Canada\u2019s tech ecosystem has long contended with its talent leaving the country<\/a> to build and work for companies in Silicon Valley. That early (by US standards) Thanksgiving meal marked the beginning of Wealthsimple\u2019s North Star program, meant to guide expat talent back home.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal was simple: to have real conversations about what it would look like to build ambitious, globally impactful companies based in Canada,\u201d McLachlan told BetaKit in a February email. \u201cFrom there, North Star became a simple open invitation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the work is real and the ambition is high, Canadians want to build for Canadian companies.\u201d<\/p>\n The open invitation comes in the form of an evergreen job posting<\/a> calling on all Canadians abroad to apply to work for the Toronto-based FinTech. McLachlan said the company has not put any marketing dollars behind it, but the response was \u201coverwhelming.\u201d So far, the posting has garnered over 6,000 applications, resulting in seven offers, five hires, and nearly 70 ongoing conversations with candidates.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, that says something important: when the work is real and the ambition is high, Canadians want to build for Canadian companies,\u201d McLachlan said. Wealthsimple just wrapped its third North Star event earlier this week, this time in New York City, where 26 attendees joined for a happy hour in the Lower East Side.\u00a0<\/p>\n Canadian tech has always reckoned<\/a> with the tendency for homegrown talent to leave the country. According to data compiled by Leaders Fund<\/a>, only 32.4 percent of Canadian-led \u201chigh-potential\u201d startups created in 2024 were headquartered in Canada, while almost half were located in the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n The brain drain conversation was reinvigorated earlier this year when it was revealed that acclaimed San Francisco accelerator Y Combinator had removed Canada<\/a> as a permitted site of investment. While the decision was eventually reversed<\/a>, Garry Tan, YC\u2019s Winnipeg-born president and CEO, has commented<\/a> on surprise run-ins with numerous Canadian founders looking to base their startups in San Francisco.<\/p>\n But, as the North Star job posting says: \u201cwhat if the next big thing isn\u2019t there\u2014it\u2019s here?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2-1024x683.jpeg\" "\\"Wealthsimple")
<\/a>The Wealthsimple North Star Thanksgiving dinner in San Francisco. Image courtesy Diana McLachlan via LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n