Bank of Canada expects limited job losses in AI transformation

Bank of Canada building is pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada isn’t yet seeing widespread job losses from artificial intelligence but senior officials at the central bank are watching the labour market closely as adoption advances.

Michelle Alexopoulos, external deputy governor at the central bank, is speaking to a business audience in Ottawa on Wednesday about the implications of AI on the economy.

She said AI has the potential to drive productivity gains in Canada, which can help to boost workers’ wages without stoking inflation.

“As AI continues to improve and its adoption spreads, it could permanently change how the Canadian economy works. By lowering costs for businesses and improving efficiencies, AI could support higher wages, reduce prices for consumers and spur new investment,” she said in prepared remarks.

Alexopoulos said that it’s still too soon to say whether AI will have a sweeping impact on the way we do business like the computer did, or whether it will end up a powerful but niche technology.

She noted that, so far, adoption of AI is concentrated in industries like finance and insurance, while the technology’s reach has been limited in sectors such as food and accommodation. That’s limiting the overall productivity boost to date.

The Bank of Canada hasn’t seen widespread evidence of AI replacing workers in the labour market, but Alexopoulos said the central bank does expect some roles will be eventually eliminated by the technology while others will be created or transformed.

She compared the looming disruption to the introduction of the computer. While typists and switchboard operators eventually vanished with the advent of the computer, it also led to the creation of IT departments and office workers increasingly saw their work revolve around the technology.

Alexopoulos said that transformation played out of the course of many years, and, “ultimately, computerization did not lead to fewer jobs.”

Slowing population growth in Canada could also lead to more job vacancies for workers who see their roles replaced by AI, she said.

Some technology firms have nonetheless cited AI as driving layoffs, Alexopoulos noted, and some studies suggest weak hiring in entry-level roles exposed to AI like coding or customer service.

Youth and employees in these industries ought to brush up on AI skills, she argued, as demand for workers who are comfortable with the technology rises in the years ahead.

The Bank of Canada’s surveys of risk management experts in the financial sector meanwhile suggest that decision-making is being supported by AI, but not replaced by it. The tool is so far being used to automate routine tasks to give workers time to focus on higher value work.

Alexopoulos gave the example of note-taking software in health care that’s freeing up doctors to spend more time with patients and less time on administrative work.

“This reinforces the view that AI will mostly transform jobs -- not eliminate them,” she said.

“AI is changing how tasks are done, but humans remain in control.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press