OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada has yet to experience widespread job losses due to artificial intelligence, but central bank officials are closely monitoring the labor market as artificial intelligence adoption increases.
Michel Alexopoulos, the central bank’s external deputy governor, spoke to a business audience in Ottawa on Wednesday about the impact of AI on the economy.
He said AI has the potential to boost productivity growth in Canada and could boost wages for workers without stimulating inflation.
“As AI continues to improve and adoption spreads, it has the potential to permanently change the way Canada’s economy works. By lowering costs and increasing efficiency for businesses, AI has the potential to support wage growth, lower prices for consumers, and encourage new investment,” she said in prepared remarks.
Alexopoulos said it is still too early to tell whether AI will have a big impact on the way we do business like computers, or whether it will remain a powerful but niche technology.
He noted that so far, the adoption of AI has been concentrated in industries such as finance and insurance, while the technology’s penetration has been limited to sectors such as food and accommodation. This has limited overall productivity gains so far.
Although the Bank of Canada has not seen widespread evidence of AI replacing workers in the labor market, Alexopoulos said the central bank expects some roles to eventually be eliminated by technology while others are created or transformed.
She likened the impending disruption to the introduction of computers. Although typists and switchboard operators eventually disappeared with the advent of computers, it also led to the creation of IT departments, and office workers increasingly saw their jobs revolve around technology.
Mr Alexopoulos said the transformation had taken place over many years and “in the end, computerization did not lead to fewer jobs”.
She said Canada’s slowing population growth could create more job openings for workers who think their roles can be replaced by AI.
Still, some technology companies are citing AI as a reason for layoffs, and some research suggests weaker recruitment for entry-level roles that are exposed to AI, such as coding and customer service, Alexopoulos noted.
She argued that young people and employees in these industries should hone their AI skills as the demand for tech-savvy workers increases in the coming years.
Meanwhile, a Bank of Canada survey of financial sector risk management professionals suggests that while decision-making is being assisted by AI, it will not be replaced. The tool has so far been used to automate routine tasks and give employees time to focus on higher-value work.
Alexopoulos gave the example of note-taking software in the medical field, allowing doctors to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time with patients.
“This supports the view that AI primarily changes jobs, rather than eliminating them,” she says.
“AI is changing the way tasks are performed, but humans are still in control.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2026.
Craig Lord, Canadian Press
