Learn More About IT Classes in Toronto
Toronto is a major North American tech hub with Canada’s most diverse tech ecosystem. Often termed the “Silicon Valley North, ” the area has a tech workforce of around 289,000 and is home to about 24,000 tech companies and startups. The tech industry continues to make year-to-year gains, adding new jobs and increasing its IT workforce. According to the most recent CBRE Scoring Tech Talent report, Canadian tech jobs increased by 1.7% over the last year. 
One area where Toronto, and other major cities in Canada like Vancouver and Montreal, are leading the way is in AI-related jobs. Toronto already has 273 AI firms, and many regional companies are investing in AI research labs. Toronto is home to the Samsung AI Center, NVIDIA AI Lab, and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. AI and machine learning roles and knowledge of cloud computing and cybersecurity are in-demand. These skill sets can help IT professionals secure high-paying roles in Toronto’s competitive tech marketplace. 
Top Toronto Industries for IT Professionals
The tech industry in Toronto is the leading employer for IT professionals. As one of the largest tech hubs in North America, Toronto’s tech ecosystem is diverse, offering many opportunities for IT professionals across its varied sectors. Toronto is especially known for having a strong foothold in AI research and innovation, in FinTech and healthtech, and in enterprise software development. As in many other cities, Toronto’s tech industry fuels the development of other industries in the area, and the city is home to many incubators and accelerators designed to push forward research, entrepreneurship, and commercialization opportunities. 
Toronto is Canada’s financial hub and the second-largest hub for finance in North America. The city's financial services workforce is around 380,000, and the Greater Toronto Area is home to over 12,000 financial services companies. Consulting firm McKinsey projects that FinTech should grow at three times the overall industry rate in the coming years, which shows that FinTech is driving much of the growth for the finance industry. This should be great news to IT professionals who are needed at financial services companies to develop software applications, secure data, and maintain existing computer networks or storage systems. 
Other important industries in the Greater Toronto Area include retail, gaming, and telecommunications. The ecommerce sector of Toronto’s retail industry is especially friendly to IT professionals, and the area has Shopify’s second-largest office and a strong presence from Amazon and other ecommerce retailers. Gaming companies like Ubisoft Toronto and EA Canada are both in the area and take advantage of the skills overlap between IT professionals and game developers. Major Canadian telecommunications companies, like Rogers and Bell, have large IT offices in and around Toronto and need tech workers to maintain and secure their networks. 
Toronto IT Careers & Salaries
IT professionals can work in a diverse range of careers in Toronto. They often work in tech support or project management roles and can also, depending on their skill sets, find themselves working with data, doing programming, managing networks and cloud storage, or maintaining network security for a company. Tech industry salaries in Toronto are higher than in other regions and major Canadian cities, though they are lower than typical salaries in major U.S. tech hubs. Though salaries range lower than in the U.S., the cost of living, even in Toronto, is comparatively lower than in cities like San Francisco, New York, or Seattle. 
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IT Project Manager: According to Glassdoor, the average yearly income for an IT Project Manager in Toronto is around $90,000. This salary ranges from a low of $81,000 to a high of $121,000. 
 
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Data Analyst: On average, Data Analysts in Toronto earn around $64,000 yearly. According to Glassdoor, the salary range for this position is $56,000 to $86,000. 
 
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Cybersecurity Analyst: A Cybersecurity Analyst based in Toronto makes an average salary of $75,000, per reporting from Glassdoor. One’s salary in this role ranges from around $68,000 to $99,000 annually.
 
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Software Engineer: According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a Software Engineer in Toronto is $94,000 a year. This is before any additional pay is added, and the salary can range from around $80,000 to $144,000.
 
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DevOps Engineer: In Toronto, DevOps engineers make an average yearly salary of $94,000. Glassdoor reports the salary range for this position as $84,000 to $122,000.
 
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Cloud Architect: Some of the highest-paying tech careers currently involve cloud computing. A Cloud Architect can earn an average yearly salary of $123,000 in Toronto. Salaries for Cloud Architects range from $112,000 to $168,000, per Glassdoor’s reports. 
 
Companies Hiring IT Workers in Toronto
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Amazon: Amazon currently employs around 3500 workers in its Toronto Tech Hub, a multi-office area of about 500,000 square feet. The company wants to increase its Toronto office by 79,000 square feet (and add an office space in Vancouver). To aid their Toronto workforce, Amazon looks to hire those with IT and tech support knowledge, software engineering and development skills, and individuals with machine learning expertise. 
 
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IBM: IBM is another of the Greater Toronto Area’s largest tech employers. The company maintains a workforce of around 2,500 in the area, and it is the location of their Toronto Software Lab. This is Canada’s largest software development lab and the third largest of IBM’s labs. This lab is primarily known for middleware development, but IT professionals can occupy various roles, including finding positions in data science, software development, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. 
 
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Google: Google has offices in downtown Toronto and employs over 700 tech workers. Their workforce in Toronto is dedicated mainly to their cloud computing and ad sales teams. This means that IT professionals with knowledge of marketing analytics, cloud platforms, and software engineering will be especially welcome at Google’s Toronto location.
 
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Shopify: Shopify is an ecommerce platform and SaaS provider. Their second-largest office is located in Toronto, and they have a sizable workforce comparable to the major tech companies. At their Toronto office, they are particularly interested in IT professionals with experience in software development, data analytics, and project management. 
 
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Geotab: Geotab is an Ontario-based telematics company that primarily produces fleet management products. It has a sizable workforce in Toronto and is especially focused on hiring software engineering and development professionals and those with experience in AI, machine learning, and data analytics. 
 
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Banks: As Canada’s financial hub, Toronto is home to many banks and financial service providers. Banks, including Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), TD, Scotiabank, and Bank of Montreal (BMO), are large employers in the region and employ thousands of tech staff in the area. IT professionals at these institutions can work on developing and managing banking, trading, and financial applications, building machine learning risk models, or ensuring the security and safety of customers’ financial data and transactions. 
 
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City Government: Toronto has a Technology Services Division that recruits IT professionals. The city touts its five tech sections supporting 44 city government divisions. Many of the positions Toronto hires IT employees for are tech and systems support, but they also have data modeling and Data Engineer positions.
 
Outlook for Toronto’s IT Industry 
The outlook for Toronto’s tech industry looks strong. The Canadian government continues to invest strongly in tech R&D, benefiting Toronto, and Toronto’s tech sector draws in multi-billion-dollar investments each year. CBRE recently named the Greater Toronto Region as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in North America, and the region benefits from its strong local talent pool and U.S. companies practicing near-shoring by moving into the area to save costs.
Toronto is already a leader in AI research and innovation, and this dominance is expected to continue into the future. The latest CBRE Scoring Tech Talent report calls AI development a “catalyst” for new jobs. Deloitte’s recent Tech Trends report indicates everyone should be on the lookout for “ubiquitous AI, ” as more individuals and companies aim to exploit its potential. Canada’s government initiated the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy in 2017 and currently plans to invest $443.8 million into AI research and development over the next decade. This investment means that AI is one of the leading tech industry sectors pushing forward new growth in Toronto.