In recent years, Toronto has been making waves in the tech industry. The city’s vibrant tech ecosystem, which is being constantly developed through various initiatives, educational institutions, and a burgeoning number of startups, is turning heads across the nation. Therefore, it is pertinent to ask—Is Toronto Transforming into Canada’s Premier Tech Employment Hub? Absolute YES!
Now, the big question is – how exactly does Toronto achieve this feat? Sit back and relax as we will enlighten you in this article about how this vibrant city has been able to achieve this. In this blog post, we’ll explore how Toronto is on the path to becoming Canada’s premier tech employment hub. Keep reading!
Tech Ecosystem, Initiatives, and Ventures in Toronto
Toronto’s reputation as a tech hub has attracted top talent, making it a melting pot of ideas and entrepreneurship. Toronto has seen a surge in tech initiatives and ventures, and this has fuelled its growth as a tech employment hub. The city is home to a diverse range of tech startups and companies.
The collaborative spirit within the ecosystem fosters innovation and growth. As of 2019, the average tech salary in Toronto was $100,000. This is a positive trend as there is a nine percent jump from 2018 and even reached $117,000 as of 2021 based on a research and report carried out by Hired’s State of Tech Salaries.
With a steady and continuous rise in quality of salary trends and tech job figures, the city is increasingly attractive to tech companies and startups. These companies and startups range from Healthcare to transportation, engineering, fintech, Edtech, biotech, AI, logistics, marketing, and other notable niches. Some examples of these notable startups include
- Included Health: Healthcare
- Bolt: Checkout platform
- Recharge payments: Subscription business
- Squint: software company
- Voiceflow: no code design tools
- Pepper: Foodtech
- Dealpath: real estate
- Part3: Architecture and Engineering.
Government incentives, tax breaks, and investment-friendly policies have been instrumental in this tech hub growth experienced in Toronto. Consequently, this has attracted more big and globally recognized tech companies into this area. Big tech companies like Microsoft Inc. Canada, Sage, SAP Canada, TradeRev, Taplytics, Tulip, Sensibill Inc., Ecobee, Flybit, TopHat, Think Research, and EventMobi have created branches in Toronto because of the growth being experienced in this region. All these have improved the tech job figure in Toronto based on recent research by
From 2023 to 2024 when CBRE conducted research, Toronto added 82,100 new technology-related jobs to its available tech job options, making it the fourth overall nest tech hub region in Canada. However, in a 2024 report by CBRE, a massive improvement can be noted as Canada’s tech relent force has increased by 15.7% or 150,000 people since 2020, with Toronto and Montreal regions responsible for this.
Tech Incubators, Venture Capitalists, Investments, and Accelerators
The influx of investments in the region has been a driving force behind Toronto’s tech boom. Hence, Toronto can boast a thriving ecosystem of tech incubators, venture capitalists, and accelerators based on the region’s availability of all these growth measures.
The tech incubators and accelerators startups and early-stage businesses by providing them with business and administrative support services, materials, advisory, and mentorship that will help these businesses grow. Also, the investment venture capitalists provide new tech startups that do not have enough cash flow or average to the stock market with funds to help them thrive well in the business world. Fortunately, Toronto has several accelerators, incubators, and VC investments, hence building a more balanced tech ecosystem in the region. Here are some of the accelerators, incubators, and VC investments in Toronto.
VC investments in Toronto
- OMERS Ventures.
- Georgian Partners.
- Real Ventures.
- iGan Partners.
- Golden Ventures.
- Relay Ventures.
- Extreme Venture Partners.
- Brightspark Ventures.
- Framework Venture Partners
- Whitecap Venture Partners
Accelerators and Incubators in Toronto
- Creative Destruction Lab.
- EON Accelerator.
- NextAI
- Founder Institute Toronto (pre-seed accelerator)
- gBETA Toronto.
- Hatchery (UoT)
- IDEABOOST.
- JLABS.
- LaunchYU.
- NEXT Canada
- DMZ
VC investments and incubators exist in Toronto to help these businesses grow and scale. That’s not all; accelerators in this region also help them achieve this growth aim, hence Transforming Canada into that Premier Tech Employment Hub. These entities provide crucial support and funding to startups, helping them flourish.
Educational Systems and Universities
Talking about how Toronto has contributed to Canada having the potential to transform the tech hub of Canada, the impact of the various educational systems there cannot be overemphasized or omitted. Integrating academia and industry has become a cornerstone of Toronto’s tech success.
Toronto’s educational institutions, including the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, are pivotal in nurturing tech talent. Their courses and other entrepreneurship programs like UTEST, U of T entrepreneurship community, and BEST cater to the demands of the industry, producing graduates well-prepared for tech careers. After completing their educational programs at any of these universities in Toronto, Tech Talents say back to becoming a tech entrepreneur.
At other times, the various research and project works conducted by the universities provide enough knowledge on various subjects that can be transformed into a business. Toronto has a thriving economy and infrastructural amenities. Also, the influx and presence of tech giant companies like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google help not only the economy thrive but also enhance the employment opportunities in this region, hence influencing graduates to stay back after their educational program.
Consequently, these tech talents use their top-notch skills to enhance these companies while also allowing them to come up with their own startup and tech businesses.
Conclusion
Toronto’s evolution into Canada’s premier tech employment hub is undeniable. The city’s recent tech initiatives, robust support systems, and thriving ecosystem make it an appealing destination for tech enthusiasts. As long as this momentum continues, Toronto’s status in the tech world will only rise, solidifying its place as a dynamic tech employment hub in Canada. Therefore, as a tech professional seeking opportunities or a startup looking to thrive, Toronto is a city worth watching and being a part of.