If someone attempts to break into your home – you get an alarm system and change the locks. Unfortunately, Canada’s response to evolving interference efforts, scams and data breaches in recent years has been much less urgent and pragmatic. In 2022, the government reported that over 70 per cent of Canadians experienced a cybersecurity incident and the government itself admits to having departments and agencies compromised more than 20 times by foreign actors. 

To defend against these threats, a newly-elected Canadian government must take quick and decisive action – beginning by training a workforce that can effectively repel both foreign and domestic threat actors. According to the Canadian Cybersecurity Network, Canada currently faces a deficiency of up to 25,000 qualified cybersecurity professionals – and while the government has committed to “growing the foundational workforce of the future,” these professionals are needed today. 

Our country needs to quickly train a proportionate number of cybersecurity and data experts to match the growing occurrence of sophisticated threats. As AI is integrated into cyberattacks, scams and disinformation efforts, their complexity and effectiveness are set to increase. Canada needs to be prepared with a strong reserve of trusted workers who can be mobilized as guardians capable of preventing security breaches and making our institutions impenetrable to hostile actors. The launch of the government’s National Cybersecurity Strategy has been a promising step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to protect Canadians.

Businesses need data security and backup experts to protect themselves from ransomware attacks that lock them out of their databases, put their clients’ sensitive data at risk and damage their institutional reputation. The government needs cybersecurity analysts and penetration testers who can uncover the patterns of threat actors seeking to meddle in our democracy while also building ironclad defence systems to protect Canadians’ personal data. 

And while shoring up Canada’s cybersecurity workforce may entail some strategic investments, this spending will be more than offset by the savings that security provides. Right now, threat actors are getting paid an average of $6 million per data breach from Canadian companies. These impacts are making Canada less competitive, less appealing to international investors and hampering our productivity. Training a skilled workforce is a natural counter to these challenges and inoculates Canada from future attacks at a time when reinforcing our economic stability is more important than ever.

As a matter of national security, these workers must be trained and deployed here in Canada through trusted institutions that offer advanced technical training and in-demand certifications. For example, Canada’s leading regulated career colleges have multiple campuses in key markets across the country and offer high-quality training for the next generation of network administrators, cybersecurity managers, data analysts, security engineers and cloud computing experts. These institutions have flexible start and graduation dates and crucial partnerships with organizations like CompTIA - the industry leader for cybersecurity training certification. These institutions have proven their capacity to quickly inject a steady stream of qualified workers directly into the labour market.

Canada stands at a pivotal moment. As our nation faces economic threats from tariffs and trade disputes, and as foreign actors work to further divide Canadians online, we need to make sure our defences are strong. By prioritizing cybersecurity and IT workforce development, the government can lay a foundation that keeps our people safe, our businesses strong and our economy competitive in the digital age.

Michael Sangster is the CEO of the National Association of Career Colleges