TORONTO – September 13, 2017 – Toronto Mayor John Tory, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey, Roger Anderson, Chairman and CEO of Durham Region, Chair Gary Carr of Halton Region, and Wayne Emmerson, Chairman and CEO of the Regional Municipality of York, have collectively agreed that the best way to compete is to submit a regional bid for Amazon's second corporate headquarters in North America.
The Toronto Region Mayors and Chairs have released the following statement:
"The Toronto Region Mayors and Chairs have asked Mark Cohon, Chair of Toronto Global and Janet Ecker, Vice-Chair of Toronto Global to lead our bid team, working under the leadership of the Province of Ontario. They will be supported by Toby Lennox, CEO of Toronto Global, the Toronto Global Board of Directors, and key business and community leaders across the region to put the most attractive bid forward that demonstrates the scale, diversity, talent, creativity and dynamic opportunities in the Toronto Region.
The Toronto Region is ready for Amazon. The company already has a strong presence in the area, with more than two-million square feet of operational footprint across the Toronto Region. With ready access to major markets, a compelling cost structure, and sophisticated U.S. and international connectivity, there has never been a better time for Amazon to choose the Toronto Region.
This is an exciting opportunity for Canada, Ontario, and the Toronto Region to work together to respond to Amazon's request for proposals on behalf of the Toronto Region, promoting the collective assets of the most dynamic and innovative region in the world. As the commercial centre of the country, this is the Toronto Region's opportunity to showcase our attractive regional building sites, highlight our expansive and rapidly growing technology ecosystem, and introduce the depth and breadth of our global talent pool. We also look forward to highlighting our unmatched cultural diversity to Amazon executives and frankly, to be a little un-Canadian and show off our amazing quality of life. These are the key attributes Amazon is looking for and we will have an attractive story and creative proposal to share."
Launched in February 2017, Toronto Global is an arms-length not-for-profit corporation representing municipalities in the Toronto Region. Its mandate is to work with our municipal, provincial and federal colleagues to market the entire region to international investors by promoting the Toronto Region's diversity of services, sectors and industries, diverse and innovative workforce and strong and stable economy to attract FDI from targeted industries around the world. Toronto Global's work builds upon the federal and provincial government's commitment to growing Canada's innovation and knowledge-based economies by driving targeted, region-wide economic growth to generate quality skills, jobs and opportunities for Canadians.
Toronto Global's team of experts provides a comprehensive, customized service to ensure a smooth transition for international companies wishing to do business in the Toronto Region. Toronto Global makes investing in the region simpler by actively researching and targeting growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, financial services, technology and food and beverage with a goal of bringing companies to the region to generate economic growth and create high value jobs.
Julia Sakas Director, Marketing and Communications, Toronto Global jsakas@torontoglobal.ca 647-729-0735