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The average 2015 annual tech salary in Vancouver ranked fifth on the list at $72,356. The highest annual wages were in Calgary at $83,303, while Winnipeg tech workers earned the least at $64,294.

The report highlights Vancouver as one of the best places to operate a tech firm in Canada, but feedback from local businesses and real estate experts suggests the cost of living here could harm future growth of the tech sector.

Rick Perreault is the CEO of Unbounce, a Vancouver-based designer of landing pages for online marketing campaigns. The company has been growing swiftly since launching their service in 2010 and now has 174 employees and more than 13,000 global customers. They have an office in Montreal and are planning to soon launch a European branch in Berlin.

Photo by Ben Nelms / National Post

The most common complaint from staff is Vancouver’s high cost of living, Perreault said.

“In fact, we’ve had employees here who asked if it’s a possibility to relocate to Montreal because you can live in Montreal for a fraction of what we do in Vancouver,” he said in an interview last week.

“We have a lot of really young people who are just starting their careers at Unbounce, but there’s also a lot of seasoned engineers and employees who are having children,” he said.

“That West End apartment is just no longer viable and they’re looking for property, and Vancouver is really, really expensive,” he said.

“I live in New West. To get the place I need for my family, it (Vancouver) just really wasn’t viable for us,” he said, noting that he takes the SkyTrain to work at Unbounce’s office on three floors at 401 West Georgia.