Vancouver fails to make short list for second Amazon headquarters
Metro Vancouver won’t be home to Amazon’s second headquarters.
A list of 20 finalist cities has been released by Amazon, and most are located in the United States. Vancouver, which submitted a joint bid with Surrey backed by the provincial government, did not make the cut. Neither did the southern Vancouver Island city of Langford.
The only Canadian city to make the list is Toronto.
Metro Vancouver was among more than 200 metropolitan regions across North America that submitted a bid to become home to Amazon’s HQ2, a second headquarters to complement its Seattle operations.
The opportunity had promised up to 50,000 jobs with an average annual salary of $125,000 over the next 15 years, plus investment by the online retailer to the tune of $6 billion.
The B.C. government contributed $50,000 to help Metro Vancouver cities prepare their bids.
When asked Thursday why Metro Vancouver wasn’t selected, Amazon spokesman Sam Kennedy would only say that they won’t share any details of the decision.
The Vancouver Economic Commission, which worked on the bid for Metro Vancouver, said Thursday it “warmly congratulates” Toronto and the other cities selected.
“We continue to stand 100 per cent behind the Metro Vancouver proposal — the result of an unprecedented effort in regional economic development — which fully demonstrates what Vancouver has to offer any business that chooses to make this region its home,” the commission said in a statement.
“The Vancouver Economic Commission looks forward to increased regional collaboration in economic development, foreign direct investment attraction and continuing to support the growth, success and resilience of Vancouver’s diverse 21st-century knowledge-based economy.”
Amazon said it was looking for a metropolitan area with more than a million people and a stable and business-friendly environment. It also required a location with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.
Vancouver Coun. George Affleck, who was skeptical of the bid, said he was not surprised Vancouver wasn’t chosen.
“I think it was a reach for Vancouver and the region,” he wrote in an email Thursday. “We are not a big business town and while I respect the ambition behind throwing our name into the mix, I think Amazon could see, as I said at the time, that we don’t have the population for staffing, the infrastructure for connectivity and the real estate for office space.
“These were crucial items for their second HQ location and we did not tick enough boxes.”
He congratulated Toronto on making the short list and wished the city good luck.
In November, Premier John Horgan announced Amazon will open a second corporate office in Vancouver, creating 1,000 jobs. The Seattle-based company’s first Vancouver office opened in 2015 and now employs more than 1,000 people, mostly software developers.
The new jobs will include tech and non-tech jobs, such as software development, human resources and marketing roles.
Amazon said it reviewed 238 proposals from across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to host HQ2.