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An assessment of Toronto's Global Competitiveness
The new economic context is unlike any Toronto has faced before. The structure of Toronto's economy, the nature of competitiveness, and the role of cities has radically changed. As the economic engine of Canada, we need to adopt new ideas, new approaches and new strategies to reach our full potential in the face of this new reality and maintain our competitive position across Canada and around the world.
Toronto has undergone a profound transformation over the past 10 years with free trade, globalization and new information and communication technologies, fundamentally changing our economy.
Toronto Competes assesses Toronto's global competitiveness and benchmarks 10 key export industry clusters against other international cities and city-regions. The report looks at both the City of Toronto and the broader economic region in which businesses operate. Initiated by the City's Economic Development Office in partnership with City Planning and support from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade's Office for Urban Economic Development, the study was undertaken by an international team of consultants. The 'bottom line' views of business, labour, university, college, and industry association representatives were gathered through interviews and small group meetings to supplement the extensive review of available data and literature.
This independent review provides a fresh and objective perspective on the Toronto economy and will be an important input to the City's emerging Economic Development Strategy and Official Plan.
Why is economic competitiveness important to all of us?
Our economic competitiveness is the source of our prosperity which in turn provides the basis for our high quality of life. Creating a vital cycle of increasing economic competitiveness and improving quality of life is critical to long-term sustainability.
Expansion of the export economy brings new wealth into the community supporting Toronto's quality of life. The continued performance of Toronto's key export industry clusters is critical to the City's future prosperity.
As illustrated, both the competitive export clusters and local goods and services providers rely on strong economic foundations such as human resources, research & development, financing, infrastructure, business climate, and quality of life, to develop and attract the knowledge, skills, innovation, and entrepreneurship successful economies require. Successful businesses produce the wealth and jobs necessary to sustain and enhance these economic foundations. Strong foundations are essential to maintaining our economy at the best of times, and critically important in times of rapid change, such as the current transition to a knowledge-based economy.
Toronto Businesses Emerge as Strong Contenders
Free trade, globalization and the rapid development and dissemination of advanced information and communication technologies have fundamentally changed the global economy. The Toronto economy has been at the forefront of profound transformation over the past 10 years. And through all of these developments, Toronto businesses have adapted and emerged as strong contenders in the world economy.
Toronto has to a large extent shed its old routine, mass-production economy and developed one based on advanced services, high technology, cultural industries, and innovative speciality manufacturing.
Our focus has shifted from trading in protected, but limited, Canadian markets to the unprotected and unlimited international arena. In 1981, the value of Ontario exports to the rest of the country was about equal to international exports. Today, the situation has changed completely with international exports valued at close to three times those to the rest of Canada. An estimated 92 per cent of Ontario's international exports now go to the U.S., representing 43 per cent of the provincial GDP.
Toronto Benefits From a Diverse Economy
Unlike many cities whose economic fortunes are tied to one or two major industries, Toronto has a broad array of successful manufacturing and services clusters. Other international cities strive for the economic diversity that Toronto has already achieved.
Toronto's long history as a centre for trade, manufacturing, finance, research and development, and our superior quality of life is evident in the success of the 10 industry clusters assessed and benchmarked in Toronto Competes: Aerospace, Apparel & Fashion, Automotive, Biomedical and Biotechnology, Business and Professional Services, Financial Services, Food and Beverages, and Information Technology and Telecommunications, Media and Tourism.
Toronto is outperforming the North American Average in Terms of Job Growth
In many of Toronto's export clusters, the Toronto region outperforms the North American average in terms of job growth.
For example:
...in job terms Toronto has the single largest Biomedical and Biotechnology cluster of any metropolitan area in North America. The success of this cluster is strongly linked to leading-edge knowledge and research capabilities  the University of Toronto, for example, has the largest faculty of medicine in North America. |
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...similarly the Business and Professional Services cluster is one of the largest in North America and is growing more rapidly than its American counterparts in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston or Washington. |
...Toronto's Food and Beverage cluster is the largest manufacturing industry in the city. Businesses within Toronto specialize in innovative product development tied to our diverse multicultural communities, tourism and a competitive and entrepreneurial restaurant industry. |
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...Toronto's Information Technology and Telecommunications cluster is larger than New York's or Los Angeles' and is unique in its strength in both hardware and software. |
Toronto is well Positioned for Success in the Knowledge Economy
In advanced economies, the generation of new ideas and the translation of these ideas into innovative products and services of superior quality are the primary way economic value is added. Toronto has a superior quality of life and a rich legacy of investment in education, research, technology and culture precisely the elements necessary for success in the knowledge economy. All of the basics are in place and our track record shows we are using our imagination and ingenuity to advance in the knowledge economy.
Toronto is the knowledge centre of our region and has the critical mass of creative people necessary for innovation to flourish.
Toronto is the knowledge centre of our region and has the critical mass of creative people necessary for innovation to flourish. More than 100 languages are spoken and over 50 per cent of the city's labour force have a university degree or community college diploma. Toronto's diversity and strong concentration of highly skilled workers are tremendous competitive assets and driving forces behind our economic success.
A New Economy Requires New Approaches
There is no going back to the old Toronto economy. The new knowledge-based economy is driven by creativity, innovation, skills, and entrepreneurship. And cities that have the critical mass and diversity of people, ideas, specialized skills, infrastucture and markets are the new command and control centres of the global economy. Toronto can improve its competitive position by building on its most important strength its people; and by focussing on three success factors for the knowledge economy - innovation, skills development, and entrepreneurship.
The stakes are clearly high, not only for Toronto but also for Ontario and Canada. As Canada's corporate headquarters, financial centre and premier business address, Toronto will lead the Canadian economy into the globally competitive 21st century.
Toronto Competes highlights the relationship between economic competitiveness and quality of life, and emphasizes the importance of neighbourhoods, housing mix, schools, and other human services to Toronto's long-term success. It also points to the importance of implementing proactive policies to encourage business start-up and expansion and to support redevelopment and revitalization of existing employment areas spread throughout Toronto.
Good infrastructure including transit, roads, airports, piped services, public buildings is still a prerequisite to retaining our well earned reputation as the 'city that works' and making our businesses internationally competitive. Telecommunications and transportation are key to being globally connected. In the knowledge economy, investing in 'soft' infrastructure research, education, training and mentoring is also critically important. Building strong interconnected networks of people to advance technology transfer, design, e-communication, arts and culture is essential to developing a sustainable economy.
We can only achieve our full economic potential by leveraging and linking business, labour, government, research, education, and cultural institutions and communities. Through enhancing these partnerships, we will continue to produce innovative and specialized products and services for export, improve our competitive position, and improve our quality of life.
No one agency or group can improve the City's competitive position or quality of life alone. The cost of go-it-alone programs is increasingly prohibitive. Successful economies require public investment, private investment, and public-private partnerships.
For more sector-specific information, see Key industry clusters.
Toronto Competes
Toronto Competes was initiated by the City's Economic Development Office in partnership with City Planning and support from the Ontario ministry of Economic Development and Trade's Office for Urban Economic Development.
Contact us:
Attention:
Economic Development
Fax. (416) 397-5332
Mail: invest@toronto.ca
