Look North

The world’s eyes shift to North America’s next great tech centre

From Niagara Falls in the south to Oshawa in the north, the arc of cities around west Lake Ontario is home to more than 9 million people—one out of every four Canadians. The birthplace of the electron microscope, telephone and smartphone, and also where insulin and stem cells were discovered, the region has produced world-changing research and innovation for more than a century. Ontarians have historically kept a lower profile than their neighbours to the south, but today, the region’s tech industry is under a global spotlight. Local entrepreneurs are increasingly receiving international attention—more than 40 per cent of venture capital raised by Canadian startups last year came from outside the country—and the region is a leader in AI research and commercialization. According to CBRE, in 2018 Toronto created more jobs than the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle and Washington, D.C., combined, and also topped New York in a ranking of “talent markets.” With their powerhouse universities for research and engineering, Toronto and Waterloo have long been central to the region’s startup success. But today, you have to zoom out to get the full picture. From Hamilton’s world-class industrial R&D facilities, to a vibrant startup scene in suburban York Region, Ontario is turning into North America’s next great tech centre. Take a tour through Ontario’s booming tech sector as we profile seven centres putting the region on the world’s innovation map.