Vaughan ranked second best place in Ontario to do business

YorkRegion.com
July 21, 2016
Adam Martin-Robbins  

Vaughan ranks among the top communities in the country to do business, according to the latest survey by Canadian Business and PROFIT magazines.

The city placed eighth nationwide and second in Ontario, in the Best Places for Business in Canada, a ranking of the country’s top 25 communities.

Grand Prairie, Alberta topped the list, while Whitby, which landed in seventh spot nationally, narrowly beat Vaughan for the best community in Ontario.

Edmonton, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, High River, Winnipeg, Moose Jaw and Burlington rounded out the top 10 nationally.

The second annual ranking looked at 60 municipalities with populations of 15,000 or more and weighed several factors including the cost of office space, population size and growth, how quickly building permits are processed, as well as the average household income and education levels of residents.

The Best Places for Business survey, published last week, also features a number of sub-lists including most affordable cities (such as lowest costs for rent and electricity), most business-friendly local government and most lucrative, which looked at such things as affluence, population size and growth.

Vaughan took first place in the most lucrative category with a population of 322,525, annualized population growth of 1.68 per cent, an average household income of $120,631 and its close proximity, within an hour drive, to 7,117,409 people living outside the city.

“Being ranked as a top place for business in Canada is a reflection of our commitment to innovation and opportunity,” Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua said in a statement.

“As a growing city we take pride in our ability to attract investment and this is evident in our healthy job market with over 200,000 jobs, our strong population growth and our low tax rates. Business people are great partners and by working together we are building a world-class city.”