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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Yes, over the medium term—but not uniformly, and the latest detailed national figures show a slowdown. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) reports that information and communications technology (ICT) GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.0% from 2019 to 2024, compared with 1.7% for the overall economy. In 2024, ICT GDP grew just 0.7%, while ICT employment fell 1.2%.
Because “high-tech” can mean different things, this article uses ISED’s defined ICT sector as a measurable national proxy. It includes technology manufacturing, software and computer systems, communications services, and ICT wholesaling; it does not represent every industry someone might call high-tech.
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What the headline growth figures show
ISED’s 2024 ICT Sector Profile puts the sector’s GDP at $131.6 billion, or 5.8% of Canada’s total GDP. GDP measures the value of output produced, rather than total sales or revenue. On this measure, the ICT sector expanded faster than the national economy over the five years from 2019 to 2024, but lost momentum in the final year.
| Measure | 2019–2024 trend | 2024 result |
|---|---|---|
| ICT GDP | 5.0% compound annual growth rate, ISED | $131.6 billion; up 0.7%, ISED |
| Canadian economy GDP | 1.7% compound annual growth rate, ISED comparison | Up 1.6%, ISED comparison |
| ICT employment | Not stated in this comparison | 802,913 workers, or 3.9% of Canadian employment; down 1.2%, ISED |
The five-year rates and 2024 figures come from ISED’s Canadian ICT Sector Profile 2024. They describe different time windows: the multi-year average is strong, while the latest-year growth was below the national rate.
Where growth is concentrated
Software and computer systems led the multi-year expansion
Software and computer systems were the strongest growth engine in ISED’s sub-sector data. In 2024, this group recorded $75.676 billion in GDP and an estimated $147.494 billion in revenue, with 594,202 workers. From 2019 to 2024, its GDP grew at an average annual rate of 8.4%, employment at 5.7%, and revenue at a compound annual rate of 10.0%.
Those are substantial five-year gains, but they do not mean every part of the group grew in 2024. ISED reports that output in software and computer services contracted 0.6% that year. Employment in computer systems design rose 0.3%, while software publishing employment declined.
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Manufacturing was much smaller and weaker on employment
ICT manufacturing had 32,057 workers in 2024 and GDP of $3.903 billion. Over 2019–2024, its average annual GDP growth was 0.6%, while average annual employment growth was -1.7%. Its GDP also contracted 3.2% in 2024, according to ISED.
Communications services and wholesaling moved differently
In 2024, communications services output expanded 2.1% and ICT wholesaling expanded 8.2%. Employment declined in both categories. This contrast is a reminder that output growth and job growth are separate measures, and neither can stand in for the whole sector.
Revenue, exports, and R&D are different measures
ISED estimates ICT revenue at $298 billion in 2024. Revenue is money earned from sales and services; it is not GDP and should not be compared with GDP as though the two were interchangeable.
- Exports: ICT goods exports were $11.3 billion in 2024, down 3.6%; estimated ICT service exports were $36.8 billion, up 10.7% in ISED’s snapshot.
- Business R&D: ICT businesses spent $15.0 billion on research and development in 2024, a 5.8% increase.
- Employment: The sector employed 802,913 people in 2024, despite the 1.2% year-over-year decline.
These figures help explain why a single headline can obscure a mixed picture: services exports and R&D spending increased while goods exports and overall ICT employment fell.
Sources for these 2024 figures are ISED’s Canadian ICT Sector Profile 2024 and Canada’s ICT sector.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Space is another example, but it is a separate category
Canada’s space sector contributed $3.8 billion to GDP in 2024 and had 14,622 direct jobs, according to the Canadian Space Agency’s 2025 snapshot. Its GDP contribution was 15.4% above 2019 on an inflation-adjusted indexed basis. These figures describe the space sector, not an add-on to ISED’s ICT totals; the categories and methods differ, and the data should not be combined without checking for overlap.
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See the Canadian Space Agency’s 2025 Space Sector Snapshot for that industry’s figures.
How to read the latest results in context
The Department of Finance Canada reports that real GDP grew 1.7% in 2025. Its Spring Economic Update 2026 also says trade uncertainty continued to weigh on exports and business investment. That is useful background for the national economy, but it does not establish a technology-specific cause for the ICT sector’s 2024 results.
The latest detailed national ICT figures used here are for 2024, not 2026. The 2025 national GDP figure is broader economic context, not a newer ICT-sector growth result.
What this means for readers
For anyone assessing Canada’s technology economy, the evidence supports a growing sector over the 2019–2024 period, with expansion concentrated particularly in software and computer systems. It does not support the broader claim that all high-tech businesses are currently booming. Sector-wide GDP growth was modest in 2024, employment declined, and outcomes differed by industry and measure.
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