An ICTC Study
Canada’s Growth Currency
Published by ICTC, November 2019
Around the world, digital disruption, shifting international dynamics, and emerging markets are changing economic structures and business models. At the same time, transformative technologies like AI, 5G, Blockchain and others have already begun to play a substantive role in our economy and communities; and they will continue create new opportunities, generate potential, and cause robust change across many sectors. Even the most traditional industries like forestry are changing and adapting to new business needs, oftentimes by experimenting with new technologies.
The ICT (technology) sector has traditionally played a major role in reshaping productivity in Canada. The sector is also an important contributor to the Canadian economy, with total GDP reaching nearly $89 billion in 2018. Representing more than 4.5% of Canada’s total economic output, its growth was nearly double that seen across the overall Canadian economy that year. In addition, the growth of technology across other sectors is shifting the boundaries of the digital economy, with scaling numbers of ICT workers employed outside of the ICT sector. Under a moderate growth scenario, ICTC foresees the demand for digitally-skilled talent in Canada to reach more than 305,000 by 2023. If filled, total employment in the Canadian digital economy will scale to more than 2.1 million.
To be certain, our digital journey is not without challenges — some of which may be spurred by global trends that are beyond our control. However, as a nation, our path to success in this connected economy remains squarely anchored in our ability to fully embrace digital technologies in the coming years.
Researched and written by Alexandra Cutean (Senior Director, Research & Policy), Ryan Mc- Laughlin (Senior Economist & Research Analyst), Zhenzhen Ye (Senior Economist & Data Ana- lyst), and Rosina Hamoni (Junior Research Analyst), with generous support from Rob Davidson (Manager, Data Analytics & Research), Peter Taillon (Senior Data Analyst), Arun Sharvirala (Data Analyst) and the ICTC Research & Policy Team.
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