Microsoft’s Canadian arm has announced that it’s moving its national headquarters to Bay Street in downtown Toronto.
During September of 2020, the company hopes to move into four floors within the new CIBC Square. The company will occupy a total of 132,000 square feet in the modern workplace.
The CIBC Square will be a collection of two skyscrapers beside the Scotiabank Arena and Union Station. The first building, 81 Bay Street, is set to be completed by 2020.
The new Canadian HQ is projected to help Microsoft Canada “attract top talents” and “drive innovation,” according to Microsoft Canada president Kevin Peesker.
It also comes equipped with a state-of-the-art Microsoft Technology Centre. Which is a Microsoft assisted co-working space, with a focus on using Microsoft’s technologies and services. The company hopes the space ignites a passion for technology in the youth and empowers digital transformations in Microsoft’s partners, according to an email to MobileSyrup from a Microsoft spokesperson.
This is part of Microsoft’s plant to invest in Canada’s technology sector. The new HQ allows Microsoft Canada to increase its staff size and be closer to other companies in Toronto.
“Leading tech companies are setting up offices across Canada, hiring Canadian talent, and investing in Canada’s enormous potential as an innovation and tech hub. Microsoft’s latest investment in Canada – totalling $570 million – will create hundreds of new jobs and benefit several cities, from Vancouver to Toronto to Montreal,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Currently, Microsoft employs 2,300 people in Canada and works with an additional 14,000 partners who sell, service or deploy Microsoft products. The company thinks its investments in Canada can help create 60,000 jobs related to it investments by the time the new headquarters open in 2020. The company also hopes to hire 500 new employees and make space for 500 co-op students and interns.
The computing giant plans to invest $21 million CAD in Azure credits to the Canada Supercluster initiative, $10 million over five years into the Cascadia innovation corridor between Washington and British Columbia and $570 million over the next three years to relocate and expand on its existing labs and centres across the country.
Image Source: CIBC Square
Source: Microsoft Canada
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