Tech talent growth slowed last year in Canada, where jobs are increasing at less than half of the rate of the US, a new report has found.

Tech talent employment grew in the US by nearly 4%, or over 200,000 jobs, in 2023. In Canada, meanwhile, 18,000 new positions represented a growth rate of less than 2%, according to data from CBRE.

The numbers for both countries are down markedly from 2022. But Calgary offers a silver lining as a “standout market”—alongside heavyweights Toronto and San Francisco—in terms of tech talent job creation, with the Blue Sky region generating more than 21,000 new positions over the past five years.

The report found Toronto remains Canada’s largest tech talent region, employing more than 300,000—enough to render it the fourth largest hub in North America. Fourth in Canada, Calgary ranked 17th, while northerly Alberta neighbour Edmonton cracked Canada’s top 10 and North America’s top 50.

CBRE’s report found that Calgary boasts an impressive five-year tech talent growth rate of 78%, now employing 60,000 workers in the area at an average wage of $105,000 (the report also noted a five-year wage growth of 8%).

Edmonton employs approximately 33,000 tech talent members, with the community growing slower than Calgary’s at 24% over five years. The average tech talent wage is also lower in Edmonton than Calgary at $94,000, but the five-year wage growth is higher at 13%.

Artificial intelligence was identified in the report as the hottest growing skill across the continent (although software engineering remains the most employable). Leading Canada’s AI talent is Toronto, with 12,000 working in the field.

The report posits that significant indicators for a market’s potential growth of AI-specialty talent are the presence of universities with established AI programs, the volume of technology companies developing AI, and the availability of venture capital funding.