RBC is growing its presence in British Columbia with an expansion of its Vancouver banking and innovation hub.
The downtown hub, which opened last November, currently has 350 employees and is expected to grow to 600 employees by the end of this year. By 2029, RBC’s goal is to have 1,000 quality jobs supporting the hub across the province, including 440 net new roles.
The Vancouver hub expands RBC’s existing Borealis AI presence in the city and brings together artificial intelligence capabilities across cloud, cyber, digital and analytics. It will also serve key client groups within the bank’s commercial banking business.
“RBC is building a more globally connected bank, and expanding our presence in British Columbia represents a tremendous opportunity for strategic growth and innovation,” said Martin Thibodeau, RBC Regional President, British Columbia.
Thibodeau said the hub will help connect Canadian businesses to international markets, including opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region, while also helping RBC serve global clients looking to invest and grow in Canada.
The expanded hub includes a range of roles across high-demand technology areas, including AI and machine learning, cybersecurity, data science and targeted tech support for functional teams. It also includes growth in RBC’s Vancouver Borealis team, which RBC said is recognized for scientific excellence in AI and uses cutting-edge science to build machine learning products.
“Vancouver’s rich talent base, west coast location, world-class academic institutions and the province’s commitment to growing its emerging tech sector makes it the perfect choice for our innovation hub,” said Naim Kazmi, Group Head, Technology and Operations at RBC.
RBC recently announced a goal of achieving $700 million to $1 billion in enterprise value generated from AI-driven benefits by 2027. The bank said its AI use cases are being designed responsibly to meet regulatory requirements and keep employee and client data safe.
RBC was ranked first in Canada and third among 50 global banks for AI maturity in the 2025 Evident AI Index.
“AI is a generational change and due to our early investments in the space, RBC is well positioned to take advantage of its potential,” said Bruce Ross, Group Head, AI. “Our Vancouver teams will play a big role in helping us prioritize and accelerate our strategic AI ambitions at scale and turn that potential into real value for our clients.”
The Vancouver location joins RBC’s global network of technology hubs and innovation labs in cities including Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Halifax, Minneapolis, New York and London.