FutureWave 2026

As Canada invests in innovation and productivity, FutureWave 2026 asks a practical question: What will it take to build the workforce that delivers on those ambitions?

Under the theme Building Canada’s Tech Advantage – Turning Ambition into Delivery, this event moves beyond strategy to implementation, focusing on how Work-Integrated Learning, employer partnerships, and talent development can strengthen Canada’s competitiveness in AI, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and emerging technologies.

Throughout the day, participants will share real-world examples, identify barriers to talent development, and co-create practical solutions that help employers hire, educators innovate, and students launch meaningful careers in Canada’s growing digital economy.

Featured Discussions

• Building Canada’s Workforce Advantage: What talent will Canada’s fastest-growing technology sectors need over the next decade?
• Hiring for Growth: How can employers, especially SMEs, build successful early-career hiring strategies?
• From Campus to Competitive Advantage: How can colleges and universities accelerate innovation through stronger employer partnerships?
• Growth That Reaches Every Community: What does a truly national technology workforce strategy look like?
• Trust, Talent & Opportunity: Lessons in Building Community-Centred Workforce Development Programs
• Closing Session – The Tech Advantage Playbook: Participants collaborate to identify the highest-impact actions employers, educators, and policymakers can take to strengthen Canada’s technology workforce.

What You’ll Take Away

• Employer action: Practical strategies for hiring, mentoring, and retaining emerging talent
• Innovation partnerships: Stronger collaboration between industry, colleges, universities, and governments
• Regional impact: New ideas for expanding technology opportunities beyond major urban centres, including Indigenous communities, rural regions, startups, and small businesses
• The Tech Advantage Playbook: A shared set of recommendations to take back to your organization

Who Should Attend
Technology leaders, employers, HR and talent leaders, post-secondary educators and administrators, and policymakers working to build Canada’s technology workforce.