3 Ontario cities ranked among the best tech employers in North America

Three Ontario cities ranked highly among the Top 50 North American tech employment markets, representing half of the six Canadian tech markets honoured in the top 15.

CBRE's 13th annual Scoring Tech Talent report examines tech employment markets across 75 cities and regions in the U.S. and Canada, ranking the top 50 markets and 25 emerging markets to watch.

Eight Canadian cities were included in the 2026 Scoring Tech Talent ranking, but Toronto remains Canada's top city for tech jobs, holding onto last year's third-overall ranking in North America behind only San Francisco and Seattle.

Toronto landed its position on the ranking through the creation of 75,000 tech jobs between 2022 and 2025, earning the '6ix a tech talent score of 72.73 out of 100.

Toronto was just one of four Ontario cities ranked in the top 15, joined by Waterloo Region in 10th place, and Ottawa ranked 14th. 

Other Canadian cities recognized on the list include Vancouver (9th), Montreal (11th), Calgary (15th), Quebec City (37th), and Edmonton (42nd).

Though it didn't earn a spot in the rankings for top tech job destinations, London, Ont., was ranked 5th in a separate ranking of North America's Next 25 emerging tech markets, joined by other Canadian cities like Halifax in 2nd place and Winnipeg in 11th.

The 2026 report also highlights the rise of AI-related jobs in Canada, where the concentration of AI jobs exceeded that of the United States, with 60 per cent of AI jobs based in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. 

CBRE notes that companies across Canada occupy about 5 million sq. ft. of office space — with 3 million sq. ft. of AI-related office space in Toronto alone.

"Canadian cities are at the forefront of AI adoption. Having six markets in the Top 15 and eight cities in the Top 50 is impressive for a country our size," says CBRE Canada Research Managing Director Marc Meehan.

"Canada has been the dominant growth story for tech talent over the past five years, with many U.S. and Canadian tech firms tapping into the high-quality and comparatively affordable talent on offer here. Tech employment growth is resurgent, and Canadian markets are leading the way forward."