Best Universities

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Information Communications Technologies
ICT Greater Toronto Area
Electronic Arts October 16, 2007
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Greater TorontoWhy the right choice!

• Economy - A highly diversified economy and a
  major contributor to Canadas GDP.
• Cost - Canadas business center, Toronto, is one
  of the lowest cost centers in the world.
• Labor - Has a well-educated and creative talent
  pool with a rich blend of cultures.
• Location - Toronto is central to North American
  business.
• Quality of Life - Toronto is an attractive
  location for any international business.

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The GTA contributes 1/5th of Canadas GDP.
GTA has a population of over 5.5 million. The GTA
consist of 25 municipalities, including the City
of Toronto and 4 regions. The area of the GTA is
7,124 Sq. Km. or 2,750 sq. miles.
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The GTA offers businesses one of the most highly
diversified economies customer base in the
world
Source Institute for Competitiveness
Prosperity, 2002.
Source Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
2006, ER 530.

• With a current labor force of 3.1 million, by
  2031,
• 4.1 million jobs will exist in the GTA.

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A location in the GTA offers the best access to
North Americas top markets
The GTA is within a 500 mile radius (one-day
drive or 1 hour flight) where you can access 135
million people, compared to 70 million for New
York at a comparable distance.
Source Ontario Investment Service.
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GTAS Amongst the Worlds Most Well-Educated
(1) Tertiary level education includes trades
certificate/diploma, college, or university.
Ontario based on Stats Canada, all others based
on OECD Source OECD Education at a Glance
(2003) Statistics Canada www.2Ontario.com
GTMA Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and
Universities 2005
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The GTA ranks 3rd in terms of employment in ICT.
Employment Level in Major North American
Metropolitan Areas, Private Facilities of 100
employees, 2003
Source Greater Toronto Information
Communications Technologies Industry Profile
EB Data, 2004.
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So why is the GTA a major player?
This cluster of ICT activity attracts brain power
and creates synergies between customers and
suppliers allowing them to excel in the global
economy.
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Some of the Major ICT Players in the GTA

• Merrill Lynch selected Toronto as the location
  for a new technology center, employing
  highly-skilled professionals in financial
  services and technology. The Center will house
  'Centers of Excellence' - to create innovative
  systems for Merrill Lynch businesses.
• Oracle new 135M, 10-story office building
  (production and RD laboratories, a call-centre
  and the company's Canadian headquarters)
• Microsoft Canada new 73M Canadian headquarters
• Bell Mobility new 60M three-tower office complex
  (headquarters, wireless technology development
  lab and call centre).
• IBM opened a 125 million Software Solutions Lab
  employing 2,500 software developers and acting as
  IBMs central facility for the advancement of new
  technologies

Source The Interactive Digital Media Industry in
the Greater Toronto Area EB Data, 2003.
CNW Group, October 2007.
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Already more than 350 foreign ICT subsidiaries
are located in the Region.
Employment 25,000 Top investor USA - 70 of
foreign-owned facilities
Source Greater Toronto Information
Communications Technologies Industry Profile
EB Data, 2004.
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New Media In the Greater Toronto Area
The interactive Digital Media(iDM) sector in the
GTA is one of the most innovative sectors of the
ICT industry and possesses a diverse and talented
pool of creative talent comparable to New York
and San Francisco.

• Booming Industry
• According to the OMDC, the interactive media
  sector employs 8,000 people in Ontario generating
  revenues of 1.2 billion (2003).
• Video and PC Games industry in Canada, including
  video game hardware and accessories, generated
  890 million total revenue (2005)
• Canadas market is growing at a rate of 16.4
  annually. With high broadband penetration,
  Canada is expected to be a leader in the online
  games market.
• In 2003, PWC acclaimed Canadas media and
  entertainment sector leading the world in its
  Entertainment and Media Outlook 2004-2008.
• Factoid GTA ranked 4th on Richard Floridas
  North American Bohemian Index(creativity and
  artistic talent)and 1st on the Mosaic Index
  (multiculturalism).

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Deep Pool of Expertise
According to ABI Research, the global computer
games industry is expected to double from US32.6
billion last year to nearly US65.9 billion by
2011.
Video Gaming Companies and their Areas of
Expertise include

• Hardware
• Console Games
• PC Games
• Mobile Games
• Web Games
• Animation
• Digital Effects
• Software Tools
• Handheld Games

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Interactive Firms in the GTA
Silverbirch Studios - Mobile Games
www.silverbirchstudios.com Bitcasters - Casual
Games www.bitcasters.com Fuel Industries -
Casual/Adver Games www.fuelgames.com Splashworks
- Casual/Adver Games www.splashworks.com Longbo
w Digital Arts - Downloadable Games
www.idagames.com Metanet Software - Downloadable,
Handheld -http//www.harveycartel.org/metanet/ Omn
iG Software - Mobile www.omnigsoft.com Capybara
Games - Mobile www.capybaragames.com Breakthroug
h New Media - Handheld, Mobile
www.breakthroughfilms.com 23YYZee - elearning
www.paxwarrior.com Xenophile Media -- Alternative
Reality Games www.xenophile.ca

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New Media Talent in the GTA
A recent Business Week article discussed the
current game industry skills shortage. Several
recruitment agencies proclaimed the qualified
candidate pool is failing to grow fast enough to
meet the hiring needs.
The GTA is home to world-class iDM educational
institutions such as Sheridan Institute of
Technology and Advanced Learning and Seneca
College where studios like industrial Light and
Magic, Pixel Animation and Disney all regularly
send talent scouts to the colleges.
Source Interactive Ontario, MEDT and OMDC
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Largest Digital Entertainment Educational System
and Talent Pool in Canada
Total Enrolment Interactive Digital Media
(College and University Programs) 2004
2005 13,055 students 2005 2006
14,000 students
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Post-Secondary Interactive Digital Media
Related Programs

• 124 programs offered that are relevant to gaming
  and digital media careers

Source Interactive Ontario, MEDT and OMDC
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Post-Secondary Interactive Digital Media
Related Programs
Colleges, Universities and Private Schools
Forty-seven Ontario Schools have Digital Media
Related Programs
Source Interactive Ontario, MEDT and OMDC
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GTA universities and colleges are an excellent
and effective resource for a skilled future
workforce.
Universities located in the GTA
Universities located within 100 miles of the GTA
Note Table excludes the 5th GTA University,
Ontario College of Art and Design Source
Ministry of Training, Colleges Universities,
2007.

• GTA attracted over 27,000 individuals between the
  ages 15-29 in 2001.
• Close to 1 million workers with post-secondary
  certificate, diploma or university degree.
• More than 6500 students graduate annually in
  Math, Engineering, IT.

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Distribution of the ICT sector in the GTA.
PLUS 40,000 additional ICT specialists in non-ICT
sectors
Source Greater Toronto Information
Communications Technologies Industry Profile EB
Data, 2004.
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The GTA has a readily available supply of skilled
ICT personnel.

• A positive number indicates that at any given
  time there are more people looking than there are
  jobs available.
• A negative number would tell you that there are
  more opportunities than there are people
  available.
• This is reflected over the 3-year period from
  2004 to 2006 showing a restructured and healthy
  industry since the tech crash.

Source Ian Martin Ltd., 2007.
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Tax Credits and New Business

• Compared to the United States, a much broader
  range of costs qualify for RD tax credits.
• For example, a 100 investment in Ontario will
  only cost 45.27 or if linked to an Ontario
  Research Institute, 35.21.
• Federal Provincial system of tax credits,
  accelerated tax reductions for various RD
  expenditures

The Ontario Media Development Corporation
(OMDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture is
the central catalyst for the provinces cultural
media cluster including book publishing, film and
television, interactive digital media, magazine
publishing and music industries. The OMDC
assists in the promotion and marketing of
Ontarios cultural media industry as a
world-class leader and administers provincial
tax credit programs and such other programs.
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The GTA has a highly integrated
telecommunications network.

• Services
• Business Lines
• Centrex
• Private Line
• Frame Relay
• ATM
• xDSL
• Internet
• Long Distance
• Toll Free
• Transparent LAN
• Ethernet
• ISDN
• Hosting
• Security Services
• Network Management

York
Durham
Peel
Toronto
Halton
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The Greater Toronto Area has superior
infrastructure making it a gateway for
international trade.
Toronto, a gateway to the world
Non-stop Air Service
Toronto Pearson International Airport

• Pearson International Airport
• The busiest Canadian airport with direct flights
  operating to over 100 destinations
• 4.4 billion development program designed to
  increase passenger capacity to 52 million
  annually over the next 2 decades.
• 7 major highways
• 2 international railway lines

• Public transit
• GO Transit carries 45 million passengers a year
• Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) (subwaybuses)
  carries approximately 1.4 million riders on an
  average business day.

Source Official Airline Guide, September 2005
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Immigration continues to be an excellent source
of diverse and highly skilled people for the GTA.

• Toronto region leads the way with a higher
  proportion of immigrants than any other city in
  the world, surpassing Miami, Sydney, Los Angeles
  and New York (44 born outside of Canada).
• Annually about 100,000 immigrants come to the
  region and three quarters of those over age 15
  have a post-secondary certificate or degree.

• More then 90 different ethnic groups from over
  169 different countries of origin across the GTA,
  produce a population that speaks over 100
  languages.
• English is the dominant mother tongue, followed
  by Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Punjabi and
  Spanish.

Source 2001 Census, Statistics Canada
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International surveys continue to confirm that
the GTA offers a high quality of life.

• William H. Mercer ranked Toronto 15th of 215
  international cities in terms of quality of life
  in its 2007 survey, up five spots from the 2002
  surveys 18th place ranking. 1
• Toronto was ranked the 7th best place to live in
  North America by Places Rated Almanac (354 cities
  surveyed) based on cost of living , job outlook,
  transportation, education, health care , the
  arts, etcetera.
• This same publication also ranked the GTA the
  safest of its large North America metropolitan
  counterparts. 2

• William H. Mercer, World-Wide Quality of Life
  Survey, 2007
• David Savageau Ralph dAgostino, Places Rated
  Almanac Your Guide to the Best Places to Live in
  the United States Canada, sixth edition,
  October 1999

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The GTA offers a sophisticated, comfortable and
cosmopolitan lifestyleyet affordable.
Index (New York 100)
Torontos cost of living index compares
favourably with other international urban centres
Source Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006.
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The GTA provides a safe place to live, work and
play
Source Relocation Crime Lab Index, 2003
(8/2003)
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Culture is key to attracting a creative talent
pool and hence, central to the future of the
GTA.
OCAD will benefit from an innovative new addition
Over 1.0 billion in public private sector
funding raised for over 50 arts projects.
The Canadian Opera Companys new home will be a
2,000-seat jewel set in the heart of downtown
Toronto
New entrance will transform the ROM
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Thinking of investing or locating a business
in the GTA?
Contact the GREATER TORONTO MARKETING ALLIANCE
(GTMA)
The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) is
a not-for-profit organization that acts as the
key point of contact for prospective
international investors looking to expand or
locate their business in the Greater Toronto Area
(GTA). The GTMA

• Is the single point of contact for the GTA
• Provides economic, sectoral community profile
  information
• Presents the competitive business case for
  investing in the GTA
• Provides introductions to public sector officials
  and private companies
• Coordinates meeting itineraries and visitation
  programs

• Free confidential
• advisory services in
• Corporate legal
• Accounting taxation
• Immigration matters
• Staffing and recruitment
• Financial services
• Real Estate

For more information THE GREATER
TORONTO MARKETING ALLIANCE (GTMA) on services
provided Suite 811 - 25
Adelaide St. East, Toronto, ON M5C 3A1 by the
GTMA,visit us
Tel [phone] Fax [phone] Toll Free
North America 1 800 411 4428
Toll Free International 1 800 2255 4862
Email
askus_at_greatertoronto.org
www.greatertoronto.org