Welcome to the City of Toronto website

Toronto is the largest, most dynamic, vibrant and innovative hub of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)- focused businesses in Canada: Toronto is home to 30% of the nation's 40,000 ICT firms. The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is Canada’s centre for ICT research and development, and continues to see growth and high employment.

• Toronto's advantages
• Key facts
• Services sector
• Manufacturing sector
• Interactive/Gaming subsector
• Industry leaders
• Labour force
• Education
• Innovation
• Incentives
• Support networks
• Related organizations/ associations
• Related reports

Toronto’s advantages

More than 11,500 ICT companies operate in the Toronto CMA: 605 manufacturing firms and 10,917 service firms. Of the top 250 Canadian ICT companies listed on the Branham300 (2009), 40% are headquartered in the Toronto region.

• The Toronto region is home to 30% of Canada's most cited basic researchers and scientists.
• 35% of Canada's top ICT firms are headquartered in the Toronto region.
• 6 of the 10 fastest growing ICT companies in Canada are located in the Toronto region (Source: Branham300, 2011).
• The largest data centre in Canada, a 400,000 sq. ft. facility, is located in downtown Toronto. ("Canada called prime real estate for massive data computers" - Globe and Mail, June 22, 2011).
• Canada is the second-best place in the world to house the massive computers needed to run corporate networks and Internet sites - Data Centre Risk Index, 2011 ("Canada called prime real estate for massive data computers" - Globe and Mail, June 22, 2011).
• The backbone of the ICT sector in the Toronto region is its telecommunication infrastructure. The telecommunications subsector employs one in five people. Home to 2 of the 3 largest telecommunications companies in Canada and smaller providers, Toronto is connected by sophisticated high speed networks

The ICT sector in Toronto has expanded in recent years and continues to grow as top-notch talent is attracted to the city.

• Two of the world's biggest social networking sites – LinkedIn and Facebook Canada – have established their Canadian head offices in Toronto. Opportunities for thought leadership, knowledge sharing, partnerships, and new start-ups, will increase.
• Based on total Twitter users, Toronto earned a sixth-place ranking on the Top Twitter Cities of the World by Socialmediatoday.com, April 2010.
• Social Media Week, a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media, is held in Toronto annually, along with mesh – Canada’s Web Conference.
• Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is using social media to enhance its programming and now has the largest Facebook fan base of any cultural event in Canada.
• Toronto is taking a leadership role in the digital world with respect to consumer privacy. Researchers from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab are monitoring and exposing overseas cyberspy rings, including major ones in India and China. Founded in 2000, Citizen Lab, together with Harvard and Cambridge universities, takes part in a group called the OpenNet Initiative, or ONI, which calls attention to Internet filtering around the world.
• Toronto is home to one of the world's biggest clusters of mobile-application companies in North America
• Google Canada recently opened offices in the heart of downtown Toronto
• The technology cluster in Toronto and the surrounding region come together annually to celebrate technology as an engine of economic growth at events such as Technicity.

Key facts

• Toronto ICT companies reported combined revenue of over $52 billion with $21.8 billion in the manufacturing subsector and $30.4 billion in the services sector in 2009
• 95% of all ICT firms in Toronto are classified as service companies (including communications providers, software developers and consulting firms)
• Manufacturing companies account for about 5% of the total ICT firms in Toronto
• There are 41 large service firms in the Toronto CMA (500+ employees) and 6 large manufacturing firms
• 39.6% of the Top 250 Canadian ICT companies as reported by Branham Group Inc. are headquartered in Toronto
• 21 of the fastest growing companies in Canada listed on the 2009 Profit Magazine 100 are Toronto ICT companies.

Note: The Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) definition of Toronto is used as the base geography

Services subsector

• From 2002-2009 the number of service companies grew by 20% from 8,776 to 10,917.
• Leading the ICT Services subsector by number of firms is the Computer Systems Design and Related Services subsector. 8,314 companies in this subsector represent 76% of the total firms in the services sector.
• The top subsector by total revenue is Wireless Telecommunications Carriers; collectively reporting revenue of $22 billion (72% of total services sector revenue).

Manufacturing subsector

• The top manufacturing subsector by number of firms is Measuring, Medical and Controlling Devices with 165 firms (27% of total manufacturing sector firms).
• The top manufacturing subsector by revenue is Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing at about $12.4 billion (56% of total manufacturing sector revenue).

Interactive/Gaming subsector

Publisher and developer of downloadable video games, Gameloft, has opened a digital gaming studio in Toronto which will create up to 205 jobs. Gameloft’s new Toronto facility will help create digital games designed specifically for smartphones, iPhones, iPad, as well as social networks. Gameloft Canada, a subsidiary of France’s Gameloft S.A., has established partnerships with licensors including UNO, Ferrari, Shrek, CSI, Spiderman and Iron Man.

Ubisoft, a French-owned company with a global presence, recently opened a Toronto studio. Ubisoft draws resources from the local pool of game development talent and forges relationships with the city's bustling film industry.

Mobile subsector

The critical mass of talent and the number of experienced developers has helped Toronto become a successful mobile application development hub. Mobile development camps, incubators for mobile start ups, and investments into many Toronto mobile firms means that mobile companies continue to thrive in the City.

Industry leaders

Top 10 Canadian-owned ICT companies headquartered in Toronto, by revenue

Source: Branham300, 2011

Top 25 Internationally Owned ICT Companies with Presence in Toronto

• IBM Canada
• HP Canada
• Apple Canada
• Microsoft Canada
• Cisco Systems Canada
• Xerox Canada
• Ericsson Canada
• Oracle Canada
• Wipro Technologies
• SAP Canada
• General Dynamics Canada
• Alcatel-Lucent Canada
• Nokia Canada
• Amdocs
• ADP Canada
• Motorola Canada
• Fujitsu Canada
• Pitney Bowes Canada
• CA Canada
• CSC
• Symantec Canada
• TEKsystems Canada
• SunGard
• Sierra Systems
• SAS Canada

(Source: Branham300, 2011)

Labour force

A diverse ICT workforce and educational infrastructure are key to Toronto's competitive position. The local labour pool is broad and deep enough to meet the needs of ICT employers across the range of manufacturing and service subsectors.

Toronto ICT organizations employ over 161,000 workers – 56.4% of all ICT workers in Ontario and 30% of all ICT workers in Canada. This figure does not include ICT workers who are employed in other sectors, such as financial services.

• ICT-related occupations in other sectors total over 89,000 employees.
• The sector’s employment rate is 95.9% (i.e. only 4.1% unemployment rate) in 2009, less than half of Toronto’s overall rate of 9.4%.
• Average ICT wages of $64,725 are 6.6% above the Toronto wage average.
• The ICT sector has a young workforce – 36.4% of ICT workers are under 35 years of age and 61.5% of the ICT workforce is under 45 years of age.
• 50.2% of the ICT workforce is in the prime management age group (35 to 54 years of age).
• The sector has high levels of educational attainment: 96.9% of employees have a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, compared with 88.9% for the general labour force.
• The labour force is internationally minded, with business and personal linkages to nearly every country of the world.

(Source: City of Toronto, Labour Force Survey (LFS), 2009)

Post-secondary education

Universities

Toronto is home to five prominent universities. The largest three, University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University offer a total of 21 ICT-related programs. During the 2008/2009 school year over 3,700 students enrolled in ICT related programs. Each year, approximately 1,300 degrees are conferred at the undergraduate and graduate levels in ICT-related programs.

• There are over 470 faculty members involved in teaching and research positions in ICT and related technologies programs at Toronto universities.
• The newly established Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) are emerging to deliver several niche ICT-related programs, in mobile, cryptology and security, and game development.

Colleges

Toronto's four colleges – Seneca College, Humber College, Centennial College, and George Brown College – offer extensive programs that prepare students for careers in the ICT industry. Toronto’s college programs are exceptionally popular, drawing over 2,600 first year students in the 2008/2009 school year. In addition, the schools granted a combination of over 1,000 ICT-related degrees, diplomas, and certificates in the same year.

Innovation

• 43% of Canada's ICT sector R&D investment is conducted by Toronto ICT research facilities - $5.7 billion annually, $650 million in software alone (Source: Invest in Canada).
• Companies with Toronto-based research facilities or headquarter operations invested over $2.5 billion in R&D in 2009.

• Canada’s R&D tax incentive program ranks among the most generous in the world.
• The Ontario and Canadian governments' R&D tax incentives can cut after-tax research costs by up to 64%.

  • Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)

    IRAP provides assistance to commercialize pre-approved projects through technical and business advisory services, as well as financial assistance to small and medium size businesses.

  • Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF)

    The OETF will co-invest ( with qualified venture capital funds and other private investors) directly into companies working within the focus areas defined by Ontario’s Innovation Agenda.

  • Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDMTC)

    The OIDMTC is a refundable tax credit based on eligible Ontario labour expenditures and eligible marketing and distribution expenses claimed by a qualifying corporation with respect to interactive digital media products.

Support networks

• Ontario Media Development Corporation

  The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), is an agency of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture is the central catalyst for the province’s cultural media cluster including book publishing, film and television, interactive digital media, magazine publishing, and music industries.

• Ontario Technology Corridor (OTC)

  The OTC is a geographic region situated in the heart of Canada’s most urban, highly educated and dynamic province. The OTC is a dedicated organization for technology companies considering relocating to or expanding in Ontario.

• Ontario Centers of Excellence (OCE)

  The OCE helps entrepreneurs move from research to commercialization in Ontario. The purpose of the OCE is to support economically relevant R&D, opening new market opportunities and aid in the commercialization of new technologies. The OCE builds strong industry and academic relationships, stimulating the transfer of knowledge from bright minds to the market.