Canada’s cloud advantage: Supporting the next phase of Hyperscale growth

Strategic talent, innovation hubs 

Canada’s major cities are fast becoming global technology hubs. Toronto, for example, is now North America's third-largest tech centre¹, adding more tech jobs between 2018 and 2023 than any other city². Waterloo, Montreal, and Vancouver also rank among the most dynamic startup and research ecosystems in the world. 

A strong academic pipeline supports this momentum. Institutions like MILA, the Vector Institute, and Amii are pushing the boundaries of AI and machine learning innovation, while hyperscale-led programs such as Microsoft Learn and AWS re/Start help expand the talent pool and diversify access to cloud-related skills.

Government support and market readiness 

Canada’s federal and provincial governments offer a range of strategic incentives that make cloud infrastructure investment more attractive. These include tax credits—such as the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program—along with direct grants from the Strategic Innovation Fund and other regional development programs. 

Additional government investment in broadband expansion, renewable energy, and workforce training further strengthens the ecosystem. These efforts help reduce operating costs, accelerate deployment timelines, and improve access to skilled talent.

In provinces like Quebec and Alberta, tailored regional incentives—such as support for energy-efficient data centres or local job creation—have further encouraged expansion. Combined with a stable regulatory environment and streamlined permitting processes, Canada offers a business-friendly landscape for long-term cloud infrastructure growth. 

Must-haves in a Canadian connectivity provider 

To scale efficiently, providers need more than local infrastructure—they need a partner with the reach, innovation, and expertise to support aggressive growth. Key criteria include: 

• • Resilient, redundant networks with diverse routing options for maximum uptime and continuity. 
  • Scalable, high-availability infrastructure that enables rapid capacity expansion and minimizes downtime. 
  • On-net access to major data centres for efficient, high-performance service delivery. 
  • Geographically distributed data centres offering strong security, disaster recovery, and proximity to key markets. 
  • Data-sovereign routing options to meet compliance and regional data residency requirements. 
  • Fast, low-latency connectivity to support real-time, performance-sensitive workloads. 

Why Rogers