Facility part of a series of investments by
Microsoft in Canada over the next
four years
TORONTO, Sept 11, 2018 /CNW/ - Today, Microsoft
announced a massive new investment in Canada, with plans for a state-of-the-art new
headquarters located in the heart of downtown Toronto. With a
move-in date set in Sept 2020, the
facility, located at 81 Bay Street, is just one of a series of
significant investments Microsoft is making. These investments will
enable an expansion of Microsoft's Canadian operations, including
increasing staff, modernizing its real estate, and growing its
research lab in Montreal that is
focused on artificial intelligence.
Microsoft says moving to a new facility at 81 Bay Street (CIBC
SQUARE) will enable the company to better serve its customers,
collaborate with its technology partners and to attract top talent
to a central location, one well served by transit and more
accessible to universities and innovative new tech start-ups.
"Increasingly, Canada is being
recognized as a global leader in technology and the investments we
are making today and into the future will help ensure Canada continues to be a hotbed of
innovation," said Microsoft Canada President Kevin Peesker. "By relocating our headquarters
to downtown Toronto, we will be
able to better serve our customers and attract top talent to
continue to drive innovation and growth for our Canadian customers
and our large partner ecosystem."
Comprising 132,000 square feet over four floors of the 81 Bay
Street building now under construction, the new Microsoft Canada
headquarters is a significant investment in Toronto's tech cluster. Currently, Microsoft
employs more than 2,300 employees across Canada, and supports an extended ecosystem of
more than 14,000 trusted partners who sell, service or deploy
Microsoft products. The company expects that given the pace of
technology and the investments it is making that the Microsoft
ecosystem could account for more than 60,000 new jobs by the time
its new headquarters opens in two years.
"Our Government's Innovation and Skills Plan is working. Leading
tech companies are setting up offices across Canada, hiring Canadian talent, and investing
in Canada's enormous potential as
an innovation and tech hub. Microsoft's latest investment in
Canada – totaling $570 million – will create hundreds of new jobs
and benefit several cities, from Vancouver to Toronto to Montreal. I know our highly-skilled, diverse
workforce will continue to attract tech investment in record
numbers – growing our economy and creating new opportunities for
Canadians across the country," said Justin
Trudeau, Prime Minster of Canada.
"This announcement by Microsoft offers yet more evidence of the
strength of Toronto as a global
technology centre, and as a desirable home for major corporations.
By choosing South Core as its new home, Microsoft is embracing one
of the hottest new areas of downtown and Toronto welcomes them with open arms," said
Toronto Mayor John Tory.
Investment in Canada
Microsoft has had a headquarters in Canada since 1985, and during that time has
injected billions of dollars into the Canadian economy including,
most recently, the opening of two datacentres (Toronto and Quebec), an innovation hub in Vancouver, and an artificial intelligence lab
in Montreal. Other investments since 2015, include:
- $111M in Azure credits into the
startup ecosystem by supporting 5,700 start-ups
- donating more than $178 million
in cash, software and technology services to Canadian non-profits;
and
- enabling employees to contribute up to 100,000 person-hours
annually of volunteer time in support of worthy causes,
representing an equivalent dollar value of $10million
In addition to today's announcement, Microsoft Canada intends
to:
- grow staff by more than 500 full-time employees, with an
additional 500 co-ops/internships by 2022
- invest $21 M in Azure credits to
the Canada's Supercluster
initiative
- invest $10M over 5 years into
Cascadia innovation corridor which is formed between Washington and British Columbia to create new economic
opportunities
- invest more than $570M in next 3
years in fixed assets in the country, including relocation and
expansion of its research and development lab in Montreal, relocation of its Vancouver sales office, renovation and
redesign of its Ottawa,
Calgary and Montreal sales offices, and the relocation of
its Canadian Headquarters
Construction of the new Microsoft Canada headquarters at 81 Bay
Street (CIBC SQUARE) is underway with occupancy expected for
September 2020. CIBC SQUARE is a
project by Ivanhoé Cambridge and
Hines.
About Microsoft Canada
Established in 1985, Microsoft
Canada Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation
(Nasdaq "MSFT") the worldwide leader in software, services and
solutions that help people and businesses realize their full
potential. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing,
consulting and local support services in both French and English.
Headquartered in Mississauga, Microsoft Canada has nine
regional offices across the country dedicated to empowering
innovation, prosperity and security through great software - any
time, any place and on any device. For more information on
Microsoft Canada, please visit www.microsoft.ca.
SOURCE Microsoft Canada Inc.