Indigenous people are using AI at nearly twice the rate of their non-Indigenous colleagues in some areas of the workplace, a new report from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) shows.
The news: The report, which examined the broad experiences of Indigenous people in the workplace, found that AI adoption has grown faster among Indigenous people across a variety of education levels and employment types.
From the source: Conducted between March and April of 2025, the report is part of the Survey on Employment and Skillsâa project designed to explore Canadians’ experiences with the changing nature of work. Over the survey period, researchers engaged 281 First Nations, MĂ©tis, and Inuit people. Individuals between ages 15 and 54 represented the largest cohort.
The context: Led by TMUâs Diversity Institute, with research carried out by Environics Institute for Survey Research, the federally funded report found that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are using AI at work to improve productivity. However, Indigenous respondents were far more likely to report higher rates of familiarity with using AI in the workplace, with 32 percent of Indigenous respondents saying they were âvery familiarâ with AI programs versus 17 percent of non-Indigenous respondents. Likewise, Indigenous workers showed a higher degree of productivity gains, reporting a 46 percent increase versus 30 percent in other groups. They also reported a higher instance of accessing AI-related training programs.
The report found that AI use among both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people varied considerably across education levels. For those with a high-school-level education, Indigenous AI use dwarfs its counterpart at 25 percent to five percent. That dichotomy repeats among those involved in apprenticeship programs. At the university level, the numbers flip, with higher AI use by non-Indigenous workers.
Final thought: TMUâs report doesnât provide concrete evidence on what is driving these differences in AI adoption levels, admitting that more research is needed to determine whether patterns reflect the types of roles Indigenous workers more commonly hold, or where they work. It does reference some potential variables, including higher public-sector representation and younger workforce demographics.
Workplace AI adoption is on the rise in Canada more broadly, with Statistics Canada reporting that 30 percent of Canadian workers had used AI at work within the past 12 months. That number grew from 18 percent in 2024.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Daniil Komov.