Source: IT World Canada
There are over 13,000 ICT companies with over 200,000 employees in the Greater Toronto Area
The city of Toronto and its northern suburbs continue to jockey for position as the country’s biggest information and communications hubs as measured by revenue, according to a research firm.
The Branham Group said 36 per cent of the country’s top technology firms – a total of 90 companies — are headquartered in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), which includes Toronto, the regions of Peel to the west, York to the north and Durham to the east.
Forty-seven are based in Toronto, while 29 are in York Region, which includes the cities of Richmond Hill and Markham.
By comparison, the ICT companies in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, 90 minutes west of Toronto and home to BlackBerry and OpenText, had annual revenues of $20 billion, Andrew Bisson, Branham’s vice-president of consulting services, said in an interview.
Toronto has over 4,900 ICT firms, York has over 3,900, Vancouver has 3,300, Montreal has 2,900 and Ottawa 2,700.
“Toronto and York Region each have their respective strengths, which have allowed them to maintain solid positions as leading tech hubs in Canada,” said Bisson. Toronto has name recognition, he noted. York, with lower taxes, led all major Canadian ICT hubs with a growth rate of 23.3 per cent in 2012.
The GTA has over 13,000 ICT companies with over 200,000 employees generating over $52 billion in revenues annually, says Branham. It is now North America’s third largest centre for ICT, surpassing Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles, with continued growth expected for the foreseeable future.
“As 2013 comes to a close it will be interesting to see whether York Region will maintain the growth levels it has experienced in recent years and how the City of Toronto will continue to adapt in efforts of supporting its already crowded tech community.”
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The Regional Municipality of York is located in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area and is home to 1.1 million residents and 42,000 business establishments, making it one of Canada’s largest municipalities and the second largest business centre in the Province of Ontario.
Comprised of nine local municipalities, York Region is a premier business location in Canada. The Region is home to operations of 14 Fortune 100 companies, four of Canada’s top 10 corporate R&D investors, Canada’s second largest Information & Communications Technology (ICT) cluster and global industry leaders in Life Sciences, CleanTech, Financial Services and Advanced Manufacturing.
As Canada’s fastest growing large municipality, York Region has one of the most educated and diverse workforces in North America, the lowest commercial property taxes in greater Toronto and an exceptional quality of life attracting top global talent.
York Region’s local municipalities include the City of Markham, the City of Vaughan, the Town of Richmond Hill, the Town of Newmarket, the Town of Aurora, the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, the Town of East Gwillimbury, the Town of Georgina and the Township of King.