Workday makes large investment in Canadian Businesss

Workday has announced that it will invest CAD $1 billion over the next five years in its Canadian business. It aims to expand its presence in Canada, expand its employee footprint by investing in local talent, and strengthen its customer support in the country. It will also support local Canadian communities by participating in the “With Glowing Hearts” reservist registry.

Workday already has a strong presence in Canada, with around 1,100 employees serving over 500 customers. The firm has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Montreal, and Calgary. It is also delivering its software and services in both official languages, Canadian French and Canadian English.

Customers span industries including financial services, technology, media, higher education, and retail. Those customers include major employers such as CIBC, McGill University, the University of British Columbia and Shoppers Drug Mart.

Workday is a trusted partner for these organisations, delivering a unified, AI-powered platform that modernises HR and finance while supporting compliance and responsible innovation. Localisations include a fully localised payroll solution for Canadian customers, with reporting formats for tax remittance, workers’ compensation, and health tax reporting.

It supports forms such as T4, RL-1, T4A, RL-2, and NR-4. Fully integrated with Workday HR, the solution enables Canadian businesses to manage complex payroll systems and remain fully compliant.

Carl Eschenbach, CEO, Workday, commented, “Workday’s roots in Canada run deep, and for more than two decades, we’ve been proud to work alongside the country’s world-class technology talent in service of our customers’ evolving needs.

“As we continue to redefine ERP for the AI era, this $1 billion investment over the next five years will help shape Canada’s digital future while supporting organizations to rethink how work gets done with AI-powered, human-centric systems.”

Investing in Canadian Tech Talent

Workday will use some of the investment to hire Canadian talent across disciplines such as AI development, engineering, product innovation, customer support, and field operations. The Workday careers page currently has 35 open positions available in Canada.

The announcement, however, did not specify by how many people Workday would expand its employee base in the region over the next five years. The result will mean that Workday will expand support for Canadian businesses, with people who better understand Canada’s regulatory, linguistic, and operational environment.

Workday already has development teams based in Toronto and Vancouver that contribute to the code base that Workday uses both nationally and further afield. Workday will also look to engage with universities and academic institutions to help develop the next generation of technology and business leaders. What isn’t clear is how it will do this.

Several Canadian universities, including UBC and Algonquin College, already use Workday solutions. Will it also look to partner with Canadian institutions in the same way it does in Ireland, with Trinity College Dublin and Technological University Dublin, where it has invested in research, talent development, and funded the Workday Chair in Technology and Society?

Giving Back

Alongside the business investment, Workday is also strengthening its CSR initiatives in Canada. It is participating in Canada’s “With Glowing Hearts” reservist registry. This national initiative supports Canadian Armed Forces reservists in the workplace.

Reservists bring distinctive strengths to the workplace, including operational discipline, leadership under pressure, adaptability, and a mission-first mindset that strengthens teams and culture. Workday will now offer protected leave, job flexibility, and the support employees need to meet their military service obligations without compromise.

Edward Charter, Canada country leader, Workday. “Workday is proud to join the With Glowing Hearts registry,” said “Supporting reservists reflects our respect for the Canadians who serve and our belief that the skills they bring strengthen our teams, our culture, and our communities.”

Enterprise Times: What does this mean

This is a significant investment by Workday in its Canadian business. While the announcement is impressive, it must be put in the context of the overall Workday revenues, which it forecasts will stand at around US$8.828 billion for the full year 2026.

The firm has not split out revenues from Canada, but it clearly sees potential for growth in the country as it looks to expand its footprint there. In addition, that investment is at the expense of US expansion. Canadian salaries are, on average, lower than US ones, and the cost of healthcare is also higher in the US.

Regardless, this is good news for Canada, and it will be interesting to see what initiative Workday takes with Canadian universities, given Toronto and Vancouver’s strong tech pedigrees.

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