Toronto Ranked The 3rd-Largest Tech Hub In North America
Source：nytimes
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Toronto
Update Time：2022/10/01
A feature story in the New York Times by Cade Metz explored the evolution of Toronto’s tech sector, the U.S. paper focuses on the evolution of a thriving innovation ecosystem that has convinced big tech giants – from Microsoft to Amazon – to set up local offices and recruit for top talent alongside scores of flourishing Canadian startups.
As the tech industry slowly expands beyond the Bay Area and New York City, many investors and entrepreneurs are pushing for warmer locales like Austin and Miami to become the next great tech metros. But they are nothing in comparison to the developing tech hubs located in Canada’s chillier climate.
There are multiple factors at play, and Metz's article runs through many of them: a big population, anchor companies like Shopify, local universities pumping out skilled talent, and slightly lower hiring costs than big American hubs. But one factor stands out as both important and instructive. Toronto makes it way easier than the U.S. for super talented people to immigrate there based on the value they bring to the economy.
Tech analysts say Toronto has some key advantages that make it a magnet for tech talent. Canada’s immigration laws, for one, aid in the arrival of skilled and diverse tech talent to the city, offering a global perspective.
“Over 50 percent of the talent in Toronto is foreign-born and that is a huge advantage,” said Krista Jones, founding executive of Momentum and vice-president of Venture Success at MaRS Discovery District.
In the five years preceding, Toronto had added more technology employment than San Francisco, or any other US metropolis. Unlike many cities, Toronto is more likely to have the resources required to continue this development. Two renowned universities in Canada’s Ontario province, the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo, are located in this developing tech hub. Ontario’s University of Waterloo was recently recognized as one of the world’s top ten universities when it comes to alumni who have launched billion-dollar businesses.
Experts say that with the strong ecosystem of start-ups and large multi-national corporations moving into the region, there’s a chance this ‘quietly booming tech town’, as the New York Times article described Toronto, the fourth-largest North American city, could soon surpass Silicon Valley in some ways to become a global player.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/21/technology/toronto-tech-boom.html