If you live in North America and are on the hunt for the best coding bootcamps, Canada is an excellent place to start your search. Even if you don’t currently reside in Canada, the best coding bootcamps in The Great White North have online programs as well as options for international students. You don’t have to be Canadian to attend a Canadian coding bootcamp.
All that being said, being Canadian or being on the job market in Canada has particular advantages if you’re thinking of applying to coding bootcamps in Canada. With connections to companies in Canada’s major tech hubs, the best Canadian coding bootcamps are suited to students working in the country’s most prosperous cities. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Where in Canada Are There Coding Bootcamps?
There are Canadian bootcamps wherever there is high demand for tech professionals, such as big metropolitan areas. According to economic data collected and analyzed by the Canadian government, software engineers have a very good job outlook in places like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. Let’s look at these bootcamp cities in more detail.
- Toronto. The Toronto tech scene is vibrant, with about 29,430 software developers employed in the area, according to government statistics. The best Toronto coding bootcamps include Lighthouse Labs, WeCloudData, and BrainStation.
- Vancouver. Vancouver is home to Electronic Arts and is the birthplace of Slack. Coding bootcamps in Vancouver include CodeCore College, Lighthouse Labs, and WeCloudData.
- Montreal. Software developers in Quebec’s biggest tech hub is projected to have good job growth through 2024. Le Wagon is the biggest Montreal coding bootcamp, but Concordia Bootcamps and Lighthouse Labs also have a presence there.
- Other Canadian cities. There is a limited bootcamp presence in Ottawa, Calgary, and Victoria. Most of this is due to the nationwide reach of Lighthouse Labs. All of these cities have good or very good job outlooks, according to Canadian government statistics.
The 10 Best Coding Bootcamps in Canada
Bootcamp | Canadian Locations | Tech Subjects |
---|---|---|
Bootcamps by Concordia Continuing Education | Montreal | Web Development, Data Science |
BrainStation | Toronto, Vancouver | Software Engineering, Data Science, UX Design, Web Development, Digital Marketing |
Carleton University Boot Camps | Ottawa | Web Development, Business Analytics and Data Visualization |
CodeCore College | Vancouver | Full Stack Development |
inTellee College | Mississauga | Software Engineering |
Lighthouse Labs | Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria | Web Development, Data Science, Data Analytics, Cyber Security |
Le Wagon | Montreal | Web Development, Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics |
Pragra | Mississauga | Java Full Stack Development, .NET Development, React Full Stack Development, Data Science, Data Analytics, Business Analysis, QA Automation, DevOps |
University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies Boot Camps | Toronto | Web Development, Data Analytics, Cyber Security, UX/UI Design, FinTech, Digital Marketing |
WeCloudData | Toronto, Vancouver | Data Science, Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, DevOps |
Breaking Down the Best Canadian Coding Bootcamps
The university coding bootcamps on this list. Affiliated with Concordia Continuing Education (CCE), an extension of Concordia University in Montreal, Concordia’s two bootcamps can be completed for an official diploma. The web development bootcamp is structured around JavaScript and the data science bootcamp focuses on Python.
BrainStation | Toronto, Vancouver
- Cost: $15,000 – $16,500
- Financing Methods: Installment plans, scholarships
- Available Schedules: Full-time (3 months), part-time (8 months)
- Online Option: Yes
BrainStation is a coding school with in-person locations across the United States and Canada, as well as online coding bootcamps for every subject. The programs available in Toronto are data science, UX design, software engineering, and digital marketing. If you study in Vancouver, your options are the same, except software engineering is swapped out for web development.
Carleton University Boot Camps | Ottawa
- Cost: $12,141.85
- Financing Methods: Interest-free installment plans, alumni scholarships, early enrollment discounts
- Available Schedules: Part-time (24 weeks)
- Online Option: Yes
Offered in partnership with edX, Carleton University Boot Camps specializes in part-time bootcamps for career changes who want to study online. Both the data analytics and web development programs are among the best online coding bootcamps in Canada, with flexible class schedules, hands-on training opportunities, and a dedicated career services team.
CodeCore College | Vancouver
- Cost: $10,700
- Financing Methods: Contact the admissions team for details
- Available Schedules: Full-time (12 weeks)
- Online Option: No
Since being founded in 2008, CodeCore College has been a leader in vocational training for aspiring software developers. The full stack web development program is a full-time bootcamp that takes less than three months to complete. Arguably the best dev bootcamp in Canada, its curriculum covers an assortment of in-demand skills related to JavaScript and Ruby on Rails.
inTellee College | Mississauga
- Cost: $14,950
- Financing Methods: Installment plans, private loans
- Available Schedules: Full-time (12 weeks), part-time (30 weeks)
- Online Option: Yes
A self-styled college for the 21st century, the Toronto area’s inTellee College is focused on preparing students for careers in high-growth employment sectors, especially the tech industry. In addition to certificates in product management and computerized accounting, inTellee offers a bootcamp-style software engineering course that teaches MERN and Java-based stacks.
Lighthouse Labs | Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto
- Cost: $10,500 – $14,000
- Financing Methods: Private loans, interest-free payment plans, government grants, provincial student aid
- Available Schedules: Full-time (12 or 8 weeks), part-time (30 or 18 weeks)
- Online Option: Yes
Lighthouse Labs lays claim to being the best coding bootcamp in Canada by virtue of its size and scope. Serving six different Canadian metro regions and offering part-time and full-time coding bootcamps in four different tech subjects, Lighthouse Labs is well-positioned to help you become a software developer, data scientist, business analyst, or cyber security engineer.
Le Wagon | Montreal
- Cost: $10,500 – $12,500
- Financing Methods: Installment plans, private loans, public financial aid, scholarships
- Available Schedules: Full-time (2 months), part-time (6 months)
- Online Option: Yes
Although it is without a doubt one of the best bootcamps in Montreal, Le Wagon is more than just a Canadian coding bootcamp. It is a successful international bootcamp with campuses in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. If you want to acquire in-demand tech skills in a cosmopolitan learning environment, consider Le Wagon’s coding and data courses.
Pragra | Mississauga
- Cost: $1,500 – $3,500
- Financing Methods: Private loans, scholarships
- Available Schedules: Part-time (4, 8, 12, 16, or 22 weeks)
- Online Option: Yes
Pragra is a Dallas-based workforce training organization with tech bootcamps and other learning opportunities in Ontario. All of its bootcamp programs are part-time, with classes meeting twice a week in most cases. Pragra is a great Canadian coding bootcamp for niche subjects like DevOps and QA automation, but its coding and data programs are good as well.
University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies Boot Camps | Toronto
- Cost: $9,881.85 – $14,119.35
- Financing Methods: Payment plans, discounts
- Available Schedules: Full-time (12 weeks), part-time (18 or 24 weeks)
- Online Option: Yes
UoT SCS Boot Camps is the second edX-affiliated university bootcamp on our list, joining Carleton University Boot Camps. As one of the most prolific online bootcamp providers in the world, edX gives students access to valuable credentials by partnering with high-ranking global universities like the University of Toronto, which offers programs in six high-demand tech fields.
WeCloudData | Toronto, Vancouver
- Cost: $7,500 – $15,400
- Financing Methods: Installment plans, loans, scholarships
- Available Schedules: Full-time (13 weeks), part-time (6 months or 12 weeks)
- Online Option: Yes
WeCloudData is the best data science bootcamp in Canada. It is the only Canadian bootcamp that focuses exclusively on data-related subjects, including data engineering and DevOps, which are less common in the bootcamp world. Its flagship data science program covers Python, SQL, big data, and machine learning, and students work on real client projects.
Job Outlook for Canadian Coding Bootcamp Grads
The best coding bootcamps in Canada are designed to churn out tech industry professionals at high rates. In 2022, Lighthouse Labs, the most well-known bootcamp in Canada, placed more than 80 percent of graduates in relevant jobs within 180 days of graduation. Below are five roles perfect for Canadian coding bootcamp grads, complete with salary information from PayScale.
- Data scientist | Average Salary: $82,536. Data scientists use programming languages to organize and analyze large amounts of data. The Canadian bootcamps Le Wagon, WeCloudData, and Lighthouse Labs all have excellent data science programs.
- Software developer | Average salary: $71,151. Newly-minted junior developers have long been the primary beneficiaries of coding bootcamps, the original purpose of which was to teach people how to develop software applications of all kinds from scratch. CodeCore College and BrainStation both have solid dev bootcamps.
- Cyber security analyst | Average Salary: $70,644. People working in the cyber security field are trained to analyze computer systems and networks for vulnerabilities and to help organizations prevent cyber attacks. In Canada, the best cyber security bootcamps include Lighthouse Labs and UoT SCS Boot Camps.
- Business analyst | Average Salary: $69,664. Like data scientists, these professionals comb through data to extract meaningful insights. For business analysts, the main objective is to help companies increase profits. The university coding bootcamps in Canada have especially good data analytics and data visualization programs.
- Digital marketing specialist | Average Salary: $53,462. Digital marketers are ecommerce specialists who work with companies to market their products on the Internet, including through email, search engines, and social media. BrainStation and UoT SCS Boot Camps both have digital marketing programs for Canadian students.
Which of the Best Coding Bootcamps in Canada Is Right for Me?
The best coding bootcamp in Canada for your needs depends on several factors, such as location, cost, your experience level, and the flexibility and variety of a given bootcamp’s course offerings. Generally speaking, what sets a good bootcamp apart from a bad bootcamp is the quality of its career services, which help to ensure that graduates have a successful job search.
But while not all Canadian bootcamps can promise that you will find a job immediately upon graduation, a bootcamp curriculum is always a great way to gain in-demand skills. This can be of value to you down the road if not right away. Rest assured that the projects you complete in a coding bootcamp are exactly what employers want to see in candidates’ portfolios.
Canadian Coding Bootcamps FAQ
How much does a Canadian coding bootcamp cost?
According to research conducted by Career Karma in 2023, the average cost of a coding bootcamp in the United States and Canada is $12,953. This figure refers to US dollars. Although exchange rates fluctuate, if we take the average exchange rate in 2022, then we can say that the average cost of a bootcamp in Canadian dollars was $16,852 over that period.
Can I attend a Canadian coding bootcamp with financial aid?
Yes, several Canadian coding bootcamps offer financial aid through various government programs. In general, bootcamps in Canada have stronger ties to the state and more access to public pools of money than their American counterparts. Le Wagon and Lighthouse Labs are two examples of Canadian bootcamps for which public funding is sometimes available.
Do coding bootcamps in Canada guarantee jobs?
None of the best coding bootcamps in Canada currently offer a job guarantee. Where they are offered, coding bootcamp job guarantees give students peace of mind about their educational investment, though some believe they are too good to be true. In lieu of job guarantees, some top Canadian bootcamps, such as Lighthouse Labs, publish transparent student outcomes data.
Are Canadian coding bootcamps accredited?
While most Canadian coding bootcamps are not accredited like Canadian universities, Ontario-area bootcamps are approved to offer workforce training programs and operate in the capacity of vocational institutions. This is due to the Private Career Colleges Act of 2005, which required companies to register their career training services with the provincial government.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.