City Profile

Toronto is the capital city of the province of Ontario, and the financial and business capital of Canada
Largest city in Canada
Population: 6.2 million

• 3rd largest stock exchange in North America (Toronto Stock Exchange)
• Diverse, multicultural talent pool, with over 51% of the population foreign-born
• Safest metropolitan area in North America

Key Advantages

• 4th largest city in North America, within a 90-minute flight from major U.S. cities
• One-quarter of Canada’s population lives in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
• Toronto’s GDP tops $304 billion in addition to unparalleled cost advantages
• Toronto-based businesses export over $70 billion in goods and services annually
• Over 216,000 businesses, that have access to a highly skilled, multilingual workforce
• Toronto is located within a 90 minute drive of the United States
• Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is Canada’s largest airport, serving 40 million passengers in 2015
• The Toronto region’s, and the nation’s, second largest employment zone with 300,000 jobs is clustered around Toronto Pearson International Airport

Sector Strengths

Financial Services

Toronto is home to one of the largest financial services talent concentrations in the Americas, employing 251,000 people across the region. This represents 70% of Ontario’s and 36% of Canada’s financial services sector employment. The Toronto region is home to the headquarters of the 5 major Canadian banks, which rank among the 50 largest globally and among the 10 safest banks in North America; the top 4 public sector pension funds; 2 of the largest 10 global life insurers; 7 of the 10 largest global asset serving companies; and 9 of Canada’s top 10 mutual fund companies.

Technology

Toronto is Canada’s largest technology hub and the third largest in North America. The Toronto region is home to industry-leading fortune 500 companies, world-renowned universities and colleges, and local enterprises that range from start-ups to multi-national firms. These organizations drive innovation both at home and in global markets. Sub-sectors include gaming, digital media, enterprise software, data centres, mobile applications, hardware manufacturing, and telecommunications.

Life Sciences

The Toronto region is a rare global location where leading-edge medical research converges with international business expertise and advanced manufacturing capabilities. Over 50% of Canada’s life sciences companies are located in the Toronto region, and the Toronto biotech cluster is the largest in Canada.

Clean-tech and Renewable Energy

Toronto is a dynamic hub of activity in the renewable energy and clean-tech industry. Innovation in this sector provides renewable energy and clean-tech products and services across a wide range of sub-sectors, including: smart grid, electric vehicles, green buildings, clean air/water technology, solar and wind power, and waste technology.

Food and Beverage

Toronto’s food and beverage cluster is the second largest – and fastest growing – in North America, and 75% of all agricultural products grown on farms outside the region are processed locally. With over 60,000 employees, more individuals in the Toronto region work in food and beverage processing than anywhere else in Canada.