As the technology sector experiences rapid expansion and cities worldwide compete for tech opportunities beyond Silicon Valley, many executives, investors, and entrepreneurs are going to warm destinations such as Austin and Miami as the forthcoming tech epicenters. However, in comparison to the huge tech scene that’s growing at a fast rate along the shores of Lake Ontario, these locations seem to be growing at a slower rate!

Toronto has emerged as an outstanding contender, standing as the third-largest tech hub in North America. This transformation is thanks to extensive investments from local universities, government bodies, business leaders, and bolstered by Canada's progressive immigration policies. According to CBRE, a real estate company specializing in tech talent analysis, Toronto now boasts a greater number of tech professionals than major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., trailing only behind New York and Silicon Valley.

Toronto’s Workforce Enables Web Design Companies

Toronto's tech workforce is surging ahead faster than any other hub in the United States. And unlike many cities, Toronto seems poised to keep up this momentum with its ample resources. As the fourth-largest city in North America, with over three million residents in the city and more than six million in the metro area, Toronto ranks only behind Mexico City, New York, and Los Angeles. Its tech roots run deep.

"People keep talking about Miami as the next big tech spot because of its low taxes. But beyond that, it doesn't offer much from a tech perspective," remarked Mike Volpi, a partner at Index Ventures, during a recent visit to Toronto. "You need anchor companies that can really shake things up. Entrepreneurs often emerge from these companies and start their own ventures."

These anchor companies, which include Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify alongside numerous American tech companies, have flocked to Toronto for its existing pool of talented researchers and engineers. But they're also betting on the talent pool to keep expanding, thanks to education and immigration.

One computer scientist originally from Korea who grew up in Toronto, spent six years at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco before convincing the company to establish an engineering hub in Canada. They finally did and they didn’t regret it.

Over the last year, Twitter hired more than 100 engineers in Toronto, tripling its Canadian work force. Household internet names like DoorDash, eBay and Pinterest built similar technology hubs in the city, as did rising artificial intelligence companies like Cerebras and Recursion Pharmaceuticals.

Toronto Universities power local Tech

This corner of Canada includes two universities known for generating top researchers and engineers: the University of Toronto, a short walk from downtown, and the University of Waterloo, are also renowned for their tech and specifically, research in Artificial Intelligence. Talent from around the world flocks here. In the past, much of this talent left canada for the United States. But engineers and computer scientists trained in and around Toronto increasingly are deciding to stay here in the city.

In Toronto, U.S.-based companies can also speed the arrival of new tech talent from other countries — a talent stream that has long been the lifeblood of the American tech industry. As the U.S. immigration system slowed and sputtered under the Trump administration, Canada introduced programs intended to bring skilled workers into a country that is already unusually diverse. Nearly 50 percent of Toronto’s residents were born outside the country, according to the city. And most Canadians support healthy immigration, polls show.

“It is infinitely easier to bring that kind of talent into Canada,” said Heather Kirkby, chief people officer at Recursion, a company that applies A.I. to drug discovery. “A lot of companies have given up on immigration in the U.S. There are limits to what’s possible.”

In and around Toronto, local institutions are intent on feeding the tech ecosystem. Ontario recently passed a law that explicitly bars companies from enforcing no compete clauses in employment contracts, encouraging employees to found their own start-ups. Backed by a $100 million donation from local business leaders, the University of Toronto is building a complex that will house A.I. and biotech companies. This is a great boon not only for web Design Company in Toronto, but tech startups of all kinds.