The Hidden Advantages of Hiring in Toronto

In a delulu world, you’re sitting in your New York loft, zooming into a meeting about expanding your remote team, and you think: Why Toronto?

There’s nothing delusional about that thought. It may be your eureka! moment. The Canadian city isn’t restricted to cold winters and maple syrup. Toronto’s quietly becoming one of the best-kept secrets for remote-first companies wanting global reach and stability. 

Here’s why hiring in Toronto is more than just a “delulu idea.”

Tech Talent Galore

Remote-first companies will be pleased to know that Toronto is a hotspot for the tech industry. According to blogTO, tech talent flock to the city in droves. 

Unfortunately, competition for the top-paying jobs is comparable to a fight scene in ‘Gladiator’ in a figurative sense, of course. Coinbase, a crypto company based in San Francisco, recently revealed that its vetting process is more stringent than admission to Harvard.

For businesses looking to hire in Toronto, this is music to their ears. The tech-centric city is a huge talent pool waiting to be tapped into.

Toronto’s Economic Backbone

Toronto is Canada’s financial capital, and not by accident. The City government claims that its GDP growth has averaged about 2.4% annually since 2009, outpacing the Canadian average of 1.8%.

The finance sector is massive, but Toronto doesn’t rest on one leg. From tech to green energy, fashion to food and beverage, med-tech to media, there’s a range of sectors.

Why’s that good news for a remote-first company? Because diversity in industry means resilience: fewer shocks if one sector falters. If your product touches fintech, health tech, design, or AI, you’ve got talent pipelines practically built in.

Talent, Culture, and Quality of Life

Hiring champions isn’t mainly about salary. Toronto gives you a multicultural workforce. More than 50% of residents were born outside Canada; over 200 languages are spoken. People bring varied perspectives and cultural fluency.

Education and skill are sought-after job requirements. Top universities, continuous learning, strong credentials; all that academic firepower feeds your pool of skilled workers.

Universal healthcare, decent parental leave, public transit, walkable neighborhoods, green spaces… These things matter when employees are remote but still living somewhere. They sense where quality of life intersects with productivity.

Your Shortcut to Playing Legally Smart

If you’re a company wanting to hire in Toronto without setting up a legal entity, a Canada Employer of Record (EOR) is the solution. An EOR service allows you to hire employees in Canada compliantly: payroll, benefits, local employment law, all handled.

Local legal compliance is automatically baked in. Issues like Canadian employment laws, employment contracts, and employment insurance vary from province to province. Toronto (Ontario) has its own specific rules.

You don’t need to incorporate in Canada to hire one or a handful of Canadian employees. The EOR acts as the legal employer. That spares you legal costs, ongoing administrative compliance, and risk, says Remote, a global HR and payroll platform.

Remote Work Isn’t Dead Here

The majority of companies globally are pushing back to office policies. Big names are insisting employees return to in-office work or hybrid minimums. 

Toronto is different. Business Insider reports that many employers, particularly startups, continue to hire remote or hybrid staff.

As previously mentioned, the tech hiring scene in Toronto remains hot. For remote-first companies, that matters. 

Remote adds that the right EOR platform enables fast onboarding. Your team in-country handles the local entity side, so you can hire quickly.

You can hire top-tier talent across time zones, without fighting stale office politics. And when your onboarding, benefits, and legal frameworks are sorted, Toronto becomes a low-drag, high-gain option.

Risk and Cost

Hiring globally often conjures images of “expensive, risky, complicated.” Toronto flips a lot of that.

The quality of talent and skills translates to less retraining or turnover. Political, legal, and economic risk in Canada is generally lower than in many “cheap labor” geographies. 

And yes, salaries are higher than in many places. It balances out when you factor in living standards, employee satisfaction, and retention. High cost of living? Sure, but many team members will tolerate or even prefer it.

Using an EOR can also reduce risk. Misclassification liabilities, incorrect payroll or benefit setup, IP concerns, etc, you hand a lot of that to experts whose bread and butter is compliance.

Community and Local Hiring

One overlooked advantage is how embedding in a city like Toronto offers community leverage. Local hiring builds brand trust, creates network effects, and unlocks local insights. 

Community hiring is effective. You’re recruiting locals often at lower costs. Candidates may have lower churn, and your team understands the cultural norms and the customer base.

The city’s massive immigrant population, high bilingualism, and a mix of seasoned pros and ambitious newcomers are the right ingredients for business success.

Other articles from totimes.ca – otttimes.ca – mtltimes.ca