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Toronto’s unique identity is rooted in a rich array of cultural assets that allow makers, artists and creators of all stripes to succeed.
Create here in Toronto. From film production to research facilities, Toronto is home to industries that generate buzz. Manufacturers and designers alike succeed as part of Toronto’s diverse and resourceful landscape, making their mark beyond Toronto’s city limits.
| Toronto is a Creative City | Toronto is a major centre for the creative industries – design, fashion, film, new media, television and stage production – and has expanded rapidly in recent years. The creative sector generates $9 billion of Toronto’s GDP annually and employs 130,000 people, representing close to 6% of the total Toronto region’s workforce. |
| Toronto is the Lead Role | Toronto is the 3rd largest centre in North America alongside New York and Los Angeles for both the film and music industries. |
| Toronto is Design | With the largest design workforce in Canada and the third largest in North America, Toronto’s designers bring ideas to life across economic sectors. |
| Toronto is Manufacturing | Home to over 4,300 manufacturing firms employing almost 120,000 people, Toronto is home to a strong advanced manufacturing base across a range of sectors such as food and beverage, life sciences, aerospace, fashion/apparel, ICT, and machinery and equipment. |
| Toronto is Tinkering and Inventing | Incubating across the city’s diverse network of makerspaces, prototype labs and research facilities, new and existing businesses are embracing digital and additive manufacturing to build the next generation of Toronto manufacturers. |
| Toronto is Supporting Innovation | Toronto is home to a network of makerspaces, co-working spaces and business incubators/accelerators that enable entrepreneurs in creative industries and manufacturing to start and grow their business. |
Toronto is a city of potential, a place where entrepreneurs can succeed and grow. Read about some of the city’s hottest startups and why they decided to startup here.
“I think it’s an attractive place to come for talented people, it's a huge market for creative people and I think there are some companies emerging that give people hope that it can be done here.”
Mike McDerment, CEO/Co-Founder, Freshbooks
"If you come to our studio and take a look at the people sitting around the table discussing ideas, they’re from almost every part of the world. I think it has really helped Umbra create an international style.”
Paul Rowan, Co-Founder and VP Inspiration, Umbra
“In Toronto, Bombardier manufactures business and commercial aircraft and relies on the diversified, local regional supply chain. We work with more than 70 suppliers located in the Greater Toronto Area and we benefit from a variety of expertise going from complex machining to systems integration.”
Graham Kelly, Vice-President, Global Operations & Toronto Site, Bombardier Aerospace
“Something that makes Toronto truly unique is that willingness to share and communicate with people very openly inside the industry looking at the global pie as something we can all co-create and achieve together.”
Satish Kanwar, Director of Product, Shopify
"Toronto is emerging as a technology hub and attracting increased investment, including ours, because of forward thinking government and amazing access to technology, an incredible talent pool and leading educational institutions, as well as industries and markets in healthcare and financial services.”
Dr. Rick Huijbregts, Vice-President, Industry Transformation, Cisco Canada
"Startups in Toronto benefit from support at every stage. From the very early stage we have incubators, accelerators and seed stage investors. In the growth stage, we have funders willing to invest a lot of money to really help a company take-off. This gives tech companies in Toronto a huge advantage.”
Allen Lau, CEO & Co-Founder, Wattpad
“The scale and quality of meet-ups and conferences and speaking events have gone up dramatically. You don’t need to leave Toronto to build a successful company.”
Evgeny Tchebotarev, Co-Founder, 500px
"A culture of collaboration is really at the heart of what’s next in innovation. What’s exciting in Toronto is that we have local and international businesses partnering with the startup ecosystem and increasingly with the academic community to position themselves for success in the future. And it’s happening across the spectrum from digital media and information technology, to life sciences and healthcare, energy solutions and social innovation.”
Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District
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