A new study by MiQ Digital, a digital intelligence company, has revealed that Canada has become one of the world’s leading hubs of activity for artificial intelligence companies, ranking 4th out of 62 countries for its AI ecosystem.
This discovery was made by looking at what AI initiatives Canada ranks globally for, along with uncovering where Canada’s AI growing hotspots lie.
The Canadian government are investing massively in the Canadian AI ecosystem and its future by implementing the world’s first national AI strategy spending $125 million to accelerate Canada’s AI advancements and recruit world-class research talent.
When it comes to the availability of skilled AI specialists, Canada ranks in the top 10 globally, with the US, India, Singapore and the UK taking the top spots.
But what are Canada’s fast-growing AI hotspots?
Canada has several major centres of AI expertise. Waterloo and Quebec City rank among the top 50 tech talent markets in North America, but with 273 AI firms, Toronto has the densest AI startup cluster overall.
Toronto
- Number of AI firms: 273
- Number of people employed in tech: 270,400
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 12.6%
- Average tech salary: $89,648
Montreal
- Number of AI firms: 119
- Number of people employed in tech: 160,700
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 17.7%
- Average tech salary: $84,240
Vancouver
- Number of AI firms: 91
- Number of people employed in tech: 91,200
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 17.7%
- Average tech salary: $89,190
Kitchener-Waterloo
- Number of AI firms: 47
- Number of people employed in tech: 25,900
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 30.9%
- Average tech salary: $87,992
Calgary
- Number of AI firms: 28
- Number of people employed in tech: 46,700
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 5.9%
- Average tech salary: $95,826
Ottawa
- Number of AI firms: 22
- Number of people employed in tech: 74,000
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 10.5%
- Average tech salary: $91,666
Quebec City
- Number of AI firms: 11
- Number of people employed in tech: 29,400
- Growth of tech-related jobs: 36.4%
- Average tech salary: $85,093