A new survey from Abacus Data shows nearly seven in ten Canadians are worried that artificial intelligence (AI) will make some jobs in their industry obsolete in the next five years.Conducted from July 10 to 15, 1,915 Canadian adults were surveyed to get their perspectives on the impact of the coming AI revolution on their careers going forward, and the findings underscored a real divide in how equipped people feel about facing the inevitable transformation.The findings underscore a critical debate about whether AI will ultimately benefit or harm Canada’s workforce.Brad Parry, President and CEO of Calgary Economic Development (CED), told the Western Standard that while he feels AI is a great productivity tool, there always needs to be a human element involved.“You’re never going to have a machine be able to do all the things you need it to do by itself,” he said.“You’ll always need to have a human part to it.”He said he and his CED team believe a “whole new subset of skills will be developed as AI becomes more prevalent and prominent.”.Canadians, particularly young adults, face an uncertain future, where overall unemployment is on the rise — 6.9% — and their age group faces one of the most challenging labour markets in decades.As the adoption of AI accelerates across the country and the world, many are experiencing a mix of anxiety, concern, curiosity, and cautious optimism.If anything, pessimism dominates the broader outlook in the survey, with 62% of Canadians believing AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates, compared to just 11% who see it spurring new opportunities.Nearly half of employed Canadians — 47% — fear AI and automation will force them to change careers, with the concern most prevalent among those aged 18-29, where 55% anticipate a career shift in the next five years.Parry found this surprising because, from his perspective, it is this younger demographic that has “already been exposed to a lot of these tools.”Travis O’Rourke, president of Hays Canada, recently told The Globe and Mail that AI’s “effects on junior-level labour are prompting both recruiters and educators to reassess how young people gain experience and enter the workforce.”O’Rourke went on to say that companies “are focused on cutting repeatable or administrative roles while raising expectations for incoming workers.”The survey showed workers already using AI in their roles are even more apprehensive, with 56% expressing worry, likely due to their deeper understanding of the technology’s rapid evolution.Half of respondents in the survey expect job losses and don’t feel ready for the coming workplace environment change..Readiness for the coming changes follows demographic lines, with young adults — 63% of those 18-29 and 58% of 30-44 — more likely to say they feel equipped to handle the change, while older Canadians — 68% of those 60 and up — are less confident.Women — 55% — were also shown to be less confident.Despite these concerns, only 36% of employed Canadians say their employers have provided AI-related training or re-skilling, leaving most workers to navigate the technology on their own.This lack of support risks widening the skills gap as AI adoption grows, possibly causing more jobs to be lost.The findings underscore a critical debate about whether AI will ultimately benefit or harm Canada’s workforce.As it becomes more prevalent across multiple sectors, there are worries this will lead to an even higher unemployment rate than what Canada is already experiencing.Parry thinks that while there will be a retooling of certain sectors in the workforce, it is possible that unemployment won’t increase as AI will open up more avenues and different kinds of jobs in new sectors.Either way, the continuing rise of AI in Canada appears to not only represent a technological shift but, if embraced and used correctly, could turn into an opportunity for Canada’s workforce and economy to prosper going forward.
