Skip to main content

A Bay Street sign is seen in the financial district in Toronto on June 2, 2014.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail

Toronto needs to improve its road and transit infrastructure if it is to keep growing as a centre for financial services headquarters, according to a new report.

As the country's top location for financial services head offices, Toronto compares well to other Canadian and international cities on the checklist of factors attracting corporate headquarters, the Conference Board of Canada study says.

But in the report's survey of Toronto financial services executives, respondents indicated that improving road infrastructure and mass transit for commuting were important to enhancing the city's competitiveness.

The concerns echo those of voters, who say transit and gridlock are the biggest issues by far in the current mayoral race.

Toronto is the most congested city in Canada and worse than New York City and more than 50 other cities in the Americas, says the study, published Wednesday.

"Not surprisingly, a strong majority of respondents suggested that improving the transportation infrastructure is the most important objective for Toronto to improve its competitiveness," the report says.

"Commuting times were a major concern for those who choose to live in the suburbs."

There were also worries expressed that Toronto will suffer in its ability to attract the most qualified financial services personnel because of its transportation problems.

To a lesser degree, access to affordable and efficient air travel was mentioned as a concern, according to the online poll of Toronto financial institution head offices conducted in May and June with the help of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance.

(There were 47 responses from 40 different institutions.)

Financial services is the third largest source of headquarters employment in the city, after retail and manufacturing, the report says.

Toronto has 43 per cent of Canadian financial-services headquarters employees, it says.

The city has about 30 per cent of all financial services head offices in Canada; Vancouver is second at 13.2 per cent.

Out of a total of 726 corporate headquarters in 2012, the city boasted 37 financial services head offices, according to the findings.

In areas besides transportation – such as political stability and regulatory certainty, good telecommunications and availability of skilled people and financial expertise – Toronto compares well against other international financial services centres as a head-office location.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe