Cybersecurity recruitment in Quebec is difficult because demand outstrips a narrow pool of already heavily solicited specialists, against a backdrop of rising cyberthreats and competition from banks and the U.S. market. Part of the challenge, however, comes from employers themselves: unrealistic job postings, below market salaries, and slow processes. Those obstacles are within your control to fix.
The essentials in five points
Why it is so difficult: demand outstrips a narrow pool of heavily solicited specialists. In Quebec, roughly 7,350 people hold these positions, and the profession is growing twice as fast as the average
The most sought after profiles: SOC analysts, security and Zero Trust architects, DevSecOps specialists, GRC leads, and chief information security officers (CISOs)
The cost of a specialist: a cybersecurity analyst earns between $30.67 and $71.43 per hour in Quebec; a manager, up to more than $100 per hour in Canada (Job Bank data)
The time to hire: 3 to 8 weeks for a specialist, 8 to 16 weeks for an executive or a rare profile
What you can do: align your offer with the market, broaden the pool (mentored juniors, career changers, international talent), accelerate your process, and, where needed, entrust the mandate to a specialized partner
Why the cybersecurity talent shortage is peaking in Quebec
Pressure on the cybersecurity market is no accident. Three forces converge: intensifying threats, a pool of specialists that is too small, and fierce competition for the same profiles. Understanding these dynamics helps you recruit more intelligently.
Rising cyberthreats, and demand that follows
The threat landscape is hardening in Canada. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security assesses that state and criminal threats are increasingly likely to affect organizations, and that attackers are moving beyond espionage toward more disruptive activities, often supported by artificial intelligence. The greater the risks, the more organizations seek qualified defenders.
Source: National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité, 2024.
A specialist pool too small for demand
Quebec has roughly 7,350 cybersecurity specialists, and their employment outlook is rated “good” for 2025-2027. In Canada, employment in this profession more than doubled between 2019 and 2023, and it is expected to grow by 2.4% per year, double the national average. The talent pipeline simply cannot keep pace with demand.
Source : Outlook and Occupational Profile, Guichet-Emplois, Government of Canada, 2025; Système de projection des professions au Canada, 2024.
Competition from banks and the U.S. market
You are not recruiting alone. Nearly 18% of Quebec cybersecurity specialists work in finance and insurance, sectors that offer highly competitive conditions. Add to this the appeal of U.S. salaries and cross border remote work. An experienced analyst regularly receives several approaches per month, which places candidates in a position of strength.
Source : Occupational Profile for Cybersecurity Specialists (NOC 21220), Guichet-Emplois, Government of Canada, 2025.
Key statistic: As early as 2021, ICTC estimated a shortfall of roughly 25,000 cybersecurity professionals in Canada, nearly one position in six left unfilled. The pressure remains structural in 2026.
Source : Cybersecurity Talent Development, ICTC, 2022 (2021 data).
What actually blocks your cybersecurity hires
The shortage is real, but it does not explain everything. A significant share of positions stay vacant because of practices you control. Here are the three most common ones, and how to correct them.
Job postings that demand too much
Many postings call for several years of experience and a stack of certifications, even for entry level roles. The result: candidates in transition or early in their careers are discouraged, when they could become operational with proper mentoring. You shrink your pool before the first interview.
Source : Cybersecurity Professionals Shortage 2026, Collège Cumberland, 2026.
Pro Tip: Clearly separate “must have” skills from “nice to have” skills in your postings. An offer with three real requirements attracts more qualified candidates than a list of twelve criteria, half of which are negotiable.
A salary out of step with the market
In Quebec, a cybersecurity analyst earns between $30.67 and $71.43 per hour depending on experience and sector. An offer below this range is noticed immediately. In a market where candidates compare several proposals, a gap of 10% is often enough to lose the chosen profile.
Source : Salaries, cybersecurity analyst in Quebec, Guichet-Emplois, Government of Canada, novembre 2025.
A selection process that is too slow
The best profiles are employed and passive. When your process drags on for six weeks with four interview rounds, a more agile competitor closes in ten days. Slowness is not a sign of rigor, it is a cause of loss. Every unnecessary step increases the risk of seeing the candidate accept elsewhere.
What a vacant cybersecurity position really costs
An unfilled position is not neutral. It generates visible and invisible costs, and it exposes the organization to a risk that compounds. Measuring this cost often changes how the recruitment budget is perceived.
“A vacant cybersecurity position is not merely a role to fill, it is a risk exposure that compounds week after week. The organizations that succeed in recruiting are those that treat this mandate as a strategic investment, not as an expense to minimize. “
Maxime Alexandre, Director of the IT Division, Kenova.
The operational and security cost of a vacant position
As long as the role stays open, responsibilities fall on a team that is already busy. Monitoring slackens, patches fall behind, audits slip. In a context where ransomware continues to rise in Canada, this delay translates into a very real vulnerability.
Source : National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité, 2024.
Caution: A chief security officer seat left vacant for several months affects more than one project: it weakens risk governance across the entire organization. For these critical roles, the cost of waiting often exceeds the cost of a well run recruitment.
The cost of a bad hire
Under pressure to fill a position, organizations sometimes hire the wrong profile. In cybersecurity, the mistake is expensive: lost training time, departure after a few months, restarting the process from scratch, and a poorly covered risk in the meantime. A failed hire on a sensitive role is paid for in months, not weeks.
The risk of an understaffed team
Overload wears down the existing team. When a few people absorb the workload of a missing position, fatigue rises, and so does the risk of departure. You then find yourself recruiting for two positions instead of one. Retaining your current talent is an integral part of your recruitment strategy.
The most sought after (and best paid) cybersecurity profiles
Not all roles are equal in the face of the shortage. Knowing the profile map helps you calibrate your expectations, your budget, and your approach strategy. Here are the major job families.
| Role | Primary mission | Indicative range |
| SOC / security analyst | Monitors systems, triages alerts, and responds to incidents. | $30.67 to $71.43/hr (analyst, QC, Job Bank) |
| Security / Zero Trust architect | Designs the defense architecture, cloud security, and DevSecOps. | Among the best paid IT profiles |
| GRC / compliance specialist | Governance, risk management, compliance, and audit readiness. | Varies by sector |
| Chief security officer (CISO) | Defines the security strategy, manages the team and the budget. | $43.75 to $103.37/hr (manager, Canada, Job Bank) |
Source : Salaires analyste (QC) et gestionnaire (Canada) en cybersécurité, Guichet-Emplois, Gouvernement du Canada, novembre 2025.
Operational roles, the first hit by the shortage
The SOC analyst, the incident response specialist, and the identity management analyst form the front line. These are the most numerous positions, and therefore those where hiring competition is sharpest. Good news: they are also the ones best suited to integrating well mentored junior profiles.
Security architecture and engineering roles
The security architect, the Zero Trust specialist, and the DevSecOps engineer are among the rarest profiles. They combine sharp technical expertise with systemic vision. For these roles, proactive headhunting is often the only way to reach the right candidates, nearly all of whom are employed.
Leadership and governance roles
The chief security officer (CISO) and GRC leads drive strategy and compliance. These mandates bear directly on business governance and demand a fine alignment between technology and the organization’s priorities. Recruiting for them comes close to executive search standards.
How to attract and recruit cybersecurity talent in 2026
The shortage does not condemn you to inaction. The employers who succeed apply three concrete levers: an offer aligned with the market, a broadened pool, and a fast process. Here is how to activate them.
Adjust your value proposition
Start by aligning the salary with the actual ranges of the Quebec market. Add what carries weight today: a hybrid model, stimulating projects, and a training budget. Flexible remote work is no longer a perk, it is a baseline expectation. A clear and credible employer brand often makes the difference at equal pay.
Broaden the candidate pool
Do not search only for the perfect, immediately available profile. Bring in cybersecurity AEC graduates mentored by your senior profiles, open the door to career changers, and consider international talent. A good junior and senior mix strengthens your team while easing pressure on the rarest roles.
Pro Tip: Build a “pyramid” team rather than a “plateau” one: a few senior experts mentoring promising juniors. You develop your pipeline, you lower your costs, and you build loyalty among talent the market will fight over in two years.
Accelerate and structure your process
Reduce the number of steps, set fast decisions, and appoint a single owner for the mandate. Prepare your technical interviews in advance so you do not keep the candidate waiting. In this market, speed of execution is a competitive advantage as much as the salary offered.
Recruiting alone or entrusting the mandate to a specialized partner
When a critical position stays open too long, the question arises: continue alone or rely on a specialized partner? The following table compares the two approaches, plainly.
| Criterion | Internal recruitment | Specialized partner |
| Access to passive candidates | Limited to active candidates and the internal network | Proactive headhunting of employed profiles |
| Team time | Ties up your HR and IT managers | Outsourced; your team keeps technical validation |
| Timeline | Often long and unpredictable | Shortlist presented within a few weeks |
| Confidentiality | Difficult for a sensitive position | Discreet approach, with no public posting |
| Guarantee | None | Replacement guarantee |
The limits of internal recruitment for rare profiles
Internal recruitment works well for common positions. For a security architect or a CISO, the exercise becomes demanding: you must source passive candidates, qualify specialized profiles, manage counteroffers, and negotiate high level conditions. Few HR teams can devote the time required without neglecting their other mandates.
What a specialized firm brings
A specialized firm delivers a shortlist of already qualified candidates in a fraction of the time of an internal process. It discreetly approaches employed professionals, protects the confidentiality of sensitive mandates, and secures the investment through a replacement guarantee. For rare profiles, the quality gap often justifies the cost.
Kenova’s approach to cybersecurity recruitment
Kenova applies its headhunting methodology to technology profiles, from the experienced specialist through to the CISO. With more than 250 IT mandates completed since 2010, a shortlist presented in roughly three weeks, and an 87% candidate retention rate at 12 months, the focus is on human and cultural fit. Sharp technical validation remains your team’s domain: Kenova facilitates it without taking its place.
Source : Kenova internal data, IT division, page Recrutement TI, 2026.
Frequently asked questions about cybersecurity recruitment in Quebec
The shortage will not disappear, but your method can change
Pressure on cybersecurity talent is structural and will last. Every critical position left vacant prolongs a risk exposure and adds weight to the load on your existing teams. Waiting for the perfect candidate, at a discount and immediately available, most often amounts to hiring no one.
In 2026, two employer profiles are taking shape. Those who win align their offer with the market, broaden their pool, accelerate their process, and bring in a partner when the mandate is rare or sensitive. Those who lose repeat the same postings and watch the best profiles accept an offer elsewhere.
You have more levers than you think, and most of them fall into place quickly. If you need to fill a strategic cybersecurity position, a 30 minute exploratory conversation with the Kenova team helps pinpoint your context and define the most suitable approach. The right talent exists; it still has to be sought in the right place, the right way.
