Kitchener 
Google CFO Ruth Porat and Canada VP Sabrina Geremia discuss Google’s growth in Canada at the Google Toronto office (CNW Group/Google Canada)
Google has announced that it is expanding its presence in Canada with plans to build three new offices in Waterloo, Toronto and Montreal.
Google opened its first Canadian office in Toronto with one employee in 2001. Now, Google employs more than 1,500 people including engineers, game developers, sales leaders and AI researchers. By 2022, Google’s Canadian offices will accommodate up to 5,000 employees.
Google planted its roots in Québec over a decade ago when it opened its downtown Montréal office in 2004 with three employees. By the end of year, Montréal-based software developers, game developers, sales leaders, AI researchers and Cloud experts will move to 425 Viger West. The new Viger space, which will have capacity to welcome up to 1000 employees, will span across 5 floors. Each floor, by way of interior design, will pay homage to Montréal by reflecting the essence of five of the city’s most beloved neighbourhoods – Little Italy, Le Village, Le Plateau, Chinatown and Old Port. Montréal, is the only Google Cloud Region in Canada which powers the business of some of Québec’s most beloved brands.
Renderings of the future Google Montréal office at 425 Viger West, iN STUDIO Designs (CNW Group/Google Canada)
According to research released by Public First, Google’s search and advertising products helped generate an estimated $23 billion CAD in annual economic activity for more than 500,000 businesses in Canada last year alone – a total impact equivalent to approximately 1.1 percent of Canada’s entire GDP.
Google.org has also announced that a $2.5 million grant for NPower Canada, a charitable organization that launches underserved young adults into meaningful and sustainable careers. The grant will go towards scholarships for the IT Support Professional Certificate and the IT Automation with Python certificate, to equip Canadians with in-demand tech skills to land new jobs in Canada’s booming digital economy.
Google will also be launching the first Google for Startups Accelerator in Canada. The Accelerator will be based in Waterloo, and will be Google’s 12th accelerator globally.
