Contents
- Canadian business digital adoption statistics: ICT adoption and AI use
- Canadian business digital adoption statistics: online presence and e-commerce
- Canadian business digital adoption statistics: AI applications and adoption plans
- Canadian business digital adoption statistics: rural business technology adoption
- Canadian business digital adoption statistics: cybersecurity practices and incidents
- Canadian business digital adoption statistics: SME technology adoption and online presence
- Sources
Canadian business digital adoption statistics: ICT adoption and AI use
Canadian business digital adoption includes familiar workplace tools as well as newer technologies. The available indicators show broad use of cloud computing alongside more limited use of AI and advanced robotics. These measures refer to different survey years, so they are best read as dated reference points rather than one continuous trend. In particular, the 2021 and 2023 digital technology surveys cover Canadian businesses with at least 5 employees; the 2023 AI figure is for that same broad population.
Cloud computing was the most commonly used information and communications technology reported in 2023: 48% of Canadian businesses with 5 or more employees used it. The comparable 2021 survey reported cloud use by 45% of Canadian businesses with 5 or more full- or part-time employees. Both results place cloud services among the more widely adopted business technologies in their respective survey years. [Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023; Statistics Canada, Digital technology and Internet use, 2021]
| Indicator | 2021 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses using cloud computing | 45% | 48% |
| Businesses using software or hardware with AI | 4% | 7% |
The AI figures show a measured increase between survey reference years: 4% of businesses used software or hardware with AI in 2021, compared with 7% in 2023. This indicator captures use of AI-enabled software or hardware; it should not be treated as a count of firms using every possible AI application. The 2023 result applies to Canadian businesses with at least 5 employees. [Source: Statistics Canada, Digital technology and Internet use, 2021; Statistics Canada, Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023]
Other 2021 indicators help show the range of workplace technology adoption. Company-wide computer networks were used by 53% of Canadian businesses with 5 or more full- or part-time employees. Internet-connected smart devices were used by 22%. At the more specialized end, 1% used advanced robotics. These figures describe separate technologies and do not imply that one group of businesses used only one technology. [Source: Statistics Canada, Digital technology and Internet use, 2021]
Digital capacity also includes people and work arrangements. In 2021, 10% of Canadian businesses with at least 5 full- or part-time employees employed one or more information and communications technology specialists. In 2023, 28% of businesses with 5 or more employees offered employees the option to telework. Telework was reported by 19% in 2019 in the comparison presented by the 2023 release. The measures concern staffing and the availability of telework, not the number of employees who worked remotely. [Source: Statistics Canada, Digital technology and Internet use, 2021; Statistics Canada, Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023]
Canadian business digital adoption statistics: online presence and e-commerce
E-commerce measures capture different parts of online selling: the share of businesses receiving orders, the value of sales, and the features of sales websites or apps. In 2021, 33% of Canadian businesses with 5 or more full- or part-time employees had at least some e-commerce sales. The 2023 survey release reported e-commerce orders received by 32% of Canadian businesses. Its comparison figure for 2019 was 25%. These percentages describe businesses reporting orders or sales, rather than the share of total national sales conducted online. [Source: Statistics Canada, Digital technology and Internet use, 2021; Statistics Canada, Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023]
| E-commerce measure | Reference year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses with at least some e-commerce sales | 2021 | 33% |
| Businesses receiving e-commerce orders | 2023 | 32% |
| E-commerce sales across the economy | 2023 | $347 billion |
The $347 billion figure is the total value of e-commerce sales across the economy in 2023. Statistics Canada defines these sales as goods or services ordered and committed to over the Internet, including business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions. It is a dollar value, not a percentage of businesses, and therefore complements rather than replaces the adoption rate. [Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023]
For 2021, Canadian businesses with 5 or more employees grossed $398 billion in e-commerce sales. Retail trade accounted for $35 billion of e-commerce sales that year. Separately, among Canadian businesses that reported e-commerce sales, average Internet sales were $3.7 million. That average applies to businesses with e-commerce sales, not to all Canadian businesses. [Source: Statistics Canada, Digital technology and Internet use, 2021]
Online selling also depends on the tools a business puts on its website or app. Among businesses using websites or apps for e-commerce sales or to secure online orders, the average was 4.0 e-commerce features in 2021. Online payment was available on 70.9% of those sellers’ websites or apps. The figures are conditional on having an online sales channel; they do not describe all businesses’ websites or their general online presence. [Source: Statistics Canada, Changes in the e-commerce strategies of Canadian businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic]
Canadian business digital adoption statistics: AI applications and adoption plans
AI adoption statistics need careful attention to the denominator. The 2023 result that 7% of businesses with at least 5 employees used AI-enabled software or hardware is a business-level adoption measure. By contrast, application statistics describe businesses that reported using AI, while planned-application statistics describe businesses expecting to use it. These conditional percentages should not be interpreted as shares of all Canadian businesses.
In the second quarter of 2026, 19.2% of businesses reported using AI to produce goods or deliver services during the 12 months preceding the survey. The reference window varied by respondent because responses were collected between April 1 and May 6, 2026. Among businesses reporting AI use over that preceding 12-month period, 36.6% reported data analytics, 34.5% text analytics, and 28.2% virtual agents or chat bots as applications. The application values refer to the AI-using group, not to all businesses. [Source: Statistics Canada, Analysis on artificial intelligence use by businesses in Canada, second quarter of 2026]
Generative AI was also prominent in the 2023 findings: 73% of businesses using AI technologies reported using generative AI. This percentage is conditional on AI technology use, and it describes 2023 rather than the later 2026 survey period. The two sources therefore offer different snapshots and scopes: one identifies generative AI within the 2023 AI-using group, while the 2026 article details applications reported by AI users in a respondent-specific preceding-year window. [Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023; Statistics Canada, Analysis on artificial intelligence use by businesses in Canada, second quarter of 2026]
A separate third-quarter 2026 survey asked about intended AI use over the next 12 months. In that survey, 25.2% of businesses in Canada planned to use AI to produce goods or deliver services. Among businesses planning AI use, 41.7% cited data analytics, 39.3% large language models, and 31.8% virtual agents or chat bots as intended applications. These are plans, not confirmed adoption, and the application shares use the planning group as their denominator. Responses were collected in July and August 2026, with the following 12 months defined relative to individual respondents’ survey dates. [Source: Statistics Canada, Analysis on planned use of artificial intelligence by businesses in Canada, third quarter of 2026]
Canadian business digital adoption statistics: rural business technology adoption
Rural business measures highlight both online sales and plans to bring in new technology. Rural businesses averaged 4.3% of total sales online in 2022, compared with 7.1% for urban businesses. These figures are the average share of total sales made online for each group; they are not the percentage of businesses making online sales. [Source: Statistics Canada, The outlook of rural businesses, first quarter of 2023]
In the first quarter of 2023, 25.3% of rural businesses planned to adopt one or more new technologies over the following 12 months. The reported technology plans included security software tools (12.1%), collaboration tools (11.2%), and cloud computing (8.6%). Each figure describes rural businesses planning to adopt any new technology, and the listed percentages should be read within that planning group. [Source: Statistics Canada, The outlook of rural businesses, first quarter of 2023]
| Rural technology indicator | Result | Population or denominator |
|---|---|---|
| Planned one or more new technologies | 25.3% | Rural businesses; next 12 months after Q1 2023 survey |
| Security software tools planned | 12.1% | Rural businesses planning technology adoption |
| Collaboration tools planned | 11.2% | Rural businesses planning technology adoption |
| Cloud computing planned | 8.6% | Rural businesses planning technology adoption |
Among rural businesses not planning new technology adoption, 65.1% said digital technologies were not relevant to their business. The denominator matters: this is not 65.1% of all rural businesses, but of those that did not plan adoption. Separately, among rural businesses planning to adopt or incorporate new technologies, 18.0% considered ensuring high-speed connectivity extremely challenging, 16.9% considered hiring workers with implementation skills extremely challenging, and 15.9% considered ensuring data security and privacy extremely challenging. Those challenge measures describe respondents already planning adoption. [Source: Statistics Canada, The outlook of rural businesses, first quarter of 2023]
Canadian business digital adoption statistics: cybersecurity practices and incidents
Cybersecurity measures cover incident impact, prevention, risk identification, staffing, and recovery costs. The 2023 cybercrime survey covered Canadian enterprises with 10 or more employees, across most sectors except public administration. Its scope differs from the digital technology survey’s 5-employee threshold, so the results should not be blended into one business population.
In 2023, 16% of Canadian businesses in the cybercrime survey were impacted by cyber security incidents. The release reported total recovery spending of $1.2 billion in 2023. This is total business spending to recover from incidents, not an average cost per affected enterprise. [Source: Statistics Canada, Impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses, 2023]
Preventive and risk-identification practices were also measured. In 2023, 56% of Canadian businesses reported spending money to prevent or detect cyber security incidents. The corresponding figure was 61% in 2021. In 2023, 59% conducted at least one activity to identify cyber security risks, and 46% monitored network and business systems for that purpose. The 46% figure is one identified activity, while 59% refers to any such activity. [Source: Statistics Canada, Impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses, 2023]
| Cybersecurity measure | 2023 result |
|---|---|
| Businesses impacted by cyber security incidents | 16% |
| Businesses spending to prevent or detect incidents | 56% |
| Businesses conducting any risk-identification activity | 59% |
| Businesses monitoring network and business systems | 46% |
| Businesses with written cyber security policies | 26% |
| Businesses with cyber risk insurance | 22% |
Written policies were reported by 26% of businesses in 2023, the same proportion as in 2021. Cyber risk insurance was reported by 22% in 2023, up from 16% in 2021. Half of businesses, or 50%, reported having cyber security employees in 2023, down from 61% in 2021. Formal training to develop or upgrade cyber security skills among non-IT employees was reported by 22% in 2023. These are distinct organizational measures: a policy, insurance, staffing, and training each capture a different part of cyber risk management. [Source: Statistics Canada, Impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses, 2023]
Canadian business digital adoption statistics: SME technology adoption and online presence
The 2023 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises provides a separate view of smaller firms. It found that 51% of SMEs adopted at least one type of new technology between 2021 and 2023. The reported technology categories show varied adoption levels: business intelligence technologies were adopted by 33% of SMEs, while information technology security and authentication systems and industry-specific business software were each adopted by 17%. Clean technologies were adopted by 8%, material handling, supply chain or logistics technologies by 6%, and Internet of Things systems by 4%. Each percentage refers to SMEs and the 2021–2023 adoption period. [Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023]
| SME technology adoption, 2021–2023 | SMEs adopting |
|---|---|
| At least one type of new technology | 51% |
| Business intelligence technologies | 33% |
| IT security and authentication systems | 17% |
| Industry-specific business software | 17% |
| Clean technologies | 8% |
| Material handling, supply chain or logistics technologies | 6% |
| Internet of Things systems | 4% |
The same SME summary reported that 59% of SMEs had an online presence in 2023. Among SMEs with an online presence, 80% had a website and 68% had a social media account. The website and social media measures use businesses with an online presence as their denominator; they should not be read as shares of all SMEs. These results distinguish general online presence from e-commerce sales: having a website or social account does not itself establish that a business received online orders. [Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023]
Sources
- The Daily — Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use, 2023
- The Daily — Digital technology and Internet use, 2021
- Changes in the e-commerce strategies of Canadian businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Analysis on artificial intelligence use by businesses in Canada, second quarter of 2026
- Analysis on planned use of artificial intelligence by businesses in Canada, third quarter of 2026
- The outlook of rural businesses, first quarter of 2023
- The Daily — Impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses, 2023
- Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023