Mayor Cam Guthrie said he is pleased Toronto is among the 20 bids still in the running for Amazon’s second North American headquarters, also known as HQ2.
The group that compiled the bid, Toronto Global, included neighbouring regions like Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Halton, Brampton and Mississauga.
Guthrie said the Toronto bid is strong because it draws on the resources of the whole region.
Toronto is the only Canadian city remaining in the running for the second headquarters. Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver and Montreal were among the Canadian cities vying for the prize.
A total of 238 cities made HQ2 bids to Amazon. After Thursday’s announcement only 20 remain — including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Washington.
Guelph did not make its own bid, as did Hamilton, and is not named as a possible location for the second headquarters within the Toronto bid.
“The square footage alone was problematic for the city of Guelph to go at it alone, that is why we reached out to Toronto Global,” he said.
The entire region would benefit from the estimated 50,000 employees and $5 billion investment in Amazon’s planned second headquarters, said Guthrie.
The bid highlighted the Toronto-Waterloo Innovation Corridor and Guthrie said the municipalities, companies and educational institutions within it tell a compelling story.
“We all bring strengths to the table and Amazon clearly sees it as something worthwhile to dig deeper on,” said Guthrie.
The agriculture and agri-tech sector in Guelph could be attractive to Amazon, said Guthrie, after the company’s recent move into grocery and food sales after its purchase of Whole Foods.
“This is why Guelph wanted to partner with the region bid, because we bring something to the table that the other ones don’t,” said Guthrie.
Also attractive, said Guthrie, is the provincial government's proposed plans to build a high speed rail line between Toronto and Windsor, with Guelph being one of the stops.
“We have put our stake in the ground as to why we are a serious player," said Guthrie.
Amazon said it will make its final decision on the location of HQ2 later this year.
Although Guelph is not named in the Toronto bid as a possible site for the second headquarters, Guthrie said there will be spin off benefits should Toronto be chosen.
“The fact that it is not in Guelph is irrelevant to me, it’s about jobs and other opportunities Guelph can provide to that whole Amazon ecosystem in the future,” said Guthrie.
Amazon has not issued next steps to the 20 finalists. Guthrie said he will reach out to other mayors involved in the bid to see what role Guelph can play as the final decision is made.
No matter what, said Guthrie, being a finalist proves to the world that this region is an economic powerhouse.
“I think we should be very proud of what we are today and what we are planning on doing for the future to continue to attract theses investments and economic opportunities for this whole region,” said Guthrie.
