When Canada unveiled new details of its open work permit scheme for Hongkongers this month, it framed the action as part of a defence of democratic values, against Beijing’s “controversial national security law”.
Canada stood “shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong”, and the new scheme showed Ottawa’s “solidarity with other like-minded allies”, said Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino.
But the programme, first announced in November, also represents one of the opening salvoes in a contest among Western countries to attract talented young people from Hong Kong, amid the city’s political upheaval.
Immigration experts on both sides of the Pacific said they were greatly surprised by the Canadian scheme’s scope, calling it “huge” and “remarkable”.
