Where others saw chaos, Brad Ferguson saw opportunity.
Last Saturday afternoon, the rest of us watched the drama created by Donald Trump’s abrupt executive order that banned entry to the United States by citizens of Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Syria. That included the revocation of
more than 100,000 valid visas — a situation that left people scrambling, and provoked protests at airports across America.
Ferguson was watching, too. So the head of the Edmonton Economic Development Corp. quickly tweeted out an ad, inviting U.S. tech businesses to consider relocating here.
“Whether it’s Amazon, Google, Genentech or Apple, the world needs our innovators to keep growing, keep progressing, and keep attracting the brightest minds from around the globe,” read the copy. “Look NORTH and we can get you up and running within 48 hours. Visit Edmonton.com, Canada’s most entrepreneurial city, to start the process today.”
