Canada IT Industry: Companies and General Profile

There are over 43,200 companies in the Canadian Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector. The large majority (over 39,000) fall within the software and computer services industries.

The ICT sector consists mainly of small companies, with approximately 37,500 of them employing fewer than 10 people. The number of large companies employing over 500 individuals accounts for approximately 105 firms, including subsidiaries of foreign multinational corporations.

In a more industry-narrow way, the Canadian advertising and marketing industry is growing based on international awareness of creativity and the multicultural population. The progressive approaches are resonating with both US and globally-based companies, Mark Tharme from Muse Marketing says.

Why You Should Work With Canadian IT Companies

Canada has found itself in a favorable position compared to other countries that have a well-developed IT infrastructure. Web & IT agencies have a fast-developing rate due to facilitating policies and attracting more young professionals than any other country in the region. 

Additionally, IT companies in Canada provide a full-service range with a considerably lower price than in the U.S., and offer in exchange excellent execution, fair customer experience, and professional project management. 

From another perspective, working with Canadian IT companies could bring added value in terms of security. In uncertain times, both politically and economically, working with IT companies in Canada reduces technology risk.

What You Should Be Aware of When Working With Canadian IT Companies

The Canadians started to focus on developing their IT industry in 2012, which mainly reveals a lack of consistent experience in the web & software industry. Since almost all IT companies in Canada are small, with fewer than 10 people, the industry is in the full development process, and most of the agencies are not yet ready to take on big projects. Since then, the Canadian IT industry has rapidly evolved with major tech hubs like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal by 2025.

At the same time, Canadian companies pay a living wage, and our standard of living is higher than in many other countries. As a result, expect the cost for services to be somewhat higher than in emerging economies.

Are Canadian Web Companies Reliable?

Along with the workforce, Canada attracts an increasing number of companies from around the world, and many of them find the place comfortable and suitable for growing a business in the IT industry. In 2025, there were more than 7,000 IT startups in Canada, according to StartupBlink. Small companies in the Canadian IT industry are new entries and don’t have a global reputation compared to tech giants that relocated or opened new offices in Canada. Nonetheless, you cannot name small Canadian IT companies unreliable, as they all obey the same principles and rules as the bigger ones. 

How the Canadian IT Industry Compares to the Neighboring Countries

With the leading US on the continent and probably globally, Canada started to get more attention from the market as being a healthy alternative to what the US has to offer. This refers both to skilled developers & web designers and also clients. Due to the market accessibility and developed IT infrastructure, Canada has its own advantages over the US, like prices and availability, but it’s still behind the U.S in terms of competitiveness. 

Overall, Canada is a promising destination for IT companies and a good option for web projects with a growing number of IT centers. The Toronto - Kitchener - Waterloo IT area registered good progress both in training and hiring new talents that compete even with the US Silicon Valley. 

What Makes Canada Attractive for IT Companies?

Canada is attractive because the society embraces a global mindset, which is natural due to the multicultural population, both in the industry and in the general population. Historically, the Canadian design and advertising industry was built on American, European, and Japanese cultural influences. Today, the country benefits from influences from all over the world.

At the same time, Amanda Nelson from The Art Of Business mentions that Canada has found itself in a favorable position compared to other countries that have well-developed IT infrastructure. Web & IT agencies have a fast-developing rate due to facilitating policies and attracting more.

How Does the Canadian Government Support the Local IT Sector?

Federally, the Canadian government is providing access to capital through grant programs, including digital transformation grants for businesses, which in turn creates opportunities for digital marketing and IT firms as service providers. 

Alberta and Ontario - The Best Canadian Territories/Provinces For IT

Out of 10 Territories and Provinces, Canada is divided. There are 2 worth mentioning - Alberta and Ontario, with Calgary and Toronto as the main tech hubs. 

The Toronto/Hamilton business corridor (known as the GTHA) is growing rapidly, both in population and as an international business centre. It already has the highest-density population in Canada and is projected to grow significantly by 2050. With close proximity to Northeastern US markets, high awareness of the city of Toronto as an international destination, and an excellent culture of creativity across all disciplines, this area is well-positioned for growth. Immigration policies are also favorable for companies seeking a location in North America.

In addition, according to Ty Mikitka from Vertical Motion Inc., in recent years, Calgary, Alberta, has made growing strides to become a recognized Western Canadian technology hub thanks to the influx of large technology companies. Notable organizations, including Unity Technologies, Infosys, Test Driven Solutions, RBC Innovation Hub, and Amazon Web Services (Late 2023-Early 2024), now call Calgary home, creating thousands of IT jobs for local Canadians.

"Canadian IT Talent Pool is Good to Excellent"

When talking about the Canadian talent pool, Mark Tharme appreciated the local talent pool as good to excellent. He thinks that IT and communications-related education is available at all levels: colleges, universities, and private schools offer courses in a wide range of information technology disciplines. Students have opportunities to do work placements, co-ops, and internships with many well-regarded companies while studying or upon graduation from a recognized program.

Plan to Open a New IT Business in Canada? Focus on New Technologies!

Local tech leaders also mention that there is enough room in the market for new, innovative companies. However, most of the opportunities are especially in new and emerging technology areas, including AI, cybersecurity, and data management. Canadian companies are "punching above their weight" in many of these areas. Another sector good to explore is security. As Justin Harney from LionEater, the country needs IT security leadership. 

As for how easy it is to open a business in Canada, Jeffrey Miles from Jeff Social Marketing mentions that it’s simple to open a business in Canada. The first step is to apply for a business license.

This article was created together with professionals coming from reputable Canadian IT companies. Special credits: Jeffrey Miles, Mark Tharme, Justin Harne, Ty Mikitka, and Amanda Nelson.

Digital marketing, also known as web marketing, Internet marketing or online marketing, is one of the most popular advertising methods on the web. It includes a wide set of other promotion techniques like SEO, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing, affiliate marketing and many more.

In simple words, digital marketing is everything you do to promote your business or brand online. It’s basically the same as marketing, but for the web audience. 

If you want to discover the ins and outs of digital marketing, its current state and how IT companies use different marketing channels, read this comprehensive guide created by TechBehemoths, which is based on info provided by more than 2,500 surveyed companies.

There are multiple benefits of digital marketing. Here are some of them:

• Multiple channels/strategies

• Global or local reach

• Great scalability

• Cost efficient, if optimized for leads/sales

• Advanced/granular targeting

• Usually a higher conversion rate

• Advanced and precise analytics

• Automatization

Digital marketing agencies might have different approaches and tactics. Some agencies focus on a broad range of advertising services, while others focus on specific industries, channels or locations. Finding the best digital marketing company for your needs is not an easy task. 

You have to take into account all the aspects and define your goals in advance, so the selection process is smooth and efficient.

Here are some things to look for when choosing a digital marketing agency:

• Expertise

• Portfolio

• Location

• Price and pricing structure

• Approach and particularities

• Communication and reporting

• Client reviews

TechBehemoths lists more than 9,000 companies providing online marketing services from all over the world. Check out their profiles to learn more about their previous work and speciality.

To ease the selection process, we’ve created a powerful filter which you can use to narrow down the results and shortlist the companies based on your project requirements.

Where do tech businesses advertise?

TechBehemoths conducted a study in the past, where they asked tech companies what digital marketing channels they use the most. SEO/AEO, email marketing, content marketing, social media and PPC were the most popular choices.

An interesting stat revealed that only 21% of survey respondents chose video marketing as their preferred channel. Out of those, only 5.8% of respondents said that their video marketing activity is high (based on a 1-5 scale, where 1 is low and 5 is high).

This can mean a missed opportunity for businesses, as video has become a major media format used on most popular search engines and social media networks.

Getting help from a video production company can significantly contribute to the success of your marketing activity.

Another graph showed that around 30% of tech firms don’t use PPC (pay per click) advertising, which can also mean a missed opportunity.

Getting organic traffic from Google, Bing and other search engines is getting so much harder these days, as AI summaries and AI chatbots make users less likely to click on organic links => company websites don’t get visits.

This is where digital marketing agencies can help you with Google Ads, Bing ads and pay per click services.And finally, only about 3% of respondents said that influencer marketing is a part of their marketing activity and the vast majority of them (around 60%) don’t focus on influencer marketing at all.
 

In the era of AI, personal/real experiences and recommendations matter more than before. Hence, influencer advertising can be a productive marketing channel. Who would you trust more? A human with real feedback or a synthesized AI summary? The answer is obvious.

What digital marketing strategies work in 2026?

Digital marketing in 2026 is no longer optional, it’s essential if not vital. From AI-powered search to short-form video and personalized email campaigns, businesses must adapt to evolving platforms and consumer behavior to stay competitive.

Businesses that ignore investing in a strong online presence - risk losing digital visibility, trust, and competitive advantage.

Here are the most effective types of digital marketing for this year:

1. SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) represents a type of digital marketing meant to increase the visibility of a website on search engines. Ultimately, the goal is to try to get as much organic or paid traffic as possible.

SEM is mainly based on 2 parts:

• SEO/AEO/GEO - search or answer or generative engine optimization

• Paid advertising and PPC (pay per click)

As Google dominates the search engine market, it’s vital to be present there and target relevant audiences.

2. Content marketing

Content marketing is based on the creation and distribution of relevant and useful content that attracts the attention of visitors/consumers.

There can be multiple types of content, here is a visual illustration:

3. Social media marketing (SMM)

Almost everyone uses a kind of social media platform. Creating brand awareness on social media can be the primary focus for a business, along with ecommerce opportunities, as there’s a clear trend of people using social platforms for shopping.

4. Email marketing

Email marketing includes sending promotional emails to potential customers. There are different ways to achieve that:

5. Influencer marketing

This might be one of the most overlooked marketing channels and it basically means partnering with an online influencer to market one of your products or services.

In this way, you can get access to their audience of hundreds,thousands or even millions of followers, who trust their influencers.

6. Video marketing

Video marketing might be the future of digital marketing, mainly because of the time people spend on video hosting and streaming platforms like Youtube, TikTok and others. Hence, it makes sense for small and large businesses to invest in it.

According to Renderforrest, video marketing help businesses increase:

• Brand awareness by 70%

• Traffic by 51%

• Sales by 34%

7. VR (Virtual Reality) Marketing

This is an emerging one. VR software takes users in an interactive virtual three-dimensional environment usually using headsets with special lenses (like Meta Quest VR) - to simulate a real-life experience.

While VR marketing might be more expensive, more and more brands use VR for product promotion and virtual storytelling.

If you need help with your digital marketing, TechBehemoths list thousands of trusted agencies that you can search and shortlist. Additionally, you can use the Project submission tool to get tailored offers based on your digital marketing needs.