Montreal Software Development Industry Statistics 2026

Montreal software companies generated 12.5 billion Canadian dollars in revenue. The sector employed 47,000 professionals. Figures detail company growth, economic output, education pipelines, technology adoption, and workforce composition.

Key Takeaways

Montreal had 950 software dev startups employing 5,200 people in 2023
Montreal software industry generated CAD 12.5B in revenue in 2022
78% of Montreal universities offered software dev programs with 15,000 enrollments in 2023
Number of AI patents filed by Montreal software firms: 1,250 in 2022
In 2022, Montreal's software development sector employed approximately 47,000 professionals, accounting for 12% of the city's total workforce

Montreal’s software development industry is thriving, driven by strong growth and high demand for talent.

01 · Category

Company Profiles And Growth23 stats

Montreal had 950 software dev startups employing 5,200 people in 2023

Ubisoft Montreal expanded to 4,000 employees in software dev roles by 2023

Number of software firms in Montreal reached 2,100 in 2022, up 14% from 2019

65 software unicorns originated from Montreal's dev scene by 2023

Average age of Montreal software companies was 8.5 years in 2023, indicating vibrant startup activity

28% of software firms were bootstrapped, while 45% venture-funded in 2022

Element AI grew to 400 software engineers before acquisition in 2020

312 new software dev companies incorporated in Montreal in 2023

Top 10 software firms employed 25% of total sector workforce in 2022

72% of companies reported revenue growth >10% YoY in 2023 survey

CGI Inc. maintained 1,200 software devs in Montreal office 2023

15% of firms expanded internationally from Montreal base in 2022

Software startup survival rate after 5 years was 68% in Montreal 2023

41 fintech software firms headquartered in Montreal 2023

Average employee count per software SME was 22 in 2022

56% of companies adopted DevOps practices fully by 2023

Lightspeed grew software team to 1,500 in Montreal by 2023

203 AI software startups launched in Montreal 2020-2023

Venture capital investment in Montreal software firms hit CAD 1.2B in 2022

18 mergers/acquisitions in software dev sector 2022-2023

76% of firms were B2B focused in software services 2023

Average funding round for Series A software startups was CAD 4.8M in 2023

94 SaaS companies operated from Montreal in 2023

Interpretation

Company Profiles And Growth Interpretation

Montreal’s company profile and growth story is accelerating, with the number of software firms rising to 2,100 in 2022, a 14% jump from 2019 and a total of 950 startups employing 5,200 people by 2023.

02 · Category

Economic Contributions21 stats

Montreal software industry generated CAD 12.5B in revenue in 2022

Tech sector, including software, contributed 8.7% to Montreal GDP in 2023

Software exports from Montreal reached CAD 4.2B in 2022, 32% of total tech exports

ROI on software R&D investments averaged 3.5x in Montreal firms 2023

1 in 5 new jobs in Montreal economy from software sector 2022-2023

Tax revenues from software industry totaled CAD 1.8B provincially in 2022

Software dev multiplier effect created CAD 22B indirect economic impact 2023

14% growth in software-related business expenditures in Montreal 2022

CAD 850M in government incentives disbursed to software firms 2020-2023

Consumer spending on Montreal-developed software apps hit CAD 3.1B in 2022

Productivity per software worker was CAD 285K in 2023, 25% above Quebec average

Software sector attracted CAD 2.1B FDI in 2022

9.2% of provincial manufacturing output linked to software integration 2023

Cost savings from software automation in local industries: CAD 1.4B annually 2022

42% of Montreal SMEs adopted software solutions boosting efficiency by 22% in 2023

Patent royalties from Montreal software IP generated CAD 650M in 2022

E-commerce platforms dev'd in Montreal drove CAD 5.7B sales 2023

7.8% YoY increase in software service trade balance surplus 2022

Philanthropy from software execs totaled CAD 120M in 2023

Montreal software firms paid CAD 4.9B in wages 2022

R&D spending by software industry was CAD 2.3B or 18% of revenue in 2023

Interpretation

Economic Contributions Interpretation

In Montreal’s economic contributions, the software sector is a major driver, generating CAD 12.5B in 2022 revenue and CAD 1.8B in provincial tax revenue while pushing software exports to CAD 4.2B in 2022 and accounting for 32% of total tech exports.

03 · Category

Education And Talent Development21 stats

78% of Montreal universities offered software dev programs with 15,000 enrollments in 2023

Concordia University graduated 1,200 software-related degrees annually avg 2022-2023

92% employment rate for software bootcamp grads within 6 months in Montreal 2023

Polytechnique Montréal invested CAD 45M in software labs 2022

5,200 students in AI/software co-op programs 2023

Scholarships for software dev: 1,500 awarded totaling CAD 8M in 2023

Coding clubs in Montreal high schools: 145 with 12,000 participants 2023

Udacity/ Coursera partnerships trained 8,400 locals in software skills 2022-2023

Mila Institute enrolled 2,800 grad students in ML/software 2023

67% of software curricula included cybersecurity modules 2023

Apprenticeships in software dev: 950 slots filled 2023

HEC Montréal software entrepreneurship program graduated 420 in 2023

Online MOOCs from local unis reached 45,000 enrollments in dev courses 2022

Teacher training in coding: 2,100 certified in Montreal schools 2023

Industry-sponsored hackathons trained 4,500 students 2023

82% of grads had internship experience in software 2023

Bilingual software cert programs: 1,100 completers 2023

Women in STEM software tracks: 35% enrollment increase 2020-2023

VR/AR training modules for devs: 650 students trained 2023

Community college software diplomas: 2,800 issued 2023

Mentorship programs paired 1,200 students with pros 2023

Interpretation

Education And Talent Development Interpretation

With 78% of Montreal universities offering software development programs and 5,200 students in AI or software co-op tracks in 2023, the city is clearly building a strong education pipeline that is already translating into outcomes like a 92% employment rate for bootcamp grads within six months.

Digital Products And SoftwareSoftware Development Statistics

04 · Category

Innovation And Technology Trends20 stats

Number of AI patents filed by Montreal software firms: 1,250 in 2022

68% of Montreal software companies integrated AI/ML by 2023

Blockchain dev projects in Montreal numbered 145 in 2023

Open-source contributions from Montreal devs topped 50,000 GitHub repos 2023

5G software applications developed locally: 89 prototypes in 2022

Quantum computing software R&D investment: CAD 180M in Montreal 2023

Adoption of low-code platforms reached 47% in software firms 2023

Cybersecurity software innovations: 320 new tools from Montreal 2022-2023

AR/VR software dev kits downloaded 2.1M times from Montreal sources 2023

Edge computing deployments in software projects: 34% increase YoY 2023

Sustainable software practices adopted by 61% of firms, reducing carbon footprint 15% 2023

NLP models trained in Montreal: 450 unique datasets 2022

IoT software integrations: 1,200 enterprise projects 2023

Generative AI tools prototyped: 210 by local devs 2023

Microservices architecture usage: 82% in enterprise software 2023

Robotics software frameworks developed: 56 open-source libs 2022-2023

Cloud-native app migrations completed: 1,450 by Montreal firms 2023

Metaverse software platforms launched: 23 from Montreal 2023

Data privacy tech compliance tools: 95% adoption rate 2023

Serverless computing growth: 29% YoY in deployments 2023

Interpretation

Innovation And Technology Trends Interpretation

Montreal’s Innovation and Technology Trends are accelerating fast, with 1,250 AI patents filed in 2022 and 68% of software companies adopting AI and ML by 2023, while parallel momentum in blockchain with 145 projects and open-source contributions surpassing 50,000 GitHub repos in 2023 shows a broad, innovation focused tech ecosystem.

05 · Category

Workforce Statistics25 stats

In 2022, Montreal's software development sector employed approximately 47,000 professionals, accounting for 12% of the city's total workforce

As of 2023, there were over 7,500 software engineers working in Montreal's tech ecosystem, with 65% holding at least a bachelor's degree in computer science

The average salary for a software developer in Montreal was CAD 98,500 in 2023, 18% higher than the national average

Women represented 28% of the software development workforce in Montreal in 2022, up from 22% in 2018

In 2023, 42% of Montreal software developers had 5+ years of experience, contributing to a low turnover rate of 9% annually

Montreal hosted 12,000 full-time video game developers in 2022, making it Canada's largest game dev hub

35% of Montreal's software workforce was under 30 years old in 2023, reflecting a youthful talent pool

Remote work adoption in Montreal software firms reached 55% in 2023, with hybrid models preferred by 78% of developers

In 2022, 2,500 new software development jobs were created in Montreal, driven by AI and fintech sectors

Montreal's software sector had an unemployment rate of 2.1% for developers in 2023, below the city average of 5.8%

68% of Montreal software developers are bilingual (French-English), aiding international projects

In 2023, 15% of the workforce specialized in machine learning, with 3,200 professionals

Diversity initiatives led to a 20% increase in underrepresented minorities in software roles from 2020-2023

Average workweek for Montreal software devs was 38.5 hours in 2022, with 25% overtime pay eligibility

4,100 freelancers operated in Montreal's software dev space in 2023, contributing 8% to total output

Senior software architects earned CAD 145,000 median salary in Montreal 2023

52% of developers used Agile methodologies daily in Montreal firms in 2022

Immigration filled 32% of new software jobs in Montreal 2022-2023

1,800 software devs transitioned to AI roles in Montreal from 2021-2023

Montreal's software workforce grew 8.2% YoY in 2023, outpacing national tech growth of 5.1%

22% of software pros held PhDs in Montreal 2023, highest in Canada

Unionization rate in Montreal software firms was 12% in 2022

3,500 devs certified in cloud (AWS/Azure) in Montreal 2023

Gender pay gap in software dev was 9.2% in Montreal 2022

41% of workforce participated in upskilling programs annually in 2023

Interpretation

Workforce Statistics Interpretation

In Montreal’s software development workforce, 47,000 professionals in 2022 grew alongside rising gender diversity to 28% women and a strong experience base where 42% had 5+ years, helping keep turnover low at 9% annually.

report visual · Comparison

Montreal’s software industry—workforce, growth, and impact

Montreal’s software sector is simultaneously scaling its talent base and driving strong economic output, with growth outpacing the broader national tech sector.

Montreal had 950 software dev startups employing 5,200 people in 20235,200

Software dev multiplier effect created CAD 22B indirect economic impact 2023

Montreal software industry generated CAD 12.5B in revenue in 2022

12.5

Montreal's software workforce grew 8.2% YoY in 2023, outpacing national tech growth of 5.1%

8.2%

Reference

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APA

Lars Eriksen. (2026, February 13). Montreal Software Development Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/montreal-software-development-industry-statistics

MLA

Lars Eriksen. "Montreal Software Development Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/montreal-software-development-industry-statistics.

Chicago

Lars Eriksen. 2026. "Montreal Software Development Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/montreal-software-development-industry-statistics.