Pool of highly skilled talent

It’s Toronto’s strength in traditional finance, its scale, and its sheer concentration of industry talent that Reynolds says makes it a powerhouse for financial and technological innovation. “One in 12 people in Toronto are employed in the sector,” says Reynolds, “a huge concentration of financial talent in one area.” Sitting alongside that, the Toronto region is home to more than 240,000 tech workers, 17,000 tech companies and 5,200 startups, making it the third-largest technology cluster in North America. This talent pool should lead to big wins, particularly in transformative areas like AI, she says. “Toronto is the beneficiary of early investment in AI, including machine-learning technologies at its universities, which are graduating some of the most promising AI talent,” says Reynolds. More than 30 years of focus in AI has put Toronto at the forefront of this broad field and has ultimately led the region to having one of the highest concentrations of AI startups in the world—including standouts like Rubikloud, DeepLearni.ngi and Flybits. Another big leg up Toronto has on talent is an immigration policy that is open to newcomers and technology talent. “This thriving financial centre is already one of the most diverse cities in the world, and openly welcomes skilled talent from around the globe,” says Reynolds. “Torontonians and Canadians understand that diversity is good for Canada, it’s good for business and good for the economy.”