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AI adoption by Canadian businesses in StatCan's 2026 survey

Statistics Canada's June 2026 survey found that 19.2% of Canadian businesses used AI to produce goods or deliver services, up from 6.1% in 2024. Two in five still say AI is not relevant to them.

AI and the Future of Startups3 min readBy PacTech Team

Statistics Canada released new data on business AI use on June 11, 2026. The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions was in the field from April 1 to May 6, 2026. It asked about AI use over the previous 12 months. For AI startups selling to Canadian businesses, the release is a map of where demand is and what blocks it.

Business AI use has tripled since 2024

In the second quarter of 2026, 19.2% of businesses reported using AI to produce goods or deliver services. The figure was 12.2% in 2025 and 6.1% in 2024. At the same time, 40.0% of businesses said AI is not relevant to them.

Urban businesses reported higher use than rural ones: 21.0% against 9.9%. The survey uses a stratified random sample of business establishments with employees, and respondents reported on their own previous 12 months.

AI adoption by industry

Three industries lead:

  • Information and cultural industries: 42.3%.
  • Finance and insurance: 40.4%.
  • Professional, scientific and technical services: 32.4%.

The same three industries led in 2025, at 35.6%, 31.7% and 30.6%. Use was lowest in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (4.5%), wholesale trade (7.9%) and construction (9.2%).

Most common AI applications

Among businesses using AI, the top applications were data analytics (36.6%), text analytics (34.5%) and virtual agents or chatbots (28.2%). Large language models were used by 24.8%, up from 19.1% a year earlier. AI-based decision-making systems rose to 13.7% from 5.7%.

Business size and age

Over 1 in 4 businesses with 100 or more employees (27.8%) used AI. Among businesses with 1 to 4 employees, 19.9% did, but 41.4% said AI was not relevant to them. Businesses more than 20 years old were less likely to use AI (15.0%) than those 3 to 10 years old (25.0%).

Training and staffing changes

Of businesses using AI, 44.4% changed training or staffing practices because of it. 32.0% trained existing employees and 21.6% trained executives. Among large users, 32.8% hired staff with AI skills and 30.2% used outside consultants or vendors. Among the smallest users, those figures were 8.2% and 10.7%.

Barriers to AI adoption

Cybersecurity or privacy concerns were the most reported barrier (13.4%), followed by cost (10.6%). Information and cultural industries reported the highest concern about security or privacy (30.9%), followed by health care and social assistance (26.4%). These two industries also led on regulatory concerns.

What the data means for AI startups

The leading sectors already buy AI and will compare vendors on capability. The lagging sectors are earlier and need a clearer case for relevance. Large firms are more likely to hire vendors and consultants, which makes them reachable through enterprise sales. Small firms rarely use outside vendors, so products for them must work with little setup.

Founder takeaways

  • Lead with security and privacy. It is the top stated barrier, and highest in the sectors that use AI most.
  • Show relevance before features. Two in five businesses do not yet see AI as relevant. Start with one concrete task and its cost.
  • Target construction and wholesale with care. Low adoption means less competition and longer sales cycles.
  • Bundle training. Businesses are changing training practices. A product that includes onboarding meets that need.

Sources

  1. Analysis on artificial intelligence use by businesses in Canada, second quarter of 2026
    Statistics Canada (Vicky Do, Shivani Sood, Chris Johnston) · Jun 11, 2026