Toronto is the only Canadian city still in the running to host Amazon’s multibillion-dollar second headquarters, the e-commerce giant announced Thursday.
Toronto is also the only non-U.S. city to make the 20-names-long shortlist where it stands alongside major American metropolises such as Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
“Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough,” Amazon said in a tweet announcing the short list. “All the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity.”
Today we are announcing the communities that will proceed to the next step in the HQ2 process. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity https://t.co/x1bFYbk4Ui pic.twitter.com/J2x0HHzBTR
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) January 18, 2018
Toronto Mayor John Tory celebrated the news that the city and surrounding municipalities were in contention.
“Last year, I said I would put the Toronto Region up against any city in North America as the place for ambitious, forward-looking companies looking for a home,” he said in a statement touting Toronto’s talent, quality of life and vibrancy. “I’m glad that Amazon agrees that Toronto is worth considering.”
In the bid it submitted to Amazon last October, Toronto was quick to point out that it met all the criteria the company specified in its search for a second corporate home.
The company’s wish list included proximity to a metropolitan area with more than a million people; ability to attract top technical talent, a location 45 minutes from an international airport, direct access to mass transit, and the capacity to expand the headquarters to more than 740,000 square metres over the next decade.
Amazon HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America.
“We expect to invest over $5 billion ($6.2 billion Cdn) in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs – it will be a full equal to our current campus in Seattle,” Amazon said in a statement.
“In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.”
However, several experts point out that in the current climate of economic nationalism and protectionism being promoted by the Trump administration it’s unlikely Toronto will become Amazon’s next headquarters.
With files from The Canadian Press
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