News

Microsoft Plans Canada Software Center

Microsoft Corp. plans to open a software development center in Canada this fall to attract talent and avoid U.S. immigration issues.

The Vancouver, British Columbia location will be one of only a handful development centers outside the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., the software company said Thursday. It previously announced plans to build sites in Boston and Bellevue, Wash.

Microsoft the Vancouver location will "allow the company to continue to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by the immigration issues in the U.S."

Microsoft has been a vocal proponent of increasing the number of visas granted to skilled workers from outside the U.S. At the same time, the software maker has repeatedly said the U.S. is not producing enough engineers to fill its chairs, and argued that the U.S. education system fails to place enough emphasis on math and sciences.

"Microsoft is a global company, and our greatest asset is smart, talented, highly skilled people," said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, in a statement Thursday.

Microsoft Canada Co. was established in Mississauga, Ontario in 1985. The software, computer services and Internet technology development company has offices in Toronto, along with eight regional offices across Canada.

The company did not release any financial details on the new site, which is about 150 mils from Redmond.

Other centers are located in North Carolina, Ireland, Denmark and Israel, while full research-and-development sites have been built in the U.K., India, China and California's Silicon Valley.

Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.