Skip to main content

Building the future together: Microsoft ​Canada​ Economic and Social Impact Report

While there have been many challenges over the past two and half years, one silver lining is that the pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the way we work and our priorities, ultimately distinguishing what’s important – health, family, time, purpose – and what’s not. We’re currently sitting at a crossroads in history, where every organization must reimagine what “workplace” really means – where technology can empower people to move beyond what they thought imaginable, integrating work into their lives in fresh and dynamic ways. The choices leaders make in this next phase of hybrid work will impact an organization’s ability to compete for the best talent, drive creativity and innovation and create an inclusive work environment for years to come. 

As we embrace the opportunities and challenges of the future in the world of work and beyond, it’s technology that will continue to be one of the leading economic drivers of our time. At Microsoft, we recognize our unique responsibility in helping to drive innovation in Canada and we’re working with communities, changemakers and partners across the country to move this forward. This includes equitable access to technology and skills training to ensure inclusive opportunities for all Canadians, affordable technology for non-profits and start-ups, and a strong technology ecosystem to enable business transformation across all sectors and an innovative public sector.

Together with Ernst & Young LLP (EY), we’re pleased to share our first ever Microsoft Canada Economic and Social Impact Report. This report confirms what we’ve long known – that the investments we’ve made in Canada since opening our first office here in 1985 are helping to grow Canada’s innovation economy and are driving impact through building inclusive economic opportunity, supporting fundamental rights and addressing climate change for a sustainable future.  

Our 15,000+ partners and the investment we’ve made in cloud infrastructure have created almost 300,000 jobs and contributed $37 billion to Canada’s economy. And that’s on top of nearly 5,000 fulltime employees. This is all done while keeping trust top of mind, spanning privacy, security, digital safety, responsible AI, and transparency. Without it, progress is not possible.

A key to Canada’s strength is its talent and we have continued to invest to train the Canadian workforce for the changing digital economy. Since 2020, Microsoft Canada has provided in-demand technology skilling to more than 1 million Canadians through Microsoft’s Global Skills Initiative and, in 2021, donated more than $125 million in cash, software, and technology services to non-profits. And through our collaboration with the Digital Technology Supercluster, Microsoft Canada has supported 30 projects that are currently valued at $190million, boosting innovation and industry growth from coast to coast.   

Satya Nadella introduced our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more when he took the helm as CEO of Microsoft and it’s no secret that we’ve been doing that in Canada for almost 40 years – helping Canada’s public sector and all Canadian organizations lead now and into the future.