AI in Canada: 2026 business adoption statistics
AI in Canada is spreading through business from a low base. 19.2% of Canadian businesses used AI to produce goods or deliver services in the 12 months to the second quarter of 2026, up from 12.2% a year earlier and 6.1% 2 years earlier (Statistics Canada). Below are the main figures on AI adoption in Canada, by industry, province, business size and use, with a link to the source of each number. Figures checked October 6, 2026.
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AI in Canada at a glance
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses that used AI in the past 12 months (Q2 2026) | 19.2% | Statistics Canada |
| Businesses that plan to use AI in the next 12 months (Q3 2026) | 25.2% | Statistics Canada |
| Businesses that say AI is not relevant to them (Q2 2026) | 40.0% | Statistics Canada |
| SMEs that use generative AI (February 2026) | 30% | BDC |
| National target for business AI adoption by 2034 | 60% | Government of Canada |
How many Canadian businesses use AI
Statistics Canada asks businesses each quarter whether they used AI to produce goods or deliver services in the last 12 months. The share has roughly tripled in 2 years:
| Survey period | Businesses using AI |
|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | 6.1% |
| Q2 2025 | 12.2% |
| Q2 2026 | 19.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada, AI use by businesses in Canada, Q2 2026.
Plans are rising too. In the third quarter of 2026, 25.2% of businesses said they plan to use AI over the next 12 months, up from 14.5% in Q3 2025 and 10.6% in Q3 2024. Another 52.7% have no plans (Statistics Canada).
The federal government's national AI strategy says only 12% of Canadian businesses used AI between mid-2024 and mid-2025, and it sets a target of 60% adoption by 2034 (Government of Canada, AI for All).
Why other surveys show higher numbers
Other surveys ask different questions of different businesses, so their numbers aren't comparable with StatCan's.
| Survey | Who it covers | What it found |
|---|---|---|
| BDC, February 2026 | 1,500 SME owners | 30% of SMEs use generative AI |
| Bank of Canada, December 2025 | 314 firms in its Business Leaders' Pulse | 70% of respondents use AI at least some time in a typical work week |
| KPMG Canada, August to September 2025 | 753 leaders at firms with $50M+ in revenue | 93% of organizations use AI, up from 61% |
| Deloitte Canada, March 2025 | Organizations in Canada and worldwide | 26% of Canadian organizations have implemented AI, vs 34% globally |
StatCan asks a narrow question: Did the business use AI to produce its goods or deliver its services? The Bank of Canada picks its panel by each industry's and region's share of GDP rather than by business counts, so its results don't represent all businesses. KPMG only surveyed companies with $50M or more in revenue. Deloitte's figure is from March 2025 and is useful mainly for the comparison with other countries.
The Bank of Canada paper also shows how deep use goes. Only 8% of firms use AI significantly in their operations, 21% moderately and 29% infrequently (Bank of Canada).
AI adoption by industry
Information and cultural industries lead, followed by finance and insurance and professional services. Agriculture, wholesale and construction trail.
| Industry | Businesses using AI, Q2 2026 | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| All industries | 19.2% | A |
| Information and cultural industries | 42.3% | B |
| Finance and insurance | 40.4% | C |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 32.4% | B |
| Health care and social assistance | 30.0% | B |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 25.3% | B |
| Retail trade | 19.2% | B |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 18.7% | B |
| Other services (except public administration) | 17.2% | B |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 13.4% | B |
| Manufacturing | 13.1% | B |
| Accommodation and food services | 12.7% | B |
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 12.2% | A |
| Transportation and warehousing | 9.8% | A |
| Construction | 9.2% | A |
| Wholesale trade | 7.9% | A |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 4.5% | A |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 33-10-1167-01. Quality letters are StatCan's: A is excellent, B very good and C good. Treat the finance and insurance figure with more caution than the rest.
AI adoption by province and territory
British Columbia has the highest share of businesses using AI, at 25.1%. Manitoba has the lowest among the provinces, at 13.1%.
| Province or territory | Businesses using AI, Q2 2026 | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 25.1% | A |
| Yukon | 20.6% | C |
| Quebec | 20.1% | A |
| Prince Edward Island | 20.0% | B |
| Alberta | 18.4% | A |
| Ontario | 18.1% | A |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 16.0% | A |
| Nova Scotia | 15.7% | A |
| New Brunswick | 14.1% | A |
| Saskatchewan | 13.6% | A |
| Nunavut | 13.3% | B |
| Manitoba | 13.1% | A |
| Northwest Territories | 11.8% | B |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 33-10-1167-01. Yukon's figure has a C quality rating.
Urban businesses use AI at about twice the rate of rural ones: 21.0% compared with 9.9%. In 2024, the figures were 6.7% and 3.3% (Statistics Canada).
AI adoption by business size and age
Larger businesses use AI more and are less likely to dismiss it. The smallest businesses, with 1 to 4 employees, use AI more often than those with 5 to 19.
| Employees | Using AI, Q2 2026 | Say AI is not relevant |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 19.9% | 41.4% |
| 5 to 19 | 14.9% | 41.0% |
| 20 to 99 | 25.8% | 34.3% |
| 100 or more | 27.8% | 21.3% |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 33-10-1167-01 for use by size, and Statistics Canada, AI use by businesses in Canada, Q2 2026 for "not relevant" by size.
Younger businesses are ahead. 25.0% of businesses aged 3 to 10 years used AI, compared with 15.0% of businesses 20 years or older (Statistics Canada). Among woman-owned businesses, 23.7% used AI (Statistics Canada, Table 33-10-1167-01).
What Canadian businesses use AI for
Among businesses that use AI, data analytics is now the most common use, at 36.6%, up from 26.4% a year earlier.
| Use | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Data analytics | 36.6% | 26.4% |
| Text analytics | 34.5% | 35.7% |
| Virtual agents or chatbots | 28.2% | 24.8% |
| Natural language processing | 27.0% | 23.1% |
| Large language models | 24.8% | 19.1% |
| Speech or voice recognition | 20.6% | 20.0% |
| Marketing automation | 19.8% | 23.1% |
| Machine learning | 18.2% | 18.6% |
| Recommendation systems | 17.9% | 14.0% |
| Image or pattern recognition | 14.0% | 11.4% |
| Decision-making systems | 13.7% | 5.7% |
| Deep learning | 13.1% | 6.6% |
| Robotic process automation | 5.0% | 3.8% |
| Machine or computer vision | 4.6% | 3.1% |
| Augmented reality | 3.0% | 3.2% |
| Neural networks | 2.3% | 2.5% |
| Biometrics | 1.8% | 3.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada, AI use by businesses in Canada, Q2 2026. Shares are of businesses that used AI.
Chatbots split sharply by size. 50.5% of AI-using businesses with 100 or more employees use virtual agents or chatbots, compared with 28.2% of all AI users (Statistics Canada). Marketing automation fell from 23.1% to 19.8%.
Barriers to AI adoption
Cybersecurity and privacy concerns top the list of barriers, cited by 13.4% of businesses, followed by cost at 10.6% (Statistics Canada). 23.0% of businesses said nothing limits their use of AI (Statistics Canada, The Daily).
Privacy worries grow with size. 11.6% of businesses with 1 to 4 employees cited cybersecurity or privacy, compared with 22.3% of those with 20 to 99 employees and 30.0% of those with 100 or more (Statistics Canada).
Among businesses with no plans to use AI, 79.1% said AI isn't relevant to them, 10.8% cited privacy or security concerns and 9.9% said they lack knowledge of what AI can do (Statistics Canada).
How AI is changing staffing and training
44.4% of businesses that use AI changed their training or staffing practices because of it (Statistics Canada). Large businesses train and hire for AI far more often:
| Change among AI users, Q2 2026 | 1 to 4 employees | 100 or more employees |
|---|---|---|
| Trained existing employees | 24.0% | 68.1% |
| Trained executives | 15.6% | 51.7% |
| Hired staff with AI skills | 8.2% | 32.8% |
| Used external consultants or vendors | 10.7% | 30.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada, AI use by businesses in Canada, Q2 2026. Across all AI users, 32.0% trained existing employees and 21.6% trained executives.
On jobs, the Bank of Canada found that 18% of firms expect to hire fewer staff over the next 3 years because of AI, while 9% expect to hire more (Bank of Canada).
Productivity and return from AI in Canada so far
Businesses report productivity gains, but few see them on the bottom line yet.
- BDC found that Canadian SMEs using generative AI are 24% more productive than those that don't (BDC). BDC also estimates that Canada's GDP could grow by nearly 14%, or $350B, if all SMEs operated at a mature digital level. That figure comes from a model, so treat it as an estimate.
- In a study of 5,179 customer support agents, an AI assistant raised issues resolved per hour by 14% on average and 34% for newer staff (NBER, 2023).
- In McKinsey's 2026 global survey, 80% of respondents said AI improved their individual productivity, but only 37% attributed at least some EBIT impact to it (McKinsey).
- Among large Canadian organizations, only 2% said they see a return on their generative AI investments (KPMG Canada).
McKinsey respondents most often report revenue gains from AI in marketing and sales, and cost reductions in supply chain, service operations and manufacturing (McKinsey).
AI funding for Canadian businesses after CDAP
The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is closed. The federal government cancelled it in early 2024, 2 years ahead of schedule (IRPP Policy Options). As of October 6, 2026, the program's old page on the federal site redirects to the ISED home page. It has no direct replacement.
These federal programs support AI adoption as of October 6, 2026:
- BDC LIFT. A $500M program, launched in April 2026, that offers loans of $25,000 to $5 million to help SMEs adopt AI. Principal payments can be postponed for up to 2 years (BDC).
- Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII). $200M from Budget 2024 plus a $500M expansion, delivered by 7 regional development agencies. Intake dates vary by agency (ISED). For example, PrairiesCan accepts applications for its $33.8M share until December 31, 2028, or until the funds are committed (PrairiesCan).
- NRC IRAP AI Assist. $100M, delivered by the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program, for SMEs building generative AI or deep learning into their products and services (Government of Canada).
The national AI strategy announced in June 2026 also adds $700M to give SMEs access to affordable computing power (Government of Canada, AI for All).
In Ontario, the Digital Competence Centre offers up to $15,000 toward a digital modernization and adoption plan for businesses with 1 to 499 employees, and up to $5,000 for retailers with 1 to 50 employees (Ontario Centre of Innovation). These support digital adoption in general. The program page doesn't say whether AI tools qualify.
Program terms change often. Check the program's own page before you apply.
About the data
Most figures here come from Statistics Canada's Canadian Survey on Business Conditions for the second quarter of 2026. It ran from April 1 to May 6, 2026, and 9,251 businesses responded (Statistics Canada). Plans for the next 12 months come from the third-quarter survey. Starting in 2027, StatCan plans to publish new business AI statistics through a new release called TechStat.
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