Over the years, Toronto has proven it has more offer than its commercial and cultural attractions. It has quietly become the world’s fastest-growing destination for technology jobs, leveraging an immigration policy that is friendly to tech talent.
Silicon Valley has served as a global hub for technology and innovation in the past, but United States restrictive immigration laws are hampering its growth. While Canada’s immigration policy has especially been generous to high-skilled workers in technology.
Toronto and other parts of Canada have been feasting on tech talent as immigrants are diverting from the U.S. due to stringent immigration policies like temporary suspension of H1B1 Visa which facilitated immigration for thousands of skilled immigrant workers every year. Even during coronavirus outbreak, immigrants in the U.S. faced unusual threat to employment, where in the U.S. is closing doors for immigrants while Canada is attracting an impressive flow of technology jobs and investment.
Tech companies with global footprint are setting up hubs and expanding operations in Toronto. The number of tech jobs in Toronto has risen steeply with an increase of 54% from about 148,000 to 228,000 in the past since 2013. Toronto certainly displays compelling potential with its mix of talent, technology, and universities together with highly skilled immigrants possessing STEM degrees even before arrival into the country.
Canada’s evolution over the years as a fount of technology is mirrored by the growth of the Tech sector in Toronto, as nearly 40% or 350,000 Canadian tech workforce comprises immigrants along with 25% of immigrants in the overall workforce.
Immigrants are choosing Canada over the U.S. as these people work in the same time zone, get quick flight for travel, rely on generous Canadian laws, and benefit of Canadian dollar salaries. Canada is attempting to attract highly skilled foreign professionals through visa programs like the Global Talent Stream with fast processing time where you move to Canada as quickly as a month as well as provincial tech programs that offer an expedited immigration pathway for people with tech skills .
Expert talent, high-speed communication, industry-leading research, and development have made Toronto a global hub for IT. This region has had the fastest growing tech talent pool out of all major North American tech hubs. Between 2,100 and 4,100 active tech start-ups are in the ecosystem, according to a TechToronto report, beating both New York and San Francisco combined. It has even been identified as “the new Silicon Valley”.
Toronto’s technology industry is growing, and it is drawing some of the world’s biggest and brightest technological minds to the city — and many are choosing to stay. Toronto houses numerous innovation centers, start-up accelerators and industry giants including Google, Twitter, and Microsoft. Here is a list of different sectors where plethora of Tech companies are contributing towards turning Toronto into technology epicenter.
Finance
Under this sector companies like FLYBITS are leading contextual customer experience platform for financial sector, retail sector, wealth management and insurance sector. Other companies focused on Fintech sector include SENSIBILL which facilitates a digital receipts ecosystem that allows customers to access receipts directly from their bank accounts which creates stronger relationships among customers and financial institutes.
Education
Company like TOP HAT are focused on Edtech sector, they create higher education teaching app that makes active learning come to life with real time classes. They engage and motivates learners with captivating virtual classroom features, interactive course content and built-in assessment capabilities, partnering with more than 750 universities across North America.
Health
This sector has one of the fastest growing start-ups in Canada, like CAREGUIDE and MAVENCARE which aims at bringing high quality care providers to matching families in need. Careguide matches care seeker sand care providers through websites like CanadianNanny.ca, HeartPayroll.com, Sitter.com, Housekeeper.com, PetSitter.com, ElderCare.com, HouseSitter.com. Other companies like THINK RESEARCH create healthcare software to empower clinics by integrating machine learning with expertise of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other medicine practitioners.
Software
Plethora of companies like ACHIEVERS, EVENTMOBI, TAPLYTICS, RUBIKLOUD TECHNOLOGIES, LOOPIO and INFLUITIVE are focused on providing exceptional services by driving profits of global brands with technological assistance and knowledge-based tools to manage big data along with integration with Internet of things and Industry 4.0
Automotive
TRADEREV facilitates an online automotive re marketing system where dealers can launch and participate in real-time vehicle auctions. This company was acquired by KAR Global in 2017 and aims to reinvent the auto industry with its revolutionary vehicle appraisal and auctioning system.
Home Electronics
Canadian home automation company like ECOBEE creates cost effective and energy conservative products like smart thermostats, temperature and occupancy sensors, smart light switches, smart cameras, and contact sensors. Consumers uses thermostat through built-in touchscreen, web portal, or app available for iOS, Android, and the Apple Watch.
Biotech
DEEP GENOMICS is a company working in biotech sector towards transforming AI, biology, and automation in medicine. They are primarily focused on development of oligonucleotide therapies targeting genetic determinants of diseases at RNA and DNA level.
Retail
Retail sector is not left untouched by technology, companies like TULIP are developing platforms to empower retailers by providing a modernize in-store experience for retailers with global footprint like Kate Spade, Bonobos and Saks Fifth Avenue. Another company focused on providing next generation shopping marketplace is FLIPP which empowers users and transforms retail brand businesses.
