New office space announced in Montreal, Waterloo and Toronto
MONTREAL – On Thursday, Google announced the expansion of its presence in Canada with plans to build three new offices in Montréal, Waterloo and Toronto.
By 2022, Google’s Canadian offices will accommodate up to 5,000 employees. Google opened its first Canadian office in Toronto in 2001 and now employs more than 1,500 people here.
The new 425 Viger West space in Montreal (pictured is an artist rendering) will have capacity to welcome up to 1,000 employees and will span across five floors. Each floor’s design will pay homage to Montréal by reflecting the essence of five of the city’s most beloved neighbourhoods – Little Italy, Le Village, Le Plateau, Chinatown and Old Port. A Google Montréal logo in comparable calligraphy to the iconic Farine Five Roses sign will adorn the reception area walls.
Google’s Montreal team is working on products and services such as safe browsing, gaming platform Stadia, artificial intelligence, and cloud.
In Toronto, Google’s new offices will take up 18 floors at 65 King St. E., in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood.
Google also used the announcement to release new data from Public First, which says Google’s search and advertising products helped generate an estimated C$23 billion in annual economic activity for more than 500,000 businesses in Canada last year alone, “a total impact equivalent to approximately 1.1 percent of Canada’s entire GDP,” reads the release,
“The open web allows any size company or individual creator in Canada to become a global business and reach customers,” said Ruth Porat, senior vice president and CFO at Google in the company’s press release. “Canada’s digital economy is now bigger than its forestry, mining and gas industries, and the transition to digital reflects incredible momentum for Canadian businesses leveraging data and online technologies.”
(Ed note: Hmmmm… A message for the federal government now pondering the BTLR report recommendations?)
Google also said it will launch the first Google for Startups Accelerator in Canada, based in Waterloo. It will be Google’s 12th accelerator globally.
The company also announced a C$2.5 million grant for NPower Canada, a charitable organization that launches underserved young adults into meaningful and sustainable careers.
