| Metro area | Median hourly wage (CAD) | Notes |
|---|
| Lower Mainland - Southwest (Vancouver) | $52.40 | Highest median, dense tech cluster |
| Toronto | $48.08 | Largest job market by volume |
| Ottawa | $50.26 | Federal government tech + SaaS |
| Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie | $48.35 | Shopify corridor, hardware/quantum |
| Calgary | $48.08 | Fastest growing 2025 market |
| Montreal | $45.67 | AI/ML + gaming, French language premium |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | $51.28 | Surprisingly high; growing remote hub |
Specialty premiums
Specialty matters more than province for top-decile pay. AI/ML engineer, cloud-native platform engineer, distributed systems engineer, security engineer, and senior engineering manager roles all command 15% to 40% premiums above the standard software developer median. Equity grants at high-growth private companies can transform total compensation into the upper six figures, sometimes seven.
Total compensation comparison
Cash compensation at most Canadian companies sits in the $48 to $52 per hour median range for mid-career engineers. Top-tier Canadian tech (Shopify, Wealthsimple, Clio, Stripe, Slack, MongoDB Canada) plus the bank tech arms (RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank) layer equity on top that can run 30% to 50% of total comp for senior engineers. The variance between employers is wider than the variance between provinces.
How US remote work has affected Canadian tech wages
Post-pandemic remote work opened higher-paying US remote roles to Canadian engineers, which has pulled Canadian cash wages up at the senior level. Many Canadian mid-career engineers now earn $130,000 to $180,000 in cash from US-remote employers, plus US-equivalent equity. This has narrowed the historic Canadian-US pay gap at senior levels while introducing new tax and immigration complications.
Frequently asked questions
(See FAQs above for the questions and answers.)
Methodology
Hourly wage figures are the median and 25th-to-75th percentile range for Software Developer (NOC 22548) from the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (2023-2024), published November 19, 2025 via the Job Bank. Provincial figures use direct LFS estimates where sample size supports publication, otherwise SAE model output.
Annual figures assume 1,950 to 2,080 full-time work hours. Total compensation figures draw on Tech Talent Canada salary reports and Robert Half Technology salary guides 2025/2026. ICTC forecasts continued strong demand for software developers through 2027, especially for AI/ML engineers, full-stack developers with cloud-native experience, and security-aware engineers. The federal Global Talent Stream accelerates hiring for roles paid above the prevailing wage threshold (,000+ for software roles in 2026). Equity compensation has expanded alongside this. Top employers (Shopify, Wealthsimple, Clio, Stripe, MongoDB Canada, plus bank tech arms) now routinely layer equity worth 30% to 50% of total compensation on top of base pay. Equity in private companies is illiquid and may vest over four years, but recent secondary liquidity events in 2025 (Shopify, Wealthsimple, Clio) and continued IPO activity have validated these packages. Total compensation at senior levels in Toronto and Vancouver now clears ,000 for top decile engineers and approaches ,000 for engineering managers and principals.
Fazlur Rahman
