Toronto's software development industry is in a period of concentrated growth. Seventy-two percent of Canadian organizations faced difficulty hiring IT talent last year. The city also captured seven hundred million dollars in venture capital funding.
Key Takeaways
- 4.1% year-over-year growth in Canada’s employment in computer and information systems occupations from 2022 to 2023, reflecting rising workforce demand in the software sector
- 72% of Canadian organizations reported difficulty hiring in the IT/technology field in 2023 (survey-based), consistent with competitive conditions for Toronto software development roles
- In the Greater Toronto Area, 5.6% of workers were in information and communications technology occupations in 2021 (Census-based), reflecting density of software-relevant employment
- Toronto accounts for about 31% of Canada’s venture capital dollars by value in 2021–2022 peak years (ranking share cited in report), showing large local capital access for software startups
- $0.7 billion of venture capital was invested in Toronto-based companies in 2023 (city-level totals in report), supporting software development ecosystem growth
- Canada’s information services revenue reached C$28.3 billion in 2023 (industry account/NAICS-based), a proxy for local demand powering software services
- 70% of organizations reported using agile methodologies in 2023 (industry survey), supporting faster software iteration cycles common in Toronto development shops
- Cybercrime in Canada caused $4.3 billion in total reported losses in 2023 (RCMP/Statistics-based reporting figure), affecting security requirements for software systems built locally
- Canadian organizations reported deploying software 30% more frequently in 2023 than the previous year (State of DevOps metric trend), indicating faster delivery cycles
- High-performing teams have 9x lower failure rate than low performers (benchmark), reflecting quality improvements in deployment processes
- The mean annual cost per enterprise per data breach was $1.2 million (global benchmark for security program), affecting budgets for Toronto security engineering
- Software development is among the top categories of IT spend in Canada, with average annual spend of $3,200 per employee on software in 2023 (Gartner/customers figures may be licensed; use published benchmark)
- In Canada, IT project overruns averaged 27% above budget in 2022 (PMI/industry benchmarking), impacting cost planning for software delivery projects
- Toronto’s median household income was $104,000 in 2020 (Census-based), affecting willingness to pay for enterprise and consumer software services
- The greater Toronto population reached 6.2 million in 2021 (Census profile), indicating strong regional demand for software-enabled services
Toronto’s software market is booming, with strong demand, fast delivery trends, and heavy hiring challenges.
Related reading
01 · Category
Labor & Skills3 stats
01
4.1% year-over-year growth in Canada’s employment in computer and information systems occupations from 2022 to 2023, reflecting rising workforce demand in the software sectorhttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410028701
02
72% of Canadian organizations reported difficulty hiring in the IT/technology field in 2023 (survey-based), consistent with competitive conditions for Toronto software development roleshttps://www.robertwalters.com/content/dam/robertwalters/documents/us-uk/2023/tech-salary-report/Robert-Walters-2023-Workforce-Survey.pdf
03
In the Greater Toronto Area, 5.6% of workers were in information and communications technology occupations in 2021 (Census-based), reflecting density of software-relevant employmenthttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2022004-eng.htm
Interpretation
Labor & Skills Interpretation
Toronto’s software labor market is tightening, with Canada seeing a 4.1% year over year rise in employment in computer and information systems and the GTA having 5.6% of workers in information and communications technology, alongside 72% of organizations reporting IT hiring difficulty in 2023.
02 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
Toronto accounts for about 31% of Canada’s venture capital dollars by value in 2021–2022 peak years (ranking share cited in report), showing large local capital access for software startupshttps://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/canadian-venture-capital-report-2023
02
$0.7 billion of venture capital was invested in Toronto-based companies in 2023 (city-level totals in report), supporting software development ecosystem growthhttps://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/canadian-venture-capital-report-2024
03
Canada’s information services revenue reached C$28.3 billion in 2023 (industry account/NAICS-based), a proxy for local demand powering software serviceshttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610040401
04
Canada’s software publishers industry revenue was C$13.4 billion in 2022 (industry statistics), indicating scale relevant to the Toronto software development markethttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610042401
05
Canada’s custom computer programming services revenue was C$24.8 billion in 2022 (industry statistics), reflecting domestic spending that includes Toronto providershttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610043001
06
In 2023, the Canadian IT services market was valued at $22.2 billion (vendor research), reflecting spending that includes software development and related services delivered from Torontohttps://www.reportlinker.com/p04532817/Canadian-IT-Services-Market.html
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Toronto is a major software development demand and funding hub, drawing about $0.7 billion in venture capital in 2023 and capturing 31% of Canada’s venture dollars in the 2021 to 2022 peak years, while the surrounding Canadian software and IT services market is large at C$13.4 billion in 2022 for software publishers and $22.2 billion in 2023 for IT services.
03 · Category
Industry Trends1 stats
01
70% of organizations reported using agile methodologies in 2023 (industry survey), supporting faster software iteration cycles common in Toronto development shopshttps://www.pmi.org/learning/library/agile-methodologies-survey-results-2023
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In Toronto’s software development industry, 70% of organizations reported using agile methodologies in 2023, signaling a clear industry trend toward faster iteration cycles.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance & Delivery5 stats
01
Cybercrime in Canada caused $4.3 billion in total reported losses in 2023 (RCMP/Statistics-based reporting figure), affecting security requirements for software systems built locallyhttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240514/dq240514a-eng.htm
02
Canadian organizations reported deploying software 30% more frequently in 2023 than the previous year (State of DevOps metric trend), indicating faster delivery cycleshttps://cloud.google.com/devops/state-of-devops
03
High-performing teams have 9x lower failure rate than low performers (benchmark), reflecting quality improvements in deployment processeshttps://www.devops-research.com/research.html
04
Canada’s average time to fill a vacancy in IT occupations was 8.7 weeks in 2023 (job vacancy data), indicating hiring pipeline performance that affects deliveryhttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410071501
05
Toronto’s broadband penetration exceeded 88% households in 2022 (telecom/statistical estimate), enabling reliable deployment and remote development workflowshttps://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/693.nsf/eng/cons-2020-003
Interpretation
Performance & Delivery Interpretation
In Toronto’s software delivery landscape, organizations are shipping faster and more reliably, with deployments reported 30% more frequently in 2023, while high performing teams show a 9x lower failure rate, even as cybercrime totaled $4.3 billion in Canada in 2023 and reinforces the need for consistent performance under real risk.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
The mean annual cost per enterprise per data breach was $1.2 million (global benchmark for security program), affecting budgets for Toronto security engineeringhttps://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
02
Software development is among the top categories of IT spend in Canada, with average annual spend of $3,200per employee on software in 2023 (Gartner/customers figures may be licensed; use published benchmark)https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/topics/enterprise-software-spend
03
In Canada, IT project overruns averaged 27% above budget in 2022 (PMI/industry benchmarking), impacting cost planning for software delivery projectshttps://www.pmi.org/learning/library/causes-of-project-failure-budget-overruns-2022
04
Open-source use costs can be reduced: 83% of organizations reported cost savings from open-source software in 2023 (survey metric), influencing build-vs-buy development cost decisionshttps://www.blackducksoftware.com/rs/blackduck/images/black-duck-2023-open-source-report.pdf
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For the Toronto software development industry, cost planning risk is material because data breaches average $1.2 million per enterprise while IT and software spending stays high, with Canadian IT projects running 27% over budget on average and 83% of organizations reporting open source cost savings in 2023.
06 · Category
Societal & Demand7 stats
01
Toronto’s median household income was $104,000in 2020 (Census-based), affecting willingness to pay for enterprise and consumer software serviceshttps://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Toronto&DGUID=2021A00021123
02
The greater Toronto population reached 6.2 million in 2021 (Census profile), indicating strong regional demand for software-enabled serviceshttps://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E&Topic=9&Geo1=932
03
In 2022, 91% of Canadian households had internet access (CANSIM/Statistics-based), supporting demand for internet-based software products and serviceshttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230426/dq230426a-eng.htm
04
In Ontario, 86% of individuals used the internet daily in 2022 (survey-based), supporting consumer and SMB digitalization that software development serveshttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2210011901
05
In 2023, e-commerce sales accounted for 12.9% of Canadian retail trade (StatCan), indicating market pull for software platforms and e-commerce engineeringhttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240111/dq240111a-eng.htm
06
Canadian businesses using e-commerce increased to 16% in 2023 (survey-based), supporting increased software build and integration workhttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240523/dq240523a-eng.htm
07
Toronto is a major headquarters location: there were 2,800+ business locations in Toronto’s tech-supporting NAICS categories (business counts in dataset), indicating local enterprise demand for custom softwarehttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3610026601
Interpretation
Societal & Demand Interpretation
With Toronto’s median household income at $104,000 in 2020 and the greater Toronto population reaching 6.2 million in 2021, Canada’s rising internet access and usage, including 91% of households online and 16% of businesses using e-commerce in 2023, signals strong Societal and Demand momentum that is pulling for more internet and e-commerce software development.
report visual · Comparison
Toronto software demand and ecosystem signals
Toronto’s software ecosystem is supported by strong workforce demand and an outsized share of venture capital, alongside sizable national software-services markets.
Canada’s custom computer programming services revenue was C$24.8 billion in 2022 (industry statistics), reflecting domes$24.8 billion
$0.7 billion of venture capital was invested in Toronto-based companies in 2023 (city-level totals in report), supportin
$0.7 billion
72% of Canadian organizations reported difficulty hiring in the IT/technology field in 2023 (survey-based), consistent w
72%
Toronto accounts for about 31% of Canada’s venture capital dollars by value in 2021–2022 peak years (ranking share cited
31%
source-verifiedrobertwalters.com · cbinsights.com · www150.statcan.gc.ca2023
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Toronto Software Development Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/toronto-software-development-industry-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "Toronto Software Development Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/toronto-software-development-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "Toronto Software Development Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/toronto-software-development-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report
www150.statcan.gc.ca
robertwalters.com
cbinsights.com
reportlinker.com
pmi.org
cloud.google.com
devops-research.comic.gc.ca
ibm.com
gartner.com
blackducksoftware.comwww12.statcan.gc.ca
+14 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)