ANNUAL

REPORT
2017
B urlington has a well-established history as one of the best places to live in Canada. Our city is recognized as one
of the best and safest places to live in the world.  The Toronto region is known globally as one of the finest
regions in the world with great competitive strength in resources, life sciences, financial services, and
technology. It is also an area in the world with some of the best educated talent available. The recent Amazon
bid, which Burlington is a part of, demonstrated the competitiveness of our region. 

Burlington has benefited greatly from the strength, local diversity and entrepreneurship found within the Region. The
geography of Burlington with its connection to critical transportation networks, including the 400 highways, GO line, harbour,
and airports, has allowed Burlington to maintain economic strength and have one of the highest job-to-population ratios in the
GTA.

Burlington also benefits from a strong institutional capacity. McMaster is now ranked as a Top 100 University in the world.
Laurier University will be opening a campus on our border in Milton. Mohawk and Sheridan Colleges offer world class
education in several areas including digital animation and advanced manufacturing. Less than an hour away, the University of
Waterloo develops some of the world’s best talent in computer science and technology.

Given these strengths, Burlington continues to be a community of economic prosperity with a high quality of life. The
development of four Mobility Hubs in the City creates the opportunity for new mixed-use environments with levels of intensity
that will attract knowledge-based employers and talent to the area. The implementation of this City-changing project will be
complex and it will take time; however, it will allow Burlington to maintain its status as one of the best places to live and work,
both now and in the future. Burlington offers rural, suburban and urban environments which will maintain its diversity and
prosperity.

BEDC has developed objectives and work plans to support the on-going expansion of local businesses, the creation of new
start-up businesses, and the attraction of businesses to the Mobility Hubs. Working with our partners we will continue to
balance this with the need to maintain the high quality of life that attracts newcomers and younger adults to provide the
workforce the new economy needs.

Burlington starts from a position of strength (as highlighted in this report) and is committed to continuing development looking
forward.

Thank you,

Mayor Rick Goldring, Gary Graham,

City of Burlington BEDC Board Chair 
2017 bedc BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Rick Goldring J. Michael Hanna
City of Burlington Kylin Developments Inc.
Mayor President

Jack Dennison Gordon Kack

City of Burlington Colliers Project Leaders
Councillor Chief Operating Officer

Paul Sharman Bonnie Prior

City of Burlington
Councillor
James Ridge
City of Burlington
City Manager
Dr. David Conrath
Conrath Communications Ltd.
President
Gary Graham (Board Chair)
Graham Stevenson LLP
Partner
Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate
Services
Sales Representative
Randall Smallbone
Smallbone Consulting 
President and CEO 
Ruta Stauskas
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
Vice President, Human Resources
 BURLINGTON
FAST FACTS
73 % 2
Colleges and Universities

 NOILLIM
17
within a two-hour
commute

Residents with
post - secondary Talent pool within a
qualifications 45-minute commute

700 12
Vessels visit the Port of
million
Hamilton each year, located tons of
less than 15-minutes from cargo
Burlington and handling over  annually

4 Nearby International
airports  40 % of the American market
that can be accessed
within one day’s drive
from Burlington.

Burlington is located in Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, situated between Waterloo, Toronto and
Hamilton with central access to Ontario’s busiest highway interchanges including 403, QEW
and 401. Burlington has three GO Transit stops with 15-minute service to Toronto by 2023.

Burlington was ranked in the top 10 for business friendly environment

by the Financial Times 2017/18 American fDi Cities of the Future
named canada's best mid-sized city five
& years in a  row by MoneySense Magazine
in Burlington, there are six
jobs for every ten people.
this is amongst the highest
ratio in Ontario and
demonstrates Burlington's
strong business base.
Frank McKeown, Executive Director, BEDC
 TALENT
NEW JOBS
BY
INDUSTRY
Office
338 
1
Institutional
637 

     Retail
       297 
Industrial
73 
1,345 New
jobs 
in 2017 2

100 new
HALTON EMPLOYMENT
57
DENSITY 4

 
revo

companies  Burlington
has the 2nd
moved to highest 39
Burlington employment  
32 30 28 30
in 2017 3 density in        
Halton

21.5
Region 17 16 
 

%
Employment Lands
Absorbed 2005 -2014

75
Existing
Population growth Employment Lands Base

from 2001 to 2016 oakville burlington halton region milton

% Population growth
from immigrants 5
Burlington job increases  Source Total Time Frame Annual Avg
Building Permits 4624 4 years 1,155
EMSI Analyst 4301 3 years 1,433
Halton Employment Survey 6089 3 years 2,030
6

42% of residents work in Burlington, 18% work in other Job growth target is 1,000 per year.

5.6 %
parts of Halton Region, 40% work outside of Halton Region  7

Jurisdiction 2006 2016

Jobs
Burlington 0.584 0.603 to 
Oakville
Hamilton
0.535
0.466
0.565
0.468
population Unemployment
rate below the provincial
Milton 0.542 0.368 ratio 8
average of 7.5%.
9

Source: 1. BEDC Internal Calculation  2. BEDC Internal Calculation 3. Costar Move in Data Set 2017 4. Adapted from MHBC Employment Needs Assessment Draft Jan 2016, data from Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. 5. Statistics Canada 2016
Census 6. Halton Employment Survey, EMSI and BEDC Calculation 7. Statistics Canada 2016 Census  8.  BEDC Internal Calculation9. Statistics Canada 2016 Census
 We are pleased to be participating in
the growth of Burlington’s mobility
hubs. These amenity-rich,
transportation-oriented locations
will facilitate Burlington’s sustained
growth and prosperity. Our five high-
rise Paradigm Condominium buildings
will attract many youth, immigrants,
and newcomers to the City.
Vince Molinaro,
 President, Molinaro Group

BEDC is dedicated to growing employment rich lands in Burlington. This includes

GROW
BOLD
focusing on the four Burlington Mobility Hubs which are centered around the
various GO Transit stops. BEDC is working on an employment attraction strategy
which will be followed with marketing efforts to diversify these intensification areas.

 CURRENT SNAP SHOT
OF the MOBILITY HUBS 1

Aldershot Mobility Hub Downtown Mobility Hub Burlington Mobility Hub Appleby Mobility Hub
 1,041 jobs  7,203  jobs    2,053 jobs 5,385 jobs

Source: 1. 2016 Halton Employment Survey Region

LAND READINESS & INTENSIFICATION

12.2 %Office vacancy rate in Q4 2017

A decrease from 22.5%
in Q1 2016. 1

DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY 2017  2

$350,972,173 $236,616,217
Residential Building Permits ICI Building Permits
Construction Value Construction Value
1036 987
Number of Residential Number of ICI

3.9
Building Permits Building Permits 

%
3
Housing Completions 2016 271
Housing Completions 2017 594 4

Industrial vacancy rate The jobs-to-population ratio is

51,904 New ICI Space higher than average due to ICI

outpacing housing supply. More
in 2017 new residential space is coming
(sq.M.) onto the market soon.  

Source: 1. Cushman Wakefield Market Reports 2. Burlington Building Department Quarterly Reports & The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation 3. Cushman Wakefield Market Reports 4. Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation
 BUSINESS GROWTH & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
In June 2017 BEDC opened TechPlace, a one stop destination for new and growing technology
companies. TechPlace is dedicated to connecting, developing, and advancing entrepreneurs at all
stages through providing access to space, programming, mentorship, networking and resources that
are fundamental to growing a business in today’s technology-driven marketplace.

The 8,600 square foot space is anchored to two co-location partners, Haltech, Halton’s Regional Innovation
Centre, and Angel One Investor Network. These co-location partners bring energy, networks, programming
and resources to TechPlace. TechPlace is home to six LaunchPad office spaces. These office spaces are
available to scalable, growth-oriented tech companies on six-month terms for a subsidized rate. Since
launching the program in June 2017, TechPlace has accepted seven companies and is currently at full
occupancy with eager companies on the wait list. 

Ribbon cutting at TechPlace Grand Opening TechPlace

"Angel One Network is thrilled to be a part of

the wonderful community at TechPlace. We
love the vibrant and thriving culture based
on entrepreneurialism and innovation, and
are grateful that we get to play a part in
something so necessary to the start-up and
early stage companies we help to fund.
Karen Grant, Executive Director, Angel One
 4,214 Visitors since opening
in June of 2017

are visitors
coming to TechPlace WHY WHERE  are visitors
coming from

Meeting Burlington
56%
Tour Toronto
47%

2% 9%

Hotdesk Hamilton
13% 5%

84
29%
38%
Event Halton Region

WHO has visited

TechPlace
Including weekly youth
coding camps, Hackathons,
Angel One educational
events, Python's Pit,
Women's Day events,

33 %
Haltech marketing
& finance events and City of
Entrepreneur
Start-Up EVENTS Burlington internal
workshops and events.

Established
Business 15 %
Government 15 %
Angel One Educational Event
 WELCOME TO BURLINGTON
Burlington has welcomed over 400 new businesses since 2013, including:
1

ABS Business Solutions h2O Innovation Precision Record Pressing

ADI Development Group Halton Hive Prodigy
AZX Sport Illuma-Drive SPX
Brooklyn Contracting Kel-tech Electrical Tankmart International
BSB Manufacturing Ltd McKeil Marine TCR Machining
Cardon Rehab MNP TransUnion Canada
Earth Fresh Foods MTE  Urtech Manufacturing
Ecosynthetix Newterra WayPay
Gyptech Technologies

There has been a number of notable expansions since 2013 including:

ABS Machining Evertz Marathon Equipment

Adlib Software Gentek Building Products MEMEX Automation
AXYZ Automation Gerrie Electric Neelands Refrigeration
BOS & CO Hunter Amenities SmartMeds Pharmacy
Chamberlain Architects Ippolito Group Sodexo
Cogeco Jan Kelley Thomson-Gordon
Cogent L3-WESCAM Westlake Industries Inc.
Etratech  Liebherr Zeton

Source: 1. Costar Move in Data Set 2017

 2017  
SUCCESSES
Reduced Office and Industrial Vacancy in 2017 

1.1 MILLION The Development Pipeline identifies 1.1 million sq. ft. of
potential development supporting up to 4,000 future
jobs

$21 MILLION Burloak Technologies received $21 million in funding

for Advanced 3D Manufacturing in Halton Region 

$950 MILLION
Federal Government has approved the Advanced
Manufacturing SuperCluster, as part of the
Government of Canada's $950-million Innovation
Superclusters Initiative 

$26.6 MILLION Ippolito announced a $26.6 million expansion adding

82 new jobs to Burlington

60,000 Co-working and shared spaces are booming with

over 60,000 sq. ft. available 
Finnish based robotics company, Orfer, soft landed to
TechPlace and is in the process of opening a head
office

Burlington ranked in Top 10 for Business Friendly

Environment by the Financial Times 2017/18 American
fDi Cities of the Future
AXYZ International purchased Ohio based WARDJet,
expanding their product line
MTO Employment Area study in progress to reduce
development approval times
 HOW DID
2017 KEY ACTIVITIES WE DO?
In our 2016 Annual Report we highlighted six key areas of focus for 2017. We have broken down the
progress and achievements of these six areas over the past year. 

1. Supporting the Growth of a Strong Start-Up Community 

Opened TechPlace, a one stop destination for new and growing technology companies, in June 2017.  Since
opening, TechPlace has welcomed over 4,000 visitors with a third of them identifying as entrepreneurs. 

2. Focus on GTA West Office Vacancy and QEW Corridor Marketing Strategy 
Office vacancy rates have dropped. 

3. Supporting Businesses to Expand and Locate in Burlington 

Helped companies through over 250       support
            requests
              for starting up, locating and expanding.
Amazon HQ2 Bid submitted with Toronto Global.
Finnish robotics company, Orfer, soft landed at TechPlace and are looking to open a head office in Burlington.
TechPlace LaunchPad program is at full capacity with six of the seven companies moving from outside of Burlington to
the community.

4. Supporting Significant Parcel Development

1200 King Road – working with City and applicant to move issues forward to open up this employment area.
Bronte Meadows – site specific area plan to be developed in Fall of 2018. 

5. Redevelopment and Intensification Strategy 

Developed a snapshot of Burlington's vacant land and redevelopment land context. 
316 Ha (71 sites) of total vacant greenfield employment land and constraints on the sites identified. 
49% of Burlington’s Industrial and Commercial properties were built prior to 1980 (34% built 1968 or prior).
365 Ha (101 sites) of redevelopment lands identified and constraints on the sites.  

Kickoff of the MTO Block Planning Exercise with the MTO, Halton Region, and City of Burlington to receive “Approval in concept”
for development of employment sites.  
Categorized all development and redevelopment sites based on their constraints and employment impacts. 

6. Developing a Strategic Real Estate Focus 

Mobility Hubs - In June 2018, the City of Burlington will have a new Official Plan that outlines the land use and design
framework for Burlington’s four mobility hubs.  We have a primary deliverable in our 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to
encourage Mobility Hub Growth.  To accomplish this, we will:  
Define intensification areas and establish an employment vision, including mixed use employment areas 
Establish employment targets for each mobility hub, including downtown  
Develop strategies to achieve the targets

Land ownership tool continues to be investigated as a tool to accomplish the above objective.
The Burlington business community
provides WayPay with incredible access
to a huge network of businesses across a
wide array of sectors.  Beyond the
Burlington borders, our location
provides us with easy access to the entire
Golden Horseshoe business community and
access to recruit incredibly strong
‘west-end talent’. WayPay is thrilled to
be located in Burlington and we look
forward to growing in the community
Roberto Ramesar, Co-founder & CEO, WayPay
 Burlington Economic
Development Corporation

414 Locust Street, Suite 203

Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1T7
+1-905 332 9415
www.bedc.ca
Burlington Economic
Development Corporation

@BurlingtonEcDev