News — TFSA Fact Sheet

Toronto Financial Services Sector – Poised for Growth

Toronto's financial service sector is a key driver of our local, provincial and national economy. In the highly competitive international financial services industry, the sector has the people, infrastructure, and skills to grow, attract new investment, and become a leading global financial services centre.

Toronto is the business and financial capital of Canada. It is the hub of Canadian commerce with a financial services infrastructure that has a reputation for safety, soundness and stability.

Toronto is home to the vast majority of Canada's largest financial services companies:

  • 2 of the largest 10 global life insurers, plus a third with significant operations in Toronto
  • 3 of the world's largest 25 banks and Canada's 5 largest banks
  • The 3rd largest exchange in North America, and 7th largest in the world
  • 3 of the top 50 global pension funds
  • 4 of the 5 largest investment management firms in Canada
  • 3 of the 4 largest property and casualty insurers in Canada
  • Operations of 7 of the top 10 largest global hedge fund administrators

As the employer of 223,000 people, Toronto's financial services sector offers businesses in the Toronto Region a full range of financial services, and makes one of the largest contributions to the local economy.

  • Between 1998 and 2008, the financial services sector added more than 62,000 jobs - a growth rate of 39 per cent, or 3.3 per cent per year.
  • Toronto Region is home to 29 per cent of the Canadian financial services sector direct employment.
  • More than 75 per cent of the financial services sector's employees hold post-secondary credentials - well ahead of the regional industrial average.
  • With roughly 7,000 members, Toronto also represents the 2nd largest CFA society after New York.
  • The financial services sector leads all other service producing sectors by contributing 12 per cent to Toronto's Gross Municipal Product.

Toronto is where financial decisions are made, because Toronto is home to the leaders in Canada's financial services industry.

Toronto is:

  • Proud to have the largest WiFi zone in Canada. A total of six square kilometres of WiFi coverage is now available in Toronto's downtown core. For further information check out: www.onezone.ca
  • The third largest North American financial services centre after New York and Chicago based on direct employment.
  • One of the fastest expanding financial services sectors in North America
  • Is home to five of Canada's largest domestic banks, 55 foreign bank subsidiaries and branches and 119 securities firms.
  • Headquarters for six of Canada's top insurers that manage more than 90 per cent of the industry's assets, 61 mutual funds companies, 58 pension fund managers, and five of Canada's largest pension plans with combined assets in excess of $300 billion.
  • Is Home-base of the TMX Group, the third largest stock exchange group in North America and the eighth largest in the world based on market capitalization. More mining companies are listed on TSX and TSX Venture Exchange than any other exchange in the world. Combined, TSX and TSX Venture Exchange have over 1,200 mining companies valued at over $320 billion.

Toronto’s financial services sector sustains many other industries as a leading consumer of resources, including law, accounting, information technology, education/training, and business services.

Between 1996 and 2008, the largest banks spent collectively $48.6 billion on technology, and $5.9 billion alone in 2008, with much of this investment concentrated in their key Toronto-based operations. In a previous 17-country study, Ernst & Young identified Toronto-based financial firms as global leaders in electronic banking and alternative service solutions. .