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2026 Canadian Tech Salary Guide

What Canadian tech really pays in 2026.

Benchmarks for 72 roles across 6 disciplines, built from signed offers and live searches. Not surveys.

72 Roles
6 Disciplines
3 Seniority tiers
$250k Highest senior band

Numbers, with the why

The data is only half the story.

Pick a seniority tier, then read each headline number against a recruiter’s take on what’s moving offers in 2026.

Leadership & infrastructure

$250k

Senior · $200–250k

Director of IT

Titles are poor signals here. A director owning architecture and security strategy earns far more than one running shift schedules.

Cybersecurity

$200k

Senior · $160–200k

Cybersecurity Architect

Security hiring rarely slows down. Teams freeze other roles but keep funding compliance and incident readiness.

Data & AI

$210k

Senior · $170–210k

AI Architect

Ship a model customers actually use and you are worth far more than someone with only theoretical knowledge.

Software & engineering

$210k

Senior · $160–210k

Software Development Manager

Engineers who take ownership get the strongest offers. Impact beats job titles every time.

Explore the benchmarks

All 72 roles. Every tier.

Pick a discipline and read every role at a glance. Each bar runs from a role’s entry band to its senior ceiling. Canada · 2026.

Software & Engineering

19 roles · $50k–210k

Discipline
Full Stack Developer
$75k
$150k
Software Architect
$100k
$175k
Solutions Architect
$95k
$180k
Software Development Technical Lead
$100k
$180k
Software Development Manager
$110k
$210k
.NET / C# Developer
$70k
$140k
C++ / Embedded Developer
$75k
$145k
Java Developer
$72k
$140k
Python Developer
$80k
$160k
PHP Developer
$65k
$110k
JavaScript Developer
$70k
$130k
Angular Developer
$72k
$135k
React Developer
$75k
$140k
iOS Developer
$75k
$150k
Android Developer
$75k
$150k
SQL Developer
$60k
$125k
UX/UI Researcher
$60k
$115k
UX/UI Developer (Product Designer)
$75k
$130k
Graphic Designer
$50k
$95k
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Inside the 21-page guide

More than benchmarks. The context to use them.

The numbers above are the starting point. The full guide hands you the methodology, the employer and candidate playbooks, and the 2026 compliance picture behind every range.

01 Context

How we read the market

  • Welcome to the guide
  • About STACK IT
  • How we built this
  • How to read the guide

02 Using the data

Interpreting salaries

  • Employers’ playbook
  • Candidates’ playbook
  • Emerging trends & recruiter outlook
  • Market context & variability
  • Bill 190 & pay transparency

03 Benchmarks & resources

Reading the benchmarks

  • National salary benchmarks
  • What’s next & supporting resources

How we built this

Numbers you can defend.

These ranges come from real hiring decisions, not a static annual survey. Three sources, cross-checked, then read through recruiter judgment on live searches.

01 First-party

Internal placements

Our own hiring records across permanent and contract roles. The offers candidates actually signed, not what a survey reported.

02 Independent

Vetted external benchmarks

Aggregated compensation data from independent, vetted sources, weighted by recency.

03 Cross-checked

Market cross-reference

Checked against major industry reports so no single dataset drives a range on its own.

Free · 21-page PDF
2026 Canadian Tech Salary Guide cover
MayaTalent lead2d Our offers finally land.
DevinEng manager5d Saved us weeks of research.
PriyaPeople ops1w Numbers my CFO trusts.

The numbers, and the context to use them.

  • Salary benchmarks
  • Hiring playbooks
  • Bill 190

Claim your copy.

Tell us where to send it and the full 21-page guide lands in your inbox.

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FAQ

Questions about the guide, answered.

Every band is built from three sources: our own placements (real signed-offer data, not survey self-reports), vetted external benchmarks, and a live market cross-reference. The numbers reflect what candidates actually accepted in recent hiring cycles.

The guide benchmarks 72 tech roles across 6 disciplines, with Canada-wide ranges broken out by seniority: Junior (1 to 3 years), Intermediate (4 to 7 years), and Senior (8 or more years).

It reflects 2026 compensation, drawn from placements and active recruitment cycles rather than year-old surveys, so you are pricing against today's market.

Yes. A dedicated section covers Bill 190 and Ontario pay-transparency expectations, including what they mean for posting salary ranges in job ads.

It is free. Enter your work email and the full 21-page PDF lands in your inbox, with national benchmarks, employer and candidate playbooks, and the market context to use the numbers in real offers.

Still have a question? Talk to a recruiter