The denial rate for the skilled foreign worker program rose to 24 per cent in the 2018 fiscal year, up from 13 per cent the previous year. The rising rates come after President Donald Trump ordered a review of the program in April 2017, which led to increased scrutiny of applications. Facebook, Google and Microsoft continue to be able to bring in the most skilled global talent, despite the new restrictions—the three company’s rejection rates stayed steady at between one and two per cent. (Mercury News)

Talking point: The Trump administration’s constraints on U.S. immigration have paid talent dividends for Canada over the last two years. In December 2018, The Logic reported that more than 5,000 highly-skilled immigrants living in the U.S.—many of them tech workers—had applied to move to Canada in the first 15 months of the country’s new Global Skills Strategy. That coincided with the administration telegraphing an impending H-1B clampdown; proof that it really is getting harder to move to the U.S. under that program will likely boost Canada’s appeal further.