Thank you for inviting me to appear today. My name is Anne Patterson, and I'm the chief research and communications officer at ICTC, which is the Information and Communications Technology Council of Canada. ICTC is a national, not-for-profit centre of expertise focused on strengthening Canada's digital advantage in the global economy through research and through programs. Our talent programs have supported more than 13,000 internationally educated technology professionals to contribute meaningfully to Canada's economy alongside initiatives to build domestic digital talent pipelines.
The digital economy employs approximately 2.7 million people, or 13% of Canada's workforce, and accounts for roughly 10% of GDP. ICTC forecasts that employment in Canada's digital economy will grow at 2.7% annually through 2030, more than twice the pace of the broader labour market. This workforce will be critical to Canada's ambitions in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, defence, digital infrastructure and other strategic sectors.
Canada must continue investing in STEM education, work-integrated learning, upskilling and employer-led training. However, building talent takes time. In fast-moving sectors, delays in accessing critical skills can slow investment, technology adoption and productivity growth. Canada needs both strong domestic talent pipelines and access to global talent.
Immigrants already account for 37% of Canada's digital economy workforce, yet many internationally trained professionals are not working at their full skill level. Canada may attract someone with advanced experience in software, cybersecurity, data or AI, but that person can still face barriers in having their skills recognized, assessed or fully utilized by employers. This is the underutilization challenge.
Not only is Canada competing to attract talent, but it's competing to ensure that the talent contributes quickly and effectively to economic growth. In the digital economy, skills demand changes rapidly. New technologies create new roles and new competency requirements faster than traditional occupational classifications can adapt. If immigration selection relies too heavily on static or backwards-looking indicators, Canada risks selecting for yesterday's labour market needs rather than tomorrow's opportunities.
I would offer three recommendations.
First, Canada should make greater use of forward-looking labour market intelligence in immigration selection. Education, age and language ability remain important, but they should be complemented by labour market forecasts and demand-side indicators. Category-based selection is a very positive step; however, in rapidly evolving sectors such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing and digital infrastructure, skills demand can change significantly from year to year.
Immigration selection should make greater use of labour market forecasts, vacancy persistence, employment projections, wage trends, skill requirements and regional demand. Selection criteria should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they reflect emerging economic opportunities and rapidly evolving skills needs rather than relying too heavily on historical labour market conditions.
Second, Canada should modernize how it assesses experience and skills. In many digital occupations, the relevance and recency of experience can be more important than the total number of years worked. For example, a software developer with three years of current experience in a very relevant area like AI, cloud architecture or cybersecurity may be better aligned with labour market needs than a software developer with significantly more experience in other technologies. Canada's immigration system should better recognize demonstrated competencies, certifications and occupation-specific skills.
Third, Canada should strengthen employer readiness and talent utilization. Immigration policy often focuses on preparing newcomers while paying less attention to helping employers recruit, assess, onboard and retain international talent. Employers need practical tools and greater confidence in evaluating international experience and skills. Better use of newcomer talent is not only a fairness issue but an economic productivity issue.
If Canada is serious about AI, cybersecurity, digital sovereignty and competitiveness, it must be equally serious about talent. Strategic immigration helps Canada move faster, build faster and compete more effectively.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.