The Canadian labour market has entered a period of profound structural transformation, defined by a "double squeeze" that is simultaneously hollowing out traditional entry-level roles and creating desperate vacancies in others. As of early 2026, the arrival of agentic artificial intelligence and the peaking wave of Baby Boomer
by Minh Dang
While the broader Canadian labor market has shown signs of softening, the federal government’s appetite for external talent remains remarkably resilient. An analysis of contract awards from October 2025 through February 2026 reveals a procurement landscape defined by two distinct forces: a surge in operational spending at National Defence
Canada’s technology labour market has entered a new phase in 2025—one marked not by the exuberant hiring cycles of the late 2010s, nor by the correction of the early 2020s, but by a more structural tension between digital ambitions and the talent required to deliver them. Across the
The federal government’s latest procurement disclosures show that National Defence remains the single largest buyer of temporary help services in Canada, accounting for the overwhelming majority of active staffing contracts through the third quarter of 2025. According to open-data records, over a dozen HR and recruitment vendors held active
After months of subdued momentum, Canada’s hiring appetite is stirring again. The September CSJ Hiring Index rose to 5.4 out of 10, up sharply from 4.8 in August, signaling a tentative shift in employer sentiment as purchasing activity accelerates and some hiring pipelines reopen. Yet beneath the
Digital staffing is no longer a niche experiment. Across Canada, warehouse operators, healthcare institutions, and logistics firms are turning to apps that can fill shifts in minutes, while major agencies are racing to digitize their own operations. The competition now spans from domestic startups to global firms integrating AI-driven matching,
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The increased return to work mandates Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that despite stronger return-to-office (RTO) mandates across major U.S. companies (Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Paramount, The New York Times, among others), average office attendance has barely budged. Employers are struggling to enforce mandates. High performers often face minimal consequences
