York Region among country’s best places to invest

York Region, home to the third-largest manufacturing sector in Ontario and a leading Canadian tech hub with more than 4,900 technology companies, has been ranked one of Canada’s top 20 locations to invest.

“York Region is proud to be named one of Canada’s best places to invest for the second consecutive year,” Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson says of the ranking by Site Selection Magazine, a leading business publication covering corporate real estate and economic development.

“Through York Region’s commitment to economic vitality in our Corporate Strategic Plan and through the activities identified in the Economic Development Action Plan, together with our nine local cities and towns, we continue to create thriving conditions for existing and new businesses to grow and succeed,” Emmerson says.

The business publication’s Canadian Competitiveness Award once again recognizes Ontario as the most competitive province, followed by Québec and Saskatchewan. Eleven of the top 20 economic development groups are located in Ontario. The ranking is based on criteria including corporate investment, job creation and positive impact of those investments for the entire community.

The publication named several specific new investment and expansion projects in York Region, including Shein Distribution and Qualcomm in Markham. Its central location in the Greater Toronto Area and multi-billion-dollar transit and infrastructure investments are among York’s key business advantages, the Region notes. It’s also home to shovel-ready employment sites, has a highly educated labour force and offers a mix of urban, suburban and rural lifestyles.

York is home to more than 1.25 million residents and 57,000 businesses with more than 629,000 employees combined. For more information on economic development in York Region, visit YorkLink.ca.