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When a historic racial justice movement seized the world’s attention in 2020, our team took notice and recognized it was time to help inspire change. Many at our organization felt that expressing our thoughts and views on social media or having internal conversations in open forums wasn’t going to be enough to address these issues.
After having various “What’s Going On” internal discussions among staff, and with the support of our leadership team, we launched our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. Our goal is to build an inclusive workplace that helps our employees, clients and communities thrive. It’s good for our business, and it’s the right thing to do. We have made progress against some of our goals, but there is more work to be done.
Toronto Global helps international businesses gain access and expand into one of the most dynamic and innovative regions in the world. It’s also a place where the success of our staff drives the success of our company. This is reflected in our ongoing commitment to fostering an environment focused on equality, inclusion, empowerment and respect. Although we are proud of the progress we’ve made so far, we know that we must ‘walk the walk’ when it comes to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. And we’re committed to ensuring that everyone can show their true selves and live up to their full potential.
A bigger and bolder Toronto Global will enable the organization to rise to the challenge of securing international investment in today’s increasingly competitive global environment and contribute, in an impactful way, to economic growth in the region, province and country.
No country relies on international investment more than Canada. It is a significant component of our economic growth that creates higher-paying jobs, expands trade, boosts productivity, provides access to new technologies, encourages innovation, and links Canadian firms to global supply chains.
The pandemic has changed the environment for global business investment, creating fierce competition amongst city-regions around the world for fewer projects. In 2020, global FDI flows were down 38 per cent, with flows to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries down 51 per cent. The Toronto Region faces significant challenges to attract businesses with the sustained closure of the U.S.-Canada border and the delayed re-opening of the economy, relative to the U.S.
As the fastest growing urban metropolitan region in North America, the Toronto Region provides an unmatched investment environment for international businesses – most critically, our talented, innovative, and diverse workforce. And, as the country’s economic engine making up 20 per cent of Canada’s GDP, when the Toronto Region thrives, so does the country. Strengthening the region as a whole stands to strengthen the country.
Four years ago, the Toronto Region municipalities came together with the support of the provincial and federal governments to launch Toronto Global. It was an initiative based on global best practices and a recognition that municipalities who embrace regional collaboration emerge stronger as a collective. In an increasingly complex and crowded landscape for international investors to navigate, Toronto Global has taken first steps in coming together to promote the Toronto Region with one voice to international businesses.
The pandemic has provided an unprecedented opportunity to re-imagine the Toronto Region economy, to remain unwavering in regional collaboration and to ensure that the region emerges stronger than ever. To compete for investment, the Toronto Region must be bold on the world stage like never before. Toronto Global is prepared to rise to that challenge. The time is now to seize and accelerate this momentum to create a bigger and bolder Toronto Global.
