When German companies consider entering the North American market, they think of Silicon Valley, New York, Detroit, and Boston. You have to be in these cities to really make an impact. But is that true? Not necessarily. It all depends on your company's needs. Looking beyond the northern border of the US to Ontario, Canada, could be the key to your company's growth.
Do you need easy access to a highly skilled workforce to grow your business? In an analysis of 50 North American cities by global consulting firm CBRE, Toronto ranked fourth overall in access to a highly skilled tech workforce and 48th in cost. Ottawa ranked 14th and 47th in the corresponding categories. Waterloo topped the emerging markets category. This means you can hire good workers at a lower cost—just compare Toronto ($85,000) or Waterloo ($65,000) with a city like San Francisco ($135,000). Incidentally, no other Canadian province or US state—not even California—has two cities in the top 15.
Do you plan to bring your own workforce to Canada? The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) enables uncomplicated implementation of an intra-company transfer of employees through a normal visa procedure – including an open work permit for spouses or life partners. Furthermore, the Canadian government offers you the so-called Global Talent Stream the opportunity to bring skilled workers from all over the world to Canada – and the processing time is only two weeks!
Ontario as a springboard to North America
Do you need access to more markets? Home to a population of 15 million, the province of Ontario not only boasts Canada's highest GDP, but is also located in the heart of North America, offering easy access to hundreds of millions of consumers in the Northeast and Midwest of the United States. Furthermore, CETA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) offer you free access to more countries than any other G7 country.
In Ontario, you also have access to a comprehensive network of universities, industry and business accelerators for high-techStartups like the world-famous Creative Destruction Lab for artificial intelligence, the MaRS Discovery District, L-Spark (with a focus on SaaS) and many more. There are very few places in the world with a similar combination of high-tech density and a highly developed manufacturing economy—in fact, Munich is the only other place I know of with a thriving high-tech ecosystem and traditional manufacturing coexisting. Ontario boasts five automakers, its pharmaceutical production, Canada's largest chemical industry, and much more.
Support with the first steps
All of these factors answer the question of why Ontario could be the key to your company's growth in North America. Now let's turn to the question of how, or rather, the concrete next steps, if you're considering settling in Ontario. First of all, Ontario makes the initial decision to consider us as a location easier. We have an office with four employees in the heart of Munich and can discuss the pros and cons with you, as well as explore whether considering a location in Ontario makes sense for you as a stepping stone to North America.
First of all, starting a business in Ontario is a straightforward process. Working with our partners, we can connect you with appropriate lawyers and tax advisors who can advise you on how to approach the company formation process.
We can also discuss your personal plans. If you're considering moving to Canada, there are support programs available, such as the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Entrepreneur Stream, which will expedite your process to obtain permanent residency (based on an investment of at least 200,000 Canadian dollars outside of the Greater Toronto Area or 600,000 Canadian dollars within the Greater Toronto Area).
To determine the ideal location in Ontario for your business, the most sensible type of establishment, or the most suitable property, we will assist you in selecting the right community and the best property for your business growth.
Funding programs in Canada
We can discuss various funding and financial support programs, such as the R&D tax creditthat you can claim for research activities in Ontario. This means you can receive up to $1,455,000 in qualified expenses reimbursed by the government for R&D conducted in Ontario.
If you'd like to expand your reach into the market, there's also the opportunity to partner with companies and research institutes in Ontario. The National Research Council of Canada and the Central Innovation Program for SMEs conduct several German-Canadian Calls for tenders for innovative projects Here, too, our office can help you identify partners.
An example of a successful bilateral innovation project in which our office was recently involved is the collaboration between a water technology company from Bavaria and a high-tech company from Ontario in the development of a product for remote monitoring of water bodies.
Conclusion
Ontario offers you a convincing, coherent overall package with a warm, inviting business climate, a high quality of life, a large number of daily direct flights to Munich and Frankfurt – and the world’s second largest Oktoberfest! Feel free to contact us if you're tempted to look further north.
