Waterloo Region has one of the strongest tech industries in Canada and one of the biggest companies in the world is expanding its reach in the city. On Feb. 6, Google announced its new plans for Canada and it’s set to add three more offices in Toronto, Montreal and Waterloo.
The tech giant said it has always believed investing in Canada was a way they wanted to go. This partnership started in 2001, when they opened their first office in Toronto with only one employee. Google says by 2022, its Canadian offices will employ up to 5,000 people. Currently, they have around 1,500 employees north of the border.
Not only is Google expanding its offices in Canada, but they are helping Canadian businesses utilize the internet’s full potential. According to a study by Public First a research group based in the UK, “Google’s search and advertising products helped generate an estimated $23 billion in annual economic activity for more than 500,000 businesses in Canada last year alone, a total impact equivalent to approximately 1.1 per cent of Canada’s entire GDP.”
“The open web allows any size company or individual creator in Canada to become a global business and reach customers,” says Ruth Porat, Senior Vice President and CFO at Google in a statement announcing the expansion.
A local company that will greatly benefit from having more investing from Google is Communitech, a Kitchener based buisness designed to help tech start-ups get off the ground. With the construction of the second office in Kitchener, Google has also announced they are building a new start-up accelerator that will focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence.
“Google’s amazing growth and strong support for start-ups in Waterloo Region is further proof that there is no better place in Canada for tech talent to call home. This investment really builds on the status of the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor as a world-leading innovation ecosystem,” said Communitech CEO Iain Klugman.
In June 2019, the owners of the Breithaupt Block announced a $150 million addition to an unnamed company. Construction of this facility began in November, and after the announcement from Google it is confirmed they are the company that will be moving in. The massive building will be 11 stories and will add 300,000 square feet of space. There will also be an accompanying parking lot that will have 700 spots. Google is going all in with Waterloo Region, solidifying an already solid tech industry, helping provide the proper tools of current and future entrepreneurs.
