淐anada鈥檚 value proposition,鈥� especially in the current geopolitical climate.

鈥淚mmigration policies really differentiate [Canada],鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e seeing the rise of anti-immigrant sentiments, populist politics, nationalism, and our brand in Canada is that we鈥檙e open 鈥� open to trade, open to investment, open to people 鈥� that brand, that openness is so critical.鈥�

Bains said that openness is critical for innovative startups looking to Canada.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a company, you鈥檙e moving very quickly, you have to be agile, you need access to talent, you need to scale up your business or you need certain technical skills, you can bring that individual to Canada in a matter of two weeks,鈥� he said, referring to Canada鈥檚 Global Talent Stream program.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big, big deal and I think that鈥檚 why [Canada is] really well-positioned 鈥� we have a diverse domestic workforce, and we have access to global talent.鈥�

On December 6, Canada will host a G7 conference on artificial intelligence in Montreal, which has emerged alongside Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, as a hub for AI research and development.

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