Ontario Cities Lead the Way in the 2021 Business Facilities Report

From financial technology to food processing, Ontario ranks high in key sectors

Business Facilities magazine recently released its 2021 Metro and Global Rankings Reports, and Ontario cities rank highly on numerous lists. Business Facilities is a leading full-service media brand specializing in the site selection marketplace.

Toronto, Ontario debuts in the rankings as the 5th best startup ecosystem

This year Toronto bursts into the best startup ecosystem rankings for the first time, landing in the top five. Ontario’s startup ecosystem is uniquely collaborative among companies and firms, with corporate, academic and government partnerships and a skilled, educated and diverse workforce. The province’s quality of life is unparalleled, and the eclectic cultural scene is attracting new talent. Several incubators and accelerators support Toronto’s thriving startup ecosystem: MaRS, the world’s largest urban innovation hub that helps startups in the health, cleantech, fintech and enterprise sectors; Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a non-profit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies; JLABS, Johnson & Johnson’s first life science incubator situated outside of the U.S.; and DMZ, Canada’s top university business incubator that assists startups and entrepreneurs worldwide.

Toronto, Ontario is a top 3 global fintech leader

This year, Toronto’s fintech sector ranks third among other cities around the world. With nearly 700 fintech companies in the country, almost 60% of these businesses reside in Ontario. Toronto is the heart of fintech in the province, with the headquarters for Canada’s four largest banks, eight major Canadian asset managers and 80% of all foreign banks operating in the country. With bountiful tech-educated workers and one of the world’s most sound banking systems, this global city of the future is truly an attractive destination for fintech companies anywhere in the world.

Brampton, Ontario remains the top food processing city in the world

For the second year in a row, Brampton, a city of the future, reigns as the best city in the world for food processing. This consistent ranking comes as no surprise—Ontario’s food and beverage processing sector is the largest in the country, with a rich agriculture base and a strong workforce of over 95,000 people. Brampton accounts for 37% of Canada’s food processing industry’s revenue, contributing $1.3 billion annually to Canada’s GDP. With 8,500 workers employed at companies such as Coca-Cola Bottling and Loblaws, Brampton offers food testing, processing and packaging facilities, transportation, packaging design, equipment and refrigeration storage, making the city a food processing powerhouse.

A magnet for businesses in every corner of the world

Global companies from all sectors flock to Ontario to invest, as evidenced by Ontario’s rise to third place for foreign direct investment (FDI) for projects and capital investments. The province’s highly innovative environment has not gone unnoticed—tech giants such as Netflix and TikTok have recently tapped into the talented workforce that Ontario has to offer. Ontario is also the perfect habitat for the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry. With an ideal climate created by an abundance of critical materials, an ethical supply chain and support from the provincial and federal governments, automotive powerhouses like Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), General Motors and Ford have expanded their EV manufacturing to Ontario.

Ontario is open for business—here’s how Invest Ontario will show you in

Invest Ontario, led by Interim CEO Trevor Dauphinee, is the new agency to help businesses and investors around the world leverage the opportunities that Ontario has to offer. The agency assists companies seeking expansion opportunities and helps future-focused organizations realize their strategic business growth in the province.

Learn more about the services Invest Ontario can provide to you.