Canada is standing at a digital crossroads. Our digital economy already contributes more than $223 billion annually—over 10% of GDP—and employs 2.4 million Canadians. By 2030, this could grow to nearly $250 billion and 2.76 million jobs. But these gains are not guaranteed. Unless Canada acts boldly and quickly, we risk sliding from being a leader in innovation to becoming a mere consumer in the technologies that will define the 21st century.
ICTC’s recently released Roadmap for Canada’s Digital Economy to 2030 lays out a clear path forward. It highlights both the opportunities and the risks before us, and the choices policymakers must make to secure Canada’s digital future. The message is simple: the next five years will determine whether Canada becomes a digital leader or a follower.
In the 20th century, energy independence defined national resilience. In this century, digital sovereignty plays that role. Yet Canada currently ranks in the bottom half of OECD nations for domestic compute capacity. Without urgent investment in sovereign AI infrastructure, resilient semiconductor supply chains, and Canadian-owned cloud and data storage, we will remain dependent on foreign providers—vulnerable to supply chain shocks and geopolitical pressures.
We also must underscore Canada’s innovation paradox: world-class in research but lagging in commercialization. Less than five percent of Canadian patents are commercialized domestically. Too often, promising firms—such as Montreal’s Element AI—are acquired abroad, transferring intellectual property and growth potential elsewhere. Unless we reform innovation incentives, strengthen IP protections, and close the commercialization gap, Canadian discoveries will continue to benefit foreign economies more than our own.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 63% of private sector jobs, yet many lag in adopting digital tools. AI adoption alone could boost Canada’s productivity by 1.5% annually over the next decade. A national SME Digital Acceleration Program—offering subsidies, training, and advisory services—would help Canadian businesses harness digital tools, scale globally, and compete effectively.
Equally critical is talent. Canada’s most valuable natural resource is not in the ground but in its people. Building a diverse, future-ready workforce must be treated as a national economic strategy. That means expanding digital and STEM pathways for youth, modernizing credential recognition for skilled immigrants, and scaling up reskilling opportunities for workers at every career stage. Inclusive approaches are vital: women, Indigenous peoples, and newcomers remain underrepresented in the digital economy. Unlocking this potential is not just socially just—it is economically essential.
Five Calls to Action for Policymakers
Canada has all the ingredients to succeed: world-class research hubs, abundant energy, skilled talent, and democratic values that inspire trust. What we lack is urgency and coordination. Policymakers have a narrow window of opportunity. The next five years will determine whether Canada shapes the technologies of the future—or is shaped by them.
ICTC’s Roadmap for Canada’s Digital Economy to 2030 points the way forward. To secure Canada’s digital future, we urge policymakers to act on five urgent priorities:
- Invest in Sovereign Digital Infrastructure – Establish Canada’s Strategic Digital Foundations by scaling domestic AI compute capacity, securing semiconductor resilience, and enforcing data and cloud sovereignty to protect national competitiveness and security.
- Close the Commercialization Gap – Accelerate Innovation-to-Impact by modernizing scaling incentives, strengthening IP protection regimes, and fostering homegrown commercialization pathways that keep Canadian innovations and talent anchored in Canada.
- Accelerate SME Digital Adoption – Launch a National SME Digital Competitiveness Initiative to accelerate adoption of AI-driven solutions, advanced analytics, and digital productivity tools, enabling Canadian SMEs to compete and scale globally.
- Make Talent a National Strategy – Advance a Future-Ready Workforce Strategy by scaling STEM and digital education pipelines, modernizing credentialing frameworks for newcomers, and embedding inclusive talent development to leverage Canada’s full human capital potential.
- Advance a Unified Digital Industrial Strategy – Forge a National Digital Competitiveness Agenda that integrates innovation, infrastructure, sustainability, and digital trust under a unified strategy, positioning Canada alongside other global leaders.
These five areas for action are the building blocks of a sovereign, inclusive, and competitive digital future for Canada. We call on all levels of government, and ICTC stands ready to do our part to lead, collaborate, and mobilize, working alongside government, industry, academia, and communities to deliver on these priorities.
If we act now, Canada can lead the world in AI, quantum computing, clean technology, advanced manufacturing, and digital trust. But if we delay, we risk forfeiting our prosperity, competitiveness, and sovereignty.
The choice is clear. The time to act is now.
The Board of Directors of the Information and Communications Technology Council of Canada (ICTC):
Janet Lin
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, EQ Bank
Dr. Thomas P. Keenan, FCIPS, I.S.P., ITCP
Professor, University of Calgary
Jack Noppé
Strategic Advisor, Connected Canadians
James Hinton
Founder, Lawyer, IP Strategist, Patent & Trademark Agent
Gary Davenport
Past President, CIO Association of Canada
Jauvonne Kitto
Co-Founder & CEO, Saa Dne Group of Companies
Soumen Roy
Executive Director & Country Head – Canada, Tata Consultancy Serivces
