The average data scientist salary in Canada is $90,000-$140,000 per year. This guide breaks down data scientist pay by province, industry, and specialization.

Data Scientist Salary by Province

Province Average Entry Level Senior
Ontario $120,000 $75,000 $160,000
British Columbia $115,000 $72,000 $155,000
Alberta $105,000 $68,000 $140,000
Quebec $100,000 $65,000 $135,000
Saskatchewan $90,000 $60,000 $120,000
Manitoba $88,000 $58,000 $115,000
Nova Scotia $85,000 $55,000 $115,000
New Brunswick $80,000 $52,000 $108,000
Newfoundland $85,000 $55,000 $112,000
PEI $78,000 $50,000 $105,000

Salary by Experience Level

Experience Salary Range Hourly
Junior (0-2 years) $70,000-$90,000 $34-$43
Mid-Level (2-5 years) $90,000-$130,000 $43-$63
Senior (5-10 years) $130,000-$170,000 $63-$82
Principal/Staff (10+ years) $170,000-$220,000 $82-$106
Director/Head $180,000-$280,000 $87-$135

Salary by Role Type

Role Average Salary
Data Analyst $70,000-$90,000
Data Scientist $100,000-$140,000
Machine Learning Engineer $120,000-$170,000
AI Research Scientist $140,000-$200,000
Data Engineer $100,000-$140,000
MLOps Engineer $110,000-$150,000
Analytics Manager $130,000-$170,000

Salary by Industry

Industry Average Salary
Big Tech (FAANG) $150,000-$250,000
AI Startups $130,000-$180,000
Banking/Finance $120,000-$160,000
Consulting $100,000-$140,000
Healthcare/Pharma $110,000-$150,000
E-commerce $100,000-$140,000
Telecom $95,000-$130,000
Government $85,000-$115,000

Take-Home Pay (Ontario Example)

Gross Salary Annual Take-Home Monthly Net
$100,000 $72,500 $6,040
$130,000 $90,000 $7,500
$160,000 $107,000 $8,920

Total Compensation at Top Companies

Company Type Base RSUs/Bonus Total Comp
Google/Meta (Canada) $160,000 $80,000-$150,000 $240,000-$310,000
Amazon $150,000 $50,000-$100,000 $200,000-$250,000
Canadian Banks $140,000 $20,000-$40,000 $160,000-$180,000
Shopify $140,000 $40,000-$80,000 $180,000-$220,000
Startups $120,000 Equity (variable) $120,000-$200,000

Skills That Increase Salary

Skill Salary Premium
Deep Learning/Neural Networks +15-25%
Natural Language Processing +10-20%
Computer Vision +15-25%
MLOps/Deployment +10-15%
Cloud Platforms (AWS/GCP) +5-10%
Spark/Big Data +10-15%

Education Impact

Education Entry Salary Senior Ceiling
Bachelor’s $70,000 $140,000
Master’s $85,000 $180,000
PhD $110,000 $250,000+

Note: PhDs often required for research scientist roles at top companies.

Is Data Science a Good Career in Canada?

Pros:

  • High salaries and growing demand
  • Remote work opportunities
  • AI boom driving higher compensation
  • Path to US-level salaries
  • Intellectually stimulating

Cons:

  • Competitive entry (many applicants)
  • Continuous learning required
  • Some roles are “analytics” rebranded
  • Can be project-dependent
  • PhD preferred for top research roles
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