Top Canadian Tech Stocks of 2026

Technology stocks remain a diverse and dynamic group of companies, encompassing everything from consumer electronics to sophisticated enterprise solutions and advanced software. The Canadian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) market is a significant economic engine, valued at approximately US$136.7 billion in 2025, and is projected to grow at a robust 7.64% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) through 2030. The software and computer services sub-sector is the dominant force, accounting for nearly 57.5% of the sector’s GDP.

Key Trends Driving Investment in 2026

Heading into 2026, the Canadian tech sector is characterized by a “flight to quality” and an intense focus on monetizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the enterprise:

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: AI and ML are leading the charge in transforming industries, with advancements in generative AI models making a significant impact on content creation, healthcare diagnostics, and efficient data processing. Companies focusing on AI technology development and integration are witnessing rapid growth.
• Sustainability in Tech: As environmental concerns escalate, tech companies are increasingly investing in sustainable practices. From energy-efficient data centers to electronic waste recycling, the push for greener technology is both a challenge and an opportunity for innovation.
• Quantum Computing: The race to achieve practical quantum computing continues to accelerate, with tech giants and startups focusing on breakthroughs that promise disruptive capabilities in encryption, optimization problems, and complex computations.
• Cybersecurity: With the rise of digitalization comes heightened cyber risks. Companies specializing in cybersecurity are expanding their services and technologies to counter increasingly sophisticated threats, ensuring data protection and privacy.
• Internet of Things (IoT): IoT continues to expand connectivity across devices and sectors, enhancing automation in homes, industries, and cities. The focus on smart infrastructure and the IoT ecosystem is leading to significant market opportunities.

As a fast-growing market sector, the tech sector’s continual progression presents a spectrum of investment opportunities—from high-growth potential stocks harnessing emerging technologies, to blue-chip companies offering stability and reliability. Whether seeking long-term growth, stability, or value, every investment strategy can find a fitting tech stock within these dynamic subsectors.

This intense demand for AI-enabling infrastructure and software is expected to sustain strong growth despite broader economic pressures. Below we’ll look at some top opportunities in Canada’s tech sector that are positioned to capitalize on these defining trends in 2026.

Related: List of stocks in the Canadian (TSX) information technology sector

What are tech stocks? 

Tech stocks are companies whose products or services depend on or use technology in some fundamental way. However, tech companies are vastly different from each other. For example, a tech firm could be one that develops virtual reality video games, provides 5G wireless connectivity, makes cybersecurity software, builds microchips for autonomous vehicles, designs smartphones, or even builds AI chatbots for insurance companies. If the company’s products or services are immersed in technology, it’s likely a tech stock. 

Tech stocks are sometimes separated into low tech and high tech, with high tech referring to companies that use cutting-edge technology in some fundamentally new way, and low tech using old machinery and technology to maintain a certain product line or service. Both low and high tech stocks are known to use gobs of investor capital to fund their continued expansion and growth, with dividends low or entirely nonexistent. 

Should you invest in tech stocks? 

For buy-and-hold investors, tech stocks are generally a good investment, notwithstanding the risks. While it’s smart to choose tech stocks with the utmost caution, avoiding them altogether could lead you to miss out on some great investment opportunities. 

Perhaps a better question to ask is—which subsectors of tech stocks should you pursue? Not all tech subsectors present the same level of risk and reward. Because the development and advancement of technology is different in each one, you’ll often find some to be less stable than others (metaverse stocks, for instance, versus 5G stocks). And while some tech stocks might be beyond your comprehension, others will likely be easier for you to understand. A well-diversified portfolio will include tech stocks from several subsectors, helping you capitalize on the gains made in each one. 

For those investors who would like exposure to all subsectors of the tech industry, you can always buy shares in a tech-focused ETF. In Canada, some of the best tech ETFs include:

• Invesco NASDAQ 100 Index ETF (QQC)
• TD Global Technology Leaders ETF (TEC)
• iShares S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index ETF (XIT)

Comparison view of Tech Stocks

RELATED: Top Canadian Fintech Stocks

Top tech stocks in Canada 

With tech stocks, there’s no shortage of options. To help you map out the tech sector, let’s break it down into the following sub-sectors:

• 5G stocks 
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) stocks 
• Blockchain stocks 
• Cloud computing stocks 
• Cybersecurity stocks 
• Internet of Things (IoT) stocks 
• Metaverse stocks 
• Microchip stocks 
• Quantum computing stocks 
• SaaS stocks 
• Semiconductor stocks 
• Streaming services stocks 
• Virtual reality (VR) stocks 

5G networks  

The 5G industry has progressed to a phase of strategic enterprise adoption, with the global market valued at approximately US$140.24 billion in 2026 and growing rapidly. The focus has shifted from consumer mobile speeds to high-value, industry-specific applications, driving a massive increase in the private 5G market (projected to hit $8.3 billion by 2026) for mission-critical functions in manufacturing and logistics. This shift is supported by the rollout of 5G Standalone (SA) networks, which enable advanced features like Network Slicing to guarantee dedicated resources for applications like remote surgery.

In addition, the Canadian 5G Internet of Things (IoT) market is forecast to be the fastest-growing in North America (over 52% CAGR), transforming sectors like smart cities and connected healthcare, even as the industry begins early research into the next-generation 6G technology.

Some of the best 5G companies in Canada include: 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

Artificial intelligence (AI) companies design computers and machines with computing processes that resemble human intelligence. AI includes the subbranch of machine learning (computers that can teach themselves how to interpret new data based on past experiences) and deep learning (computers modelled after the function and structure of the human brain). 

AI technology already infuses many of the tasks we’ve come to depend on—such as face recognition on our phones and asking Siri, “What’s the weather?”—and it’s only just getting started.

Here are just a few artificial intelligence stocks in Canada you might want to consider: 

Blockchain

The blockchain industry has significantly matured, with the global market estimated at US$33 billion in 2026 and driven by major institutional adoption. The primary catalyst is the Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA) (moving assets like Treasuries onto the chain for efficiency) with financial giants actively participating.

Regulatory clarity in Canada, including the regulation of stablecoins and new tax reporting frameworks (CARF), is providing the necessary compliance infrastructure. Technological advances like Layer-2 scaling and the use of blockchain as a “trust layer” for AI are further cementing its role as essential infrastructure for large-scale financial and enterprise operations in 2026.

Cloud computing 

The cloud computing industry has surpassed the US$940 billion mark in 2025 and is on track to exceed $1 trillion in early 2026, growing at a sustained CAGR of around 16%. This massive growth is driven by the fact that the cloud is no longer just a scalable solution but the primary engine for Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads, with enterprises shifting training, inference, and machine learning models entirely to the pay-as-you-go cloud model.

The prevailing architecture is now Hybrid and Multi-Cloud, with over 75% of enterprises adopting these strategies to avoid vendor lock-in, balance costs, and meet data sovereignty requirements (3, 6). Furthermore, the cloud edge is expanding rapidly as Edge Computing becomes essential for real-time analytics and low-latency AI inference in industries like manufacturing and healthcare, while the critical need for cost control has made FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations) a mandatory practice for managing ballooning cloud bills.

Cybersecurity

The cybersecurity industry is experiencing massive growth, with the services market projected to reach US$188.66 billion in 2026, primarily driven by the AI-powered acceleration of both attacks and defenses. Adversaries are now using AI to launch increasingly sophisticated, identity-centric attacks—such as deepfakes and vishing—often focusing on compromised credentials rather than traditional network breaches. This has made social engineering a top concern for security professionals, demanding a fundamental shift in defensive strategy as threats evolve faster than ever before.

To combat this, defenders are focusing investment on three core areas: leveraging AI for autonomous defense to create the Agentic SOC (Security Operations Center); fully operationalizing the Zero-Trust model and unifying security across complex Hybrid and Multi-Cloud environments; and future-proofing critical systems. This future-proofing involves securing the AI models themselves against threats like poisoning and accelerating the adoption of Quantum-Resistant Security solutions. In 2026, cybersecurity is cemented as a board-level governance priority driven by the need for regulatory compliance and verifiable trust in digital operations.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things industry is expanding at a breakneck pace, with the global market expected to reach US$1.3 trillion in 2026, reflecting a strong CAGR of over 16.8%. This massive growth is driven by the vast projection of 21.1 billion connected devices by the end of 2025. The market is now focused on Edge Intelligence, moving processing capabilities onto the devices themselves using specialized AI chips and neuromorphic computing. This reduces latency, boosts efficiency, and enables real-time decisions, which is essential for industrial applications, asset tracking, and the fastest-growing market segment: Location of Things (LoT).

This evolution is defined by the deep integration of AI for smarter automation and the vertical consolidation of solutions. AI is used for anomaly detection and optimizing offerings, while the most significant application growth is seen in Industrial IoT (IIoT), Smart Buildings (sensor deployments have tripled since 2024), and connected healthcare. As connectivity becomes increasingly complex, with a “two-speed cellular reality” and the rise of technologies like 5G and Bluetooth Low Energy, the industry is prioritizing security-by-design and open standards to overcome fragmentation and ensure data integrity across the ever-expanding network of sensors and devices.

Metaverse stocks 

Metaverse companies use virtual reality technology to create massive 3D worlds, which multiple users can then inhabit together.

Though metaverse technology used to only exist in theory (and science fiction), many companies are racing to create immersive spaces that integrate the virtual and physical worlds to create interactive social, entertainment (e.g., gaming), e-commerce, and learning environments.

Quantum computing 

Quantum computing takes advantage of “superposition”—a phenomenon that occurs at a subatomic level when objects no longer have a clearly defined position and can technically be in multiple positions at once—to accelerate computing speeds and solve complex computational problems.

Though the technology is still in its infancy, it has great potential to disrupt the way many sectors do business, from healthcare and pharmaceuticals to banking and financials. 

SaaS Stocks 

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) stocks are companies that design cloud-based software and sell them on a subscription basis to clients. Users then become “renters” of the software, and so long as they pay the subscription fees, they can use it indefinitely.

The SaaS model has been a major trend in the tech sector, and has helped many tech firms create consistent flows of recurring revenue.  Since SaaS is a business model, as well as a type of technology, it crosses over with many subsectors of the tech industry. 

Semiconductors

In 2024, the semiconductor sector experienced strong growth fueled by global demand for chips across diverse sectors like automotive, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence, despite ongoing supply chain challenges. Companies invested in expanding production capabilities and advancing chip technologies to meet next-generation requirements.

In 2025, the industry aims to focus on innovating energy-efficient designs, enhancing chip performance for AI applications, and increasing resilience against geopolitical and supply disruptions to sustain its pivotal role in technological advancements.

The semiconductor sector is undergoing a massive, AI-driven surge, with the global market projected to grow by over 26% in 2026, pushing total revenue to nearly US$975.5 billion and approaching the $1 trillion mark. This “giga cycle” is fueled overwhelmingly by Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, specifically the demand for logic and memory chips in data centers. Memory (particularly high bandwidth memory, or HBM) and logic are forecast to lead the charge with over 30% growth each, creating supply tightness and price hikes in the memory segment through mid-2026.

The industry’s strategic focus is on custom silicon and advanced packaging to meet the unique power and performance requirements of AI workloads. Innovation is centered on Chiplets and 3D Integrated Circuits (3D IC), with foundry capacity (like TSMC’s CoWoS) expanding aggressively. Geopolitics and supply chain resilience remain critical, prompting significant global investment (like the US CHIPS Act). While Canada is positioned as an R&D and design leader in high-value areas like photonics and advanced packaging, the industry is calling for a national strategy and increased funding like the Research Talent Initiative that will help the country attract leading international researchers to the country.

Streaming services 

A few decades ago you’d be old-fashioned if you didn’t have some form of cable service. Nowadays, you’re old-fashioned if you do. Streaming services have pretty much made cable obsolete, and after showing immense growth during the pandemic, these companies are gearing up for a strong future. 

Virtual reality stocks

Virtual reality (VR) immerses users in a three-dimensional environment that simulates real-life scenarios. Though VR technology has flourished in the entertainment sector with video game consoles, it has immense potential to transform many industries, such as healthcare, education, defence, and engineering.

For those looking to invest in VR stocks, here are three major companies to consider. 

What are the risks involved with tech stocks? 

Tech companies can be extremely volatile. They tend to be vulnerable to economic swings, interest rate hikes, poor investor sentiment, product failures, and technology obsolescence. Even tech companies with mega market caps will from time to time watch their market value take a humbling plunge, while smaller-capped companies hit rough patches from which they never recover.   

Because many tech companies still rely on debt to fund their ever-growing expansion, investors have become bearish on tech stocks. Rising internet rates—a weapon against rising inflation—have made borrowing money more costly. And with the world opening back up, some investors are stuck wondering if tech companies can match their revenue growth and earnings growth from the last two years. 

Another risk in tech stocks is complexity. The learning curve is often steep, and there’s always the possibility of misunderstanding the technology behind the company’s revenues. If you live by the maxim, “invest in only what you understand,” this can pose a serious problem for those unversed in technology.