Artificial intelligence has become a major part of conversations about the Canadian workforce recently. Headlines often suggest that automation is replacing workers and making it impossible to get a job. However, the data suggests it’s much more complicated than that. 

 

AI has, without a doubt, changed how businesses operate worldwide. But, it’s important to note that it is only a piece of a much larger transformation of the job market. Since before COVID-19, Canada’s workforce has become much larger, more flexible, and far less tied to the traditional office environments. Remote work has expanded exponentially, self-employment is at an all-time high, and businesses now have to compete for talent in a labour market that looks much different from the one in 2019. 

 

For employers, retailers, commercial developers, and economic developers, these shifts cannot be ignored. Making decisions based on outdated workplace information or unbacked assumptions can lead to ineffective hiring strategies, poorly planned office spaces, and missed market opportunities. 

 

By leveraging Polaris Intelligence employment data to analyze the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), we can compare Toronto’s workforce in 2019 with today’s labour market to see exactly how the workforce has changed. 

 

Canada’s Workforce Didn’t Actually Shrink

Despite common concerns about disappearing jobs, Toronto has had an expanding workforce since before the pandemic. 

 

In 2019, Toronto’s workforce had approximately 3.54 million individuals. In 2026, that number grew to 4.26 million. That means nearly 722,000 people joined the workforce, which is an increase of over 20%. This increase was largely due to Canada’s aggressive immigration targets and population growth over the early 2020s. 

 

Additionally, employee positions increased from 3.00 million to 3.44 million over those seven years. Rather than disappearing jobs, the workforce has continued to grow alongside Toronto’s population and economy. 

 

At the same time, self-employment counts grew even stronger. The number of self-employed workers went from 436,800 in 2019 to 683,820. That’s a jump of more than 56%. This increase reflects a workforce of increased flexibility. 

Independent business owners, such as freelancers, consultants, and contractors now represent a much larger portion of Toronto’s labour market than they did prior to COVID. 

 

The way companies structure traditional roles has shifted too. According to Polaris Intelligence data, while Toronto’s workforce has over 2.88 million permanent positions, businesses have increasingly leaned more towards having temporary positions to adapt to changing business needs. The region now has 547,250 temporary roles, with 203,342 of those being fixed-term contracts lasting one year or more. This structured variety reflects that corporate Canada is building more project-based teams. 

 

 

As a result, employers looking for skilled workers are in competition with more employment options than ever before. 

 

The Workforce Is No Longer Tied to the Office

The biggest workforce transformation since COVID is where Canadians perform their jobs.

 

Before the pandemic, approximately 246,500 workers in Toronto primarily worked from home. By 2026, however, that number jumped to more than 632,500. The portion of workers at home doubled from 7.38% to 14.84%. The portion of employees working from a traditional office fell from 80.26% to 63.50%. This drop has led a lot of people to believe that fewer people are employed, when in reality, it shows a workforce that has become far more flexible. 

 

Hybrid work, remote jobs, and distributed teams have fundamentally changed today’s workforce. As a result, organizations can no longer assume that talent is concentrated around major office districts such as Toronto.

 

This change is highlighted clearly in the massive rise of individuals classified as having “no fixed workplace address”. In 2019, this segment contained 386,700 workers in Toronto CMA. By 2026, the number increased to 584,400 workers, which is 13.71% of the total labour force. Today’s workforce hasn’t vanished, it has simply migrated further from corporate areas.  

 

 

Of course, this flexibility isn’t the case across all industries. While Toronto’s tech, finance, and professional sectors started working more remotely, essential industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and retail remained physical. This has created a workforce that businesses, retailers, developers, and recruiters can only understand through a hyper-local lens.

Rethinking the Greater Toronto Commute

commutes to the office or having to relocate for a job have decreased substantially. In 2019, 24.02% of Toronto commuters relied on public transit to reach their workplace. By 2026, that figure decreased to 12.09%. At the same time, commuting by car has declined, as many people now work from home or have no fixed workplace at all. Commuting times have also shifted substantially. 

 

Workers who travel 60 minutes or more declined from 17.23% to 8.71%. However, the portion of workers with shorter commutes of under 30 minutes increased. These changes affect far more than just transportation planning. 

 

Retailers, restaurants, commercial landlords, and service providers all depend on understanding where people spend their day. As workforce patterns evolve, customer traffic evolves alongside them. 

 

For example, I ride the TTC to get to school every day. At one end of Line 1, in Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, a coffee shop recently opened up that always has a huge line. Similarly, in my hometown far from the city, multiple coffee shops have opened over the past couple of years which are always flooded with remote workers sipping coffee. 

 

 

This is a perfect example of the “Donut Effect”: a phenomenon where economic activity migrates from the dense urban core into the surrounding suburban areas. When workers save over two hours commuting every day, they don’t stop spending money. They spend it in their own hometowns instead of the Financial District.

 

Why Local Workforce Data Matters More Than Ever

Many organizations continue making hiring decisions based on old assumptions developed prior to the pandemic. 

However, today’s workforce operates completely differently. More people work remotely, and more people are self-employed. The labour force has expanded, and workers are no longer so closely tied to a single location. 

 

Therefore, businesses need current, localized workforce intelligence instead of relying on outdated demographic trends. Whether you’re selecting a new office, expanding into a new area, planning a new retail location, or developing a recruitment strategy, understanding where today’s workforce is provides a significant competitive advantage. 

 

AI Isn’t Replacing Every Job, It’s Changing How Work Gets Done

While much of the public believes that AI is replacing workers, many businesses are experiencing something different. 

 

At Polaris Intelligence and Manifold Data Mining, AI hasn’t reduced demand for our services. Instead, it has helped improve internal workflows, streamline development processes, and has increased overall productivity. AI allows our team to automate repetitive tasks and spend more time on high-value work. 

 

AI has also made it much easier for potential customers to discover our business. As more organizations use AI-powered search and research tools, businesses with valuable, data-driven content have new opportunities to connect with audiences that may never have found them through a traditional search. 

 

 

This reflects a much broader trend. Rather than replacing jobs, AI is another tool that helps businesses operate more efficiently. Companies that combine AI with high-quality data and human expertise often find new growth opportunities.

 

Better Workforce Decisions Start with Better Data  

The debate surrounding AI often asks whether the technology has taken jobs away from Canadians.

 

Our Polaris Intelligence data suggests a different question. 

 

Has Canada’s workforce changed? 

 

The answer is, without a doubt, yes. 

 

Since 2019, Toronto’s labour force has increased by more than 720,000 people. Self-employment counts have gone up substantially. Additionally, remote work has doubled, and traditional workplace patterns have shifted. These changes highlight a labour market that has adapted, instead of diminishing.

For businesses, relying on workplace data from before the pandemic is no longer a possibility. Success depends primarily on understanding today’s workforce, not the workforce from before the pandemic. That’s exactly where localized workforce intelligence becomes a competitive advantage. 

 

 

With Polaris Intelligence, organizations can access detailed, localized employment and demographic data to make smarter decisions about recruitment, expansion, market analysis, and long-term planning in an evolving Canadian workforce.