Last time we reported on the bid to become the next home of Amazon, Vancouver was effectively out.
That left only one Canadian still in the realistic running – Toronto. Now, Canada’s largest city is apparently a frontrunner to land the highly coveted HQ2, Amazon’s second headquarters.
According to tourism and real estate consultancy Resonance, Toronto is the second most-likely city to land HQ2. There are currently 20 cities (of 238 that initially submitted proposals) clamouring to be the chosen one. The reward? $5 billion in investment and 50,000 high-paying jobs.
Resonance analyzed the 20 remaining cities based on five metrics:
Talent
Educational attainment and the ranking of institutions of higher education
Cultural Community Fit
Diversity measured by the percentage of population foreign born and percentage that speak a language other than English at home
Quality of Life
Crime rate, average time to commute to work, and the quality of neighbourhoods and landmarks
Housing Affordability
Affordability of housing relative to the median household income
Recreational Opportunities
Access to quality parks and outdoor activities
A Stable and Business-friendly Environment
The number of Fortune 500 companies
Aside from housing affordability, it’s easy to see why Toronto would score well. These are the top 10 best-performing cities according to the consultancy’s analysis:
1. New York City
2. Toronto
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. Northern Virginia
6. Montgomery County
7. Los Angeles
8. Boston
9. Austin
10. Dallas
And there’s even more reason for hope. Unlike New York City, Toronto has the land necessary to take on a project of this scale. Unfortunately, Toronto can’t offer the same type of luring tax incentives American cities have up their sleeve. Still, Mayor John Tory remains positive.
The experts are learning what we have known for a long time – more companies are seeing Toronto as a world leader for tech sector investment, jobs, and innovation.
Proud our Amazon bid is helping show Toronto to the world! #AmazonHQ2 #TOtechhttps://t.co/juOEjifqNK
— John Tory (@JohnTory) May 17, 2018
Amazon has visited all 20 cities on the shortlist and has not announced a deadline for the decision. You can check out Toronto’s 185-page proposal here.