09/18/2017
Technology Industry is Canada’s Fastest Growing Economic Sector
Canada’s technology sector is a major economic driver and will continue to grow in importance. As the world moves closer towards a digital economy, technology-based companies will become essential to driving GDP, providing high-paying jobs, and innovating a variety of other industries.
Canadian tech firms invested $9.1 billion on innovation in 2015.
Public and private investments in Canada’s technology industry will continue to improve the competitiveness of Canadian firms on a global stage. Startups and mature businesses both have a role to play in the development of advanced technologies, and ultimately more investment is needed to help companies compete on a global scale. Failure to provide this critical investment will result in hindered economic performance.
Canada’s Technology Industry: By the Numbers
According to the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship’s (BII+E) State of Canada’s Tech Sector 2016 report, Canada’s tech industry consists of 71,000 companies operating coast-to-coast, and employing 864,000 Canadians (5.6% of the country’s workforce).
The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship also reports that:
Canada’s tech sector provides high-paying jobs, with an average salary of $67,000 compared to the national average of approximately $48,000.
69% of Canadian tech firms have only 1-4 employees, yet the sector is responsible for generating 7.1% ($117 billion) of Canada’s total economic output.
Information and communications technology (ICT) firms make up the majority of the tech sector’s economic output, contributing 61.2% of the total, while employing 55% of all Canadian tech sector employees.
As can be seen in the chart from BII+E’s The State of Canada’s Tech Sector 2016 report, the technology sector remains larger than various major economic sectors, including Finance & Insurance, Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, Agriculture.