York Region aims to ‘elevate’ its tech sector amid marketing push

The region is further formulating its ‘Made in York’ brand name to promote its thriving tech sector

Yorkregion.com
May 31, 2019
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Since hiring two marketing firms -- Shikatani Lacroix and Jones Lang LaSalle -- to promote its tech sector in 2016, York Region has “learned a lot,” a director says, adding that there are more plans under its sleeve.

“We’ve learned a lot in the process to get us to where we are today,” Doug Lindeblom, director of economic strategy at York Region, said after Collision, a big three-day tech event which took place for the first time in Toronto from May 20-23.

Collision drew participants from more than 120 countries with thousands of attendees, including big names from Microsoft, Samsung and other venture capital executives, as well as entrepreneurs showcasing their latest innovative ideas.

At Collision, York Region, which dubs its tech sector as the “second largest in Canada,” had its own pavilion. It showcased the region’s innovators such as York University, Seneca, Venture Lab, and local tech companies, which included Bluewrist, Book4time, CI@Net, ClearBridge, Daisy Intelligence, Laipac, Mircom and Unx.

At its island, it also highlighted nine “early stage” startup companies.

“So we're going to take what we've learned now from Collision, we've raised the bar in terms of our exposure, and what do we need to do to elevate it even further,” Lindeblom said.

As it continues to push its social media efforts and tech arm website York Link, the region is going to “partner” with Venture Lab for an upcoming event, “focusing on technology and the ecosystem we have here” in November.

At Collision, investors discussed and debated the best cities to funnel their monies into. Is it Silicon Valley? Or is it New York, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Amsterdam or even Israel?

Toronto, which Lindeblom calls "the focus where all the startups happen," is making a big splash and garnering a name for itself, hence why Collision came to the city.

But how does York Region compare to Toronto?

“The 905 (not just York Region) has traditionally been more of a business-to-business enterprise, software development, hardware manufacturing, and integration of components that centre for business purposes. So business to business in 905, versus business to consumer in Toronto.”

And what distinguishes Toronto from the global scene, it's “very versatile” Lindeblom says. “We are broadly based in any kind of tech.”

“So the other thing that I think distinguishes Canada is the diversity ... And so you can get the diverse talent, the languages, with immigration policies that encourage that talent to come here.”

When asked if the populist U.S. President Donald Trump is helping Canada as a whole in attracting these talents, Lindeblom said, “Oh, absolutely. There's no question.”