Toronto’s Tech Boom: Canada’s Silicon Valley
Educated urban creatives, hi-tech infrastructure, forward-thinking entrepreneurial spirit, start-ups fuelling business innovation; all of these descriptive phrases are the perfect way to describe the thriving economy of Silicon Valley, California—except we’re talking about Toronto, Ontario. It might not have the same glitz and glamour, mild winters, or household names like Google (though real estate prices probably aren’t that far off), but Toronto is quickly becoming one of the world’s leading tech centres.
A fair helping of venture capital, favourable “ease of business” rating, and government-backed tech initiatives have created an environment rife with startups, including IT, software, communications, and e-commerce firms (and the online marketing companies to help get their names out there).
The amount of revenue generated by the tech industry here is over $50 billion!
Calling it the next Silicon Valley might be taking it a bit too far, but looking at the facts paints a different picture. Here’s what might surprise you:
Next-Decade Dominance
A recent study on Business Insider ranking the world’s most hi-tech cities placed Toronto at #8! And that’s just for now. The city is still trending upward. The hi-tech industry is built on our entrepreneurial spirit and diverse population. There are plenty of young, big-name start-up companies poised to dominate the next decade of online business.
Whether it’s trying to change the way technology is used in the classroom (TopHat), revolutionizing online retail (Shopify), simplifying online accounting (Freshbooks), or even making it easier to do your laundry (Simply Laundry), Toronto is giving birth to companies ready to make a major impact on the next wave of social and business revolutions.
Canada’s IT Centre
As the nation’s largest city and centre of business, it’s no secret that Toronto has the lion’s share of corporate headquarters, but what might come as a surprise is just how much of the IT industry is based here.
30% of all IT firms are based here, and that number doesn’t show signs of slowing down. The companies planting roots here go beyond domestic, too. The five largest international tech companies call this city home: IBM Canada, Microsoft Canada, Google Canada, HP Canada, and Cisco Canada.
Online marketing companies driven by the tech boom are also adding to the environment. It should come as no surprise that some of the most competitive SEO markets are here. High search volumes, high average customer value, and business competition have created a lucrative market for companies looking for SEO services.
Booming “Tech Ecosystem”
A study conducted by TechToronto.org set out to measure the impact of Toronto’s burgeoning tech ecosystem. Defined as not only the jobs in the tech industry itself, but also technical jobs in non-tech industries (such as finance), the findings of the tech ecosystem study were shocking!
- 401,000 jobs were in the tech ecosystem
- 15% of local jobs were tech-based
- Tech jobs had grown nearly 15% in the last 5 years
- The growth in the tech industry nationwide was 10%, but Toronto’s was nearly 50%!
The impact of technology driven by the internet in this city is unique in North America, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
We might have a ways to go before catching up to San Francisco and the rest of the real Silicon Valley, but in terms of Canada, Toronto is the nationwide leader in the tech industry, and it’s still booming. The massive impact of this industry has led to a growing list of young start-ups mixed in with large national and international players on in the tech market.
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