Who's here?

• Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota run 12 plants in Ontario - we're the only province or state in North America with five OEMs.
• ABC Group, IMS (Intelligent Mechatronic Systems), Magna, Linamar, Martinrea, Multimatic, MIS Electronics, Valiant and The Woodbridge Group are headquartered here.
• Hitachi Construction Truck Manufacturing builds its multimillion-dollar mining trucks for the North and South American markets here.
• Hino, a division of Toyota, manufactures trucks in Woodstock, Ontario.

Why are they here?

Because they find everything they need: a high-quality workforce, strategic access to the North American market, a dynamic environment for R&D and a culture of high-quality, award-winning manufacturing.

These advantages are part of the reason we've been one of the leading subnational car producers in North America for the past decade.

Ontario's automotive corridor extends from Windsor to Oshawa.

Note our cluster of leading auto assemblers and numerous border crossings.

The best workforce for the best quality

What makes the difference? Our workers. With unrivalled industry skills, experience and knowledge, our workers are highly skilled specialists—capable of building to tight tolerances with extreme precision. Ontario also has one of the highest educational attainment rates in the world.

Trained to the highest standards

• Ontario is home to nine leading universities with 24+ auto-focused research programs.
• The Ontario College of Trades, established in 2009, ensures employers have access to workers trained to the highest standards in regulation, safety, education and certification.

Skilled, available, dedicated and wage competitive

Our 106,000 autoworkers offer:

• Dedication: On average, our workers stay with a company for close to nine years; that means reduced training costs for employers
• Value for money: Cadillac, Lexus and Lincoln vehicles are built here. Why? Because building high-quality, prestigious brands require dedication and attention to detail.

Tackling today's challenges requires access to state-of-the-art facilities to create the products of the future. Here are just a few examples of facilities that provide a new understanding of complex materials and product improvements in the automotive sector. If you are an R&D innovator, imagine the possibilities of locating in proximity to Ontario's robust innovation ecosystem.

The Automotive Centre of Excellence at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology is one of the largest and most sophisticated climatic wind tunnels on the planet where test winds reach speeds of 240 kilometres per hour, temperatures range from -40 to +60°C and relative humidity ranges from 5-95%.

Canmet MATERIALS Lab in Hamilton, along with its lab in Calgary, is the largest research centre in Canada dedicated to metals and materials fabrication, processing and evaluation.

The Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research in partnership with the University of Western Ontario is developing materials that are lightweight or have low life-cycle impact for manufacturers in the automotive, transportation, construction, defense and renewable energy sectors.

The Waterloo Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) provides researchers with an inspiring exploration and development environment for innovation in all aspects of electromagnetic communication and sensing science and engineering.

They'll tell you the same thing, time after time: It's the workforce.

Regardless of where companies locate, their sites and manufacturing equipment might be nearly identical. But the workforce makes all the difference.

For parts manufacturers, especially, a quality workforce is critical. Businesses lose clients, opportunities and profits when shipped parts don’t meet customer specifications. A high-quality workforce spots problems and corrects them. Members of a high-quality workforce understand that quality is a process that runs from the start of a job all the way through delivery.

Assemblers who win J.D. Power and Associates awards rely on extensive supplier networks. In the end it’s the plant or the model that wins the award. But all parts manufacturers know that they're a critical part of any client winning that award, and manufacturers also understand that a contract with an assembler is an award in itself.

A tally of industry awards

Since 1990, Ontario assembly plants have won 31 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study awards, the industry's benchmark for new vehicle quality manufacturing. That's a third of the North American awards in the category.

• Each year, Canadian subsidiaries of the top auto brands in the world impress and take home industry awards.
• Ontario operations of GM, Toyota, and Chrysler have all been recognized for their exceptional quality production in recent years.

Platinum, gold, silver, bronze . . . the list goes on

• Since 1990, GM's Oshawa Assembly plant has earned four Gold, four Silver and one Bronze J.D. Power and Associates Plant Quality awards. The plant won a Silver award in 2013.
• Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada has earned 16 J.D. Power and Associates Plant Quality awards, the most of any manufacturing plant in the Americas.
• Honda of Canada Mfg. (HCM) Plant 2 in Alliston, Ontario won the Bronze plant ranking for North/South America in the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS).

Top-ranked suppliers

Our automotive parts manufacturers, tool, die and mould makers and other suppliers are also regularly recognized for their top-quality products, groundbreaking innovation and excellence in business.