York Region boasts Canada’s highest concentration of tech firms: planner

'Highest tech talent is not in Waterloo, but in York Region,' chief planner Paul Freeman says

Yorkregion.com
October 31, 2018
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Relative to its population, York Region has the “highest concentration” of tech companies in Canada, according to its chief planner.

“York region is home to over 4,000 information, communication, technology companies,” said Paul Freeman, York Region’s chief planner for planning and economic development. “This makes it the highest concentration in the technology sector in Canada, relative to our population.”

According to the 2016 census population estimate by Statistics Canada, York Region has about 1.1 million population. On top of that, its population is continuously rising.

“There is quite an influx (of people) and a very good amount of growth York Region achieves, not only in terms of population growth, but also in the high tech sector,” Freeman added. “We have many tech positions, good paying jobs.”

Citing a 2016 Statistics Canada report, Freeman said, “highest tech talent is not in Waterloo, but in York Region."

The competition between cities is high, especially in that there are about six million “highly skilled” tech workers across the United States and Canada, according to research company CBRE's annual talent report.

In July, CBRE reported that Toronto “for a second year running” was “North America’s fastest growing tech market.”

However, CBRE didn’t specify if it included the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in its research.

“Other Canadian cities had a strong showing with Ottawa and Montreal ranking at 13th and 14th, respectively,” it added.

York Region, meanwhile, has also its own special spots that differentiate it from other places, including that of Toronto.

Markham, dubbed by Mayor Frank Scarpitti as the “Tech Capital of Canada,” is already galvanizing some international attention. Last month, Scarpitti said Japan comes second as the source for the foreign direct investment in Markham, employing approximately 3,400 people in the city so far.