Since late 2022, powerful generative AI tools have made it much easier and cheaper to create music, videos, images and text.
For people working in Canada’s cultural industries—such as video games, publishing, music and film—this raises an important question: will AI take their jobs or help them do more?
A new Statistics Canada report, released on March 25, 2026, looks specifically at how exposed different cultural occupations are to AI, and how much AI might complement or augment their work.
If you are immigrating to Canada or already here on a study or work permit and planning a creative career, this research gives valuable signals about future risks and opportunities.
What does “AI exposure” and “complementarity” mean?
The authors use a measure called the complementarity‑adjusted AI occupational exposure (C‑AIOE) index, originally developed in the United States and adapted to Canadian data.
This index scores each occupation on two dimensions: how much AI could affect its tasks (exposure) and whether AI is likely to substitute for or complement human work (complementarity).
They group jobs into three categories:
- High exposure, low complementarity (HE‑LC): AI can do many core tasks, so there is higher potential for substitution or strong transformation.
- High exposure, high complementarity (HE‑HC): AI can do many tasks, but mainly acts as a tool to boost productivity and creativity.
- Low exposure (LE): AI has limited impact on day‑to‑day tasks, at least with current technologies.
In simple terms, exposure tells you how much AI could touch a job, while complementarity tells you whether that contact is mostly a threat or an assistant.
Which cultural industries did the study examine?
The study focuses on employees in the commercial sector in a selected group of cultural industries, using the 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
The industries covered are:
- Video game publishers (NAICS 513212)
- Video game design and development services (541515)
- Publishing industries, excluding video game publishers (NAICS 513, except 513212)
- Sound recording industries (5122) and musical groups and artists (71113)
- Motion picture and video industries (5121)
Together, these industries accounted for about 1% of Canada’s workforce in 2022, and they represent roughly 40% of the broader information and cultural industries category.
Over the twelve months before the second quarter of 2025, about 12% of all Canadian businesses reported using AI, but in information and cultural industries that share was much higher at 36%.
Even among AI adopters, only around 6% reported reducing employment specifically because of AI, which shows that adoption does not automatically translate into job losses.
Key finding 1: Cultural jobs are more exposed to AI than other sectors
One of the central findings is that jobs in the selected cultural industries are more exposed to AI than jobs in the rest of the Canadian economy.
These sectors have a high share of occupations like computer systems professionals, graphic designers, video game developers and musicians—roles that work directly with digital tools and content.
- Over 50% of jobs in the selected cultural industries fall into the high‑exposure, low‑complementarity (HE‑LC) category.
- In other industries, the share of HE‑LC jobs is below 45%.
- In video game publishing and game design, more than 70% of jobs held by both men and women are potentially highly exposed and less complementary with AI.
For immigrants targeting these fields, this means that AI tools are likely to touch a large part of your work—from scriptwriting and level design to audio production and visual effects.
Key finding 2: Cultural jobs also have strong potential for AI augmentation
The picture is not only about substitution.
The study also finds that, outside video game publishing and development, around 30% to 35% of jobs in the selected cultural industries are highly complementary with AI.
This is higher than in other industries, where only about 25% of jobs are in the high‑exposure, high‑complementarity group.
These complementary jobs are where AI can expand creative possibilities—for example, helping designers generate ideas, assisting editors with language checks, or enabling musicians to experiment with new soundscapes.
For a newcomer, the best strategy is not to avoid AI, but to build skills that use AI as a creative assistant: prompt design, AI‑supported editing, and quality control over AI outputs.
Key finding 3: Cultural jobs tend to pay well and offer stable work
The study also looks at the quality of jobs in these cultural industries, comparing them to other parts of the economy.
In 2022 (in constant 2025 dollars), median annual wages were:
- Video game publishers and video game design and development services: $96,000
- Publishing industries (except video game publishers): $85,000
- Motion picture and video industries: $59,000
- Sound recording industries and musical groups and artists: $57,000
- Other industries: $50,000
Except for motion picture and video industries, jobs in the selected cultural industries were also more likely to be full‑time and permanent than jobs in other sectors.
This means that even though cultural jobs are more exposed to AI, they often come with higher wages and better job stability, which is important for immigrants planning long‑term settlement.
Key finding 4: Employment trends since generative AI became mainstream
The study tracks employment trends from January 2018 to November 2025 across these cultural industries, using November 2022 (the launch of ChatGPT) as a key reference point.
Between November 2022 and November 2025, the report finds:
- Employment fell by 26% in motion picture and video industries.
- Employment decreased by 15% in newspaper, periodical, book and directory publishers.
- Employment declined by 9% in software publishers.
- Other cultural industries experienced modest employment growth of about 1%, similar to the rest of the economy.
However, the authors emphasize that these changes cannot be linked to AI alone.
The same period also saw strong immigration‑driven demographic shifts, labour market adjustments after COVID‑19 (including falling job vacancies), and new trade tensions with the United States beginning in early 2025.
A related January 2026 Statistics Canada article on AI and the broader labour market finds that, overall, employment continued to grow across occupations regardless of AI exposure, with high‑exposure, low‑complementarity jobs growing by 10% for men and 5% for women from November 2022 to December 2025.
What this means for immigrants interested in cultural careers
For newcomers and international students who want to work in creative fields, this research suggests three main messages:
- AI is unavoidable in cultural jobs.
If you want to work in video games, publishing, music or film in Canada, you should expect AI to be part of your daily toolkit, not something you can ignore. - The biggest risk is being in high‑exposure, low‑complementarity roles without AI skills.
Routine or support roles—such as basic layout work, simple editing, or administrative tasks—may be easier for AI to automate, especially if they are heavily digital and rule‑based.
Building skills in project management, client communication, original storytelling and cross‑media strategy can help make your work more complementary to AI. - AI‑savvy creatives may benefit the most.
Jobs that combine strong creative vision with the ability to direct and critique AI outputs are more likely to be in the high‑exposure, high‑complementarity group.
For immigrants, this might mean focusing on roles like creative director, narrative designer, technical artist, sound designer, or AI‑assisted post‑production specialist.
Practical tips for newcomers planning a cultural career in Canada
Based on the findings and Canada’s wider labour market trends in the AI era, here are some practical steps:
- Choose programs and employers that embrace AI responsibly.
When selecting college or university programs, look for curricula that teach both creative fundamentals and AI tools used in the industry. - Build a portfolio that shows AI‑assisted creativity, not AI‑generated shortcuts.
Employers want to see that you can guide AI systems to produce high‑quality work and then refine it using your own judgment and skills. - Focus on durable human skills.
Storytelling, visual composition, music theory, user experience design and project communication are harder to automate and remain valuable even as tools change. - Stay informed about ethical and legal issues.
Copyright, data privacy and responsible AI use are becoming central in cultural industries. Demonstrating awareness of these topics can help you stand out.
Important caveats: Exposure is not the same as job loss
The authors repeatedly stress that their estimates are about technological feasibility, not actual decisions by employers.
Even if AI can do certain tasks, companies may delay or limit automation because of costs, legal rules, brand concerns or simply a preference for human‑made content.
So, being in a high‑exposure job does not automatically mean you will lose your job.
Instead, it means your role is more likely to change—sometimes significantly—as AI tools become more capable and widely adopted.
For immigrants, the safest strategy is to treat AI as a new language you must learn to speak fluently if you want to build a long‑term creative career in Canada.