Canada’s entrepreneurial environment has earned a global reputation, ranking 3rd out of 197 countries in 2019 for the strength of its startup ecosystem.
Toronto, the second largest tech cluster in North America, has become a prime location for business expansion. Here are 7 reasons why company registration in Canada is recommended for successful business founders.
- International connections
A company domicile in Toronto places your business in the heart of North America’s economic and financial centers, in close proximity to New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Working in Toronto gives you the ability to communicate and travel to many major cities and regions quickly and easily.
Not only is Toronto physically close to major cities, but international trade agreements (ex: North American Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union) open doors to over a billion consumers in North America, South America and the European Union.
Toronto and Canada are globally recognized destinations for business people.
- technological innovation
Canada has a long history of technological innovation. The MaRS Discovery District was recently named the world’s leading gas pedal and has provided skills training and a network of 1’000 high-growth potential startups that collectively generated over $1.3 billion in revenue between 2008 and 2015. It is one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs and home to entrepreneurs creating the next generation of growing Canadian companies.
Toronto is also home to one of the leading technology industries on the continent with a thriving startup community and over 14’000 established businesses, including tech giants such as Microsoft, IBM Cisco, Google and Facebook.
3. Ease of doing business in Canada
The World Bank Group ranks Canada as the second best country in the G20 for starting a business and sixth best in the world. Canada also ranks high on ease of getting credit and protecting the rights of minority investors. KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives report indicates that Canada has the second highest cost of doing business among the countries studied, behind only Mexico. The cost of starting a business is reported to be 75% of the cost to do so in the United States.
- State support for entrepreneurship
Tax incentives. Foreigners who set up a company in Canada are still eligible to apply for tax credits that can be spent on employees engaged in R&D, material purchases and contract overhead. Specific examples include the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program and a separate industrial tax credit program.
Government subsidies: The Canadian government is working hard to create and support successful startups. Forbes reported that the Canadian government provides a return of up to 65% of companies’ investments in the innovation sector, giving it a distinct advantage over other regions.
- Abundance of talent
Canadian education is free and well-funded by the government. Canada consistently ranks as a leader in a wide range of education-related indicators, including:
- the percentage of the labor force with a post-secondary education,
- skills recognized by the World Economic Forum’s Human Capital Index,
- the educational attainment of Canadian schoolchildren.
Toronto is a favorite place for talent immigration from around the world, making it the best city to do business. Every year, thousands of talented people from around the world choose this city as their new home. Toronto’s deep, diverse and globally connected talent pool of skilled and highly educated individuals is the driving force behind its economic prosperity and constant drive for innovation.
- Toronto-Waterloo Corridor
The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is the equivalent of Silicon Valley, with approximately 15’000 companies and 200’000 employees. It is among the top 20 technology clusters in the world and is the second largest in North America. This is primarily because it connects Canada’s largest city, Toronto, to its leading center of innovation and research, Waterloo. - Canada’s growing startup ecosystem
Canada’s tech ecosystem continues to grow and shows no signs of stopping despite COVID-19.
Ontario’s three leading innovation centers are working together to drive a new wave in Canada’s tech ecosystem, with the goal of bringing to the surface a new generation of companies with over $100 million in capital each.