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An educated and talented workforce for your business success

The most important ingredient for success? Talented people. And in Ontario you'll find one of the best educated talent pools in the world, where 67% of adults have completed post-secondary education, more than in any other OECD country.

Diverse and multicultural

Our richly multicultural society, comprised of people from all over the world, can help you build and maintain ties to global markets.

• Whatever your nationality, culture, religion or background, your family, colleagues and employees will feel welcome in Ontario.
• Nearly half of the 250,000 people who immigrate to Canada each year choose to live in Ontario.
• Over 200 languages are spoken in Ontario.
• Still, 93% of persons for whom a foreign language is their mother tongue also speak one of our two national languages, English or French.

Our colleges and universities

Ontario's 44 colleges and universities and over 400 registered, private career colleges ensure that graduates have the skills and knowledge to not only perform, but excel in your business.

We make it easy to relocate

More immigrants relocate to Ontario each year than to any other province in Canada. Whether you're Ontario-based or a multinational corporation looking to call Ontario home to an operations facility, our business immigration consultants can give you guidance and advice on recruiting foreign workers or transferring key personnel to Ontario.

The lowest overall business costs in the G7

In Ontario, you'll benefit from highly competitive business costs that can boost your company's growth and profitability.

Competitive corporate tax rates

With a total combined provincial and federal (15%) corporate income tax rate of 26.5%, Ontario's combined general federal-provincial CIT rate is lower than the average of G20 countries and lower than the average federal-state CIT rate in the United States.

Lower health care costs

All citizens and permanent residents in Ontario can access universal health care services under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, which covers the full cost of doctor examinations, medical testing, emergency care and hospital care.

On average, Ontario employers enjoy health costs half that of their counterparts in the United States.

Fast facts

• Almost half of Canada’s full-time R&D personnel are in Ontario, where more than $14 billion is spent annually on R&D.
• Five of the top ten corporate R&D spenders in Canada have made Ontario their headquarters location.
• Ontario is an internationally recognized technology hub, with over 1,000 tech companies generating $30 billion revenue in the Waterloo area alone.

The ingredients you need for research and innovation

From game-changing startups you haven't heard of yet to multinational leaders like GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Pfizer, IBM, Siemens and Microsoft, in Ontario, you'll find the ingredients you need to conduct research and develop new products and services.

Here, companies are engaged in manufacturing process improvements, developing state-of-the-art technologies and software, clinical trials and more.

Generous R&D tax incentives

Combined with federal R&D programs, Ontario's R&D tax incentive program can reduce your after-tax cost of every $100 in R&D spending to between $37 and $61.

• Our R&D tax incentive program is available to qualified businesses of any size and applies to a range of eligible costs that is broader than in the U.S. and many other countries.
• There is no cap on the program and tax credits can be carried back for three years or forward for 20 years.
• Ontario’s focus on low development costs and simplified tax programs contribute to a combined federal-provincial corporate income tax rate substantially lower than in the United States.

Select the best description of your operation to see possible after-tax savings you could achieve in on your R&D expenditures in Ontario.

Large manufacturers Small and medium-sized manufacturers Large non-manufacturers Small and medium-sized non-manufacturers Small Canadian-controlled private corporations

Government-supported R&D centres located throughout Ontario

Expanded commercial and market opportunities

Your business will be located in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region, the largest free trade region in the world.

• You’ll have expanded access to a thriving combined market of 470 million people, producing over $20 trillion in goods and services annually.
• NAFTA facilitates two-way goods trade valued at $929 million between Ontario and the United States each day.

Road, rail, air and water transportation

Ontario's transportation system includes highways, internationally connected railways with advanced traffic management systems, worldwide cargo aviation systems and extensive inland and international marine shipping facilities

• Our extensive road infrastructure can make it easy for you to transport your goods over land. We have over 250,000 kilometres of municipal roads, provincial highways, and resource and recreational roads.
• Our rail networks help ensure just-in-time deliveries of your goods.
• Ontario has five international airports, including Canada's largest airport, Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport.
• Goods flow smoothly in and out of Ontario, thanks to marine lines that offer shipping options to ports throughout the Great Lakes and around the world. Ontario ports are served directly by the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System (also known as Hwy H2O) a 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) marine highway that runs between Canada and the United States.

Safe and welcoming

• 40% of Canada's population lives here, where newcomers feel an immediate sense of belonging.
• Ontario is also one of the safest regions in which to live and do business. Violent crime rates in major Ontario cities are far below their counterparts in the United States.