AI use at work is exploding in Canada. In September 2024, just 17% of workers aged 15 to 69 reported using generative AI on the job. Ten months later, that number had nearly doubled to 30%. And with more Canadians seeing their colleagues use it, it’s likely that adoption has only accelerated since.
That data comes from a recent survey by Statistics Canada which offers a number of important insights.
First, it suggests AI use is more widespread than business leaders may realize or corporate strategies imply. The most widely used form of AI, and the focus of the study, is generative AI (think: Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini) which is extremely accessible. Individual workers can readily use it regardless of whether a business has a formal AI strategy, process, or corporate subscription in place. It also suggests that workers are seeing the tool’s benefit, even as other surveys show that 83% of Canadians are concerned about the impact of AI on privacy and society in general.
Second, while AI adoption is growing quickly, some Canadians are much more likely to be using it than others. Generally, industry, occupation, and education are important predictors of adoption while age and gender matter less. Workers in professional services, education, and finance and real estate were about twice as likely to use generative AI as those elsewhere, accounting for a quarter of the workforce but half of Canada’s generative AI users.
At the other end of the spectrum, AI use was much lower for Canadians employed in manual or physically demanding industries. Just 5% of hospitality workers and 9% of retail workers reported using the technology.
Likewise, education is a key determinant of AI use: Canadians with higher levels of education are significantly more likely to use it, even if they work in an industry or occupation where overall adoption is low. If three people of varying levels of education were in the same industry and occupation group, the one with a graduate degree three times as likely as one with high school or less to use generative AI.
Third, adoption rates vary considerably across provinces. On average over the course of the survey, about 25% of workers in BC reported using the technology but in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Atlantic Canada only 17 to 18% of workers reported the same. Alberta, meanwhile, sits in the middle at 21%, just below the national average of 22%.
However, most of this regional variation comes down to differences in industries, occupations, and characteristics of workers. In other words, differences in the composition of the workforce explain the bulk of the variation in AI adoption across Canada. One exception, however, is workers in BC who are 25% more likely to use AI, even after accounting for those differences.
Generative AI isn’t quite mainstream, but it will be soon. It comes with real concerns in terms of security and privacy but also enormous opportunity. As its use spreads across offices, stores, and workplaces, the question should shift from simply whether people are using it, to how. Sending out pithier emails is one thing. But using AI to automate arduous processes, or discover new production efficiencies, could open the door to significant productivity gains that benefit all Canadians.
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