Toronto’s tech boom raises concerns about collaboration

Toronto’s tech sector has been on a tear since the $135-million Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence opened last year. Since then, companies including Samsung and RBC have set up AI research facilities here, there’s been an influx of skilled workers from all over the world, and venture capital investment has continued its upward trajectory.

In 2017, Toronto created more tech jobs than any other city in North America.

Now, Uber has announced plans to join the party. The ride-hailing app is investing $200 million over five years in a new software-engineering facility in Toronto. Uber will eventually have more than 500 staff in the city, who will work on the massive back end systems that run its apps. The company also plans to expand a research centre for self-driving cars that it opened here last year.

Coming just two days after Microsoft also announced plans to invest in a major new downtown headquarters for its Canadian operations, it’s clear that Toronto’s tech scene is attracting global attention. But there’s a catch. Some of these jobs might come at the expense of our local companies. Some startup CEOs fear that top engineers will be unable to resist the gravitational pull — and deep pockets — of companies like Uber and Microsoft. They are nervous that Toronto’s already tight market for talent will get even more competitive, which could end up stifling the growth of made-in-Canada companies.

What’s interesting about Uber’s announcement today is that it acknowledges its impact on communities and promises to support the growth of Canada’s tech sector. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi talks about responsibly ramping up its operations in Toronto over a several years and relocating dozens of staff here from around North America, which would ultimately deepen the talent pool.

Uber’s and Microsoft’s announcements come at a moment when big tech is dealing with a big image problem. After a drip feed of bad headlines, public confidence in the American tech giants is slumping.

I believe we have an opportunity in Toronto to lead the transformation towards a more responsible style of innovation. What these tech companies can learn from Toronto’s unique innovation ecosystem may be just as important as what they can bring to it.

Our tech sector has a collaborative ethos that’s quite unlike the winner-take-all mentality in cities like New York or Boston. While Toronto’s entrepreneurs are smart, fierce competitors, they also believe in raising all boats. That collective spirit is a fundamental part of who we are as Canadians. It’s what makes us different and gives us an edge in a rapidly changing world.

As a city, Toronto has already shown itself capable of marrying civic responsibility with innovative thinking. Two years ago, when tech companies were still the bête noire of municipal regulators, MaRS brokered a series of collaborations on the sharing economy that brought together city staff, taxi drivers, hoteliers, innovators like Airbnb and Uber, as well as community groups and transit agencies, to come up with recommendations for regulations that would end the free-for-all and create a playing field that was fair for all.

With Google-affiliated Sidewalk Labs experimenting on new neighbourhood concepts at the waterfront and now expanded presences for Uber and Microsoft, Toronto is becoming a destination for global tech giants working on impactful new technologies.

As the global economy becomes reorganized around centres of innovation, it’s highly likely that more major tech companies will be drawn here. Our innovation community will welcome them, but will also be watching to see how they replenish and renew our homegrown ecosystem.

Toronto’s tech sector works well because it has a widespread commitment to responsible innovation and an understanding that all parties need to deposit more than they withdraw. That code of conduct keeps the community healthy, balanced and growing, which reduces transaction costs and eliminates inertia for everyone.

The road that brought the global companies here wasn’t a one-way street. There should be a two-way exchange of value. That takes a shared commitment to grow a collaborative tech sector in Toronto that will benefit Canada and the world.