Whether you settle in Ontario or anywhere else in Canada, you will never feel a second class citizen because Canada is a true country of immigrants . . .

Why Business in Ontario
Look at Ontario, and you'll find many pertinent reasons to locate your business here.

Ontario encourages business people from around the world to seek out new opportunities in Ontario.

Ontario's proximity to the Great Lakes provides easy access to the entire, and very lucrative, North American market.

Excellent transportation links and an established infrastructure support inter-provincial, cross-border and foreign trade activities.

Ontario's well-educated and affluent population provides a first-class labour pool and a prime market for all kinds of goods and services.

Ontario is one of the world's great and growing economies - which is why so many international companies have been investing here for over a century.

Because of its multicultural heritage, Ontario is particularly attractive: more than half of all immigrants to Canada come to Ontario. 24 per cent of Ontario's population was born outside of Canada, significantly higher than the Canadian average of 16 per cent.

Ontario not only offers limitless business opportunities, but it is also a great place to raise a family.

Manufacturing tax in Ontario is 35% compared to 39% average in the United States.

The tax rate for business in a lower revenue bracket - less than CND $300,000 is 21-24%.

Ontario generates 41.5% of the Canada's GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Ontario created 184,000 new jobs in 2000. This represented 46.8% of all jobs created in Canada in that year.

Market Access
Ontario accounts for over half of Canada's industrial market and lies at the centre of North America's consumer and industrial markets, and has access to a market of over 400 million people. Almost 40 per cent of Canada's population lives in Ontario, which has one of the world's highest personal incomes per capita (C$21,081 in 1997). Strategically located in the middle of the continent, Ontario is a natural distribution center for important markets in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Considering that the overall cost of doing business in Ontario is lower than in the U.S., it is not surprising that so many multinational corporations have established large operations here.

Bordering the province of Quebec and four of the Great Lakes, Ontario is close to the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. This proximity means that Ontario shares a similar climate and geography, in addition to offering strategic business advantages - an affluent local customer base, a skilled workforce as well as an excellent quality of life.

Toronto, Ontario's largest city, is a day's trucking away from the most prosperous markets in the United States - making it an excellent location for business. U.S. states within this region have:

- 44% of Total U.S. Population
- 47% of U.S. GDP
- 48% of U.S. Total Personal Income

Research & Development
Many Leading Multinationals do their R&D in Ontario. Ontario's support for R&D is among the most generous in the world, consisting of tax relief, an extensive publicly-supported R&D infrastructure, and a network of specialized institutions. Ontario supports four Centers of Excellence that bring together industrial and academic researchers to develop technical applications in various fields. A total of $5,740 million was spent on R&D in Ontario in 1995 - 48% of total spending on R&D in Canada - $11,879 million in that year.

Ethnic Diversity
Ontario's ethnically diverse population is another good reason for companies to locate here. Ontario has attracted skilled workers in every economic sector from many different parts of the world. Ontario's multicultural workforce, experienced in international business practices, will be an asset to your company. Recent census figures indicate that 70% of all Ontario residents are city-dwellers. Wherever you locate in the province, your business will profit from a prosperous economy and an educated workforce.

Economy

Ontario's 11.6 million people make it Canada's most populous and dynamic province. Its share of Canada's GDP for 1999 was 42.1 per cent and it is Canada's leading manufacturing province accounting for 54.7 per cent of the total national manufacturing shipments in 1999.

Ontario is expected to grow faster than any of the G-7 countries in the next four years. Ontario has a history of strong growth. In 1999, real GDP grew at a rate of 6.1 per cent, in 2000 the projected growth rate for GDP is 5.5 per cent, and 3.7 per cent in 2001.

Ontario has a diverse and well-balanced economy. Knowledge-intensive industries such as computers, software and medical technologies are among the fastest growing. The Ontario economy is shifting towards export-oriented, higher value-added industries.

Employment in Ontario was at 5,872,000 in 2000, and is expected to expand by 2.4 per cent in 2001.

Inflation in Ontario was 2.9 per cent in 2000, and is forecast to rise by 2.5 per cent in 2001.

Ontario has a diversified economy with strength across a range of sectors. This diverse economic base guarantees firms easy access to supplies and services.

Ontario is not reliant on primary industries. The manufacturing sector accounts for one-quarter of the total provincial output and is supported by a strong and growing service sector. The top three manufacturing industries are transportation equipment, electrical and electronic products and food processing.

Real provincial GDP growth in 1999 was 6.1%. Real GDP was expected to grow by 5.5% in 2000 and forecasts for 2001 place Ontario's GDP growth at around 3.7%.

According to several private sector forecasts, Ontario's economic growth is expected to outpace Canada's and that of the rest of the G-7 countries in the next three years.

Ontario's leading exports are autos and auto parts, machines, electrical products, metals, and pulp and paper.

In the service sector, the fastest growing industries are finance, tourism and culture

Economic Indicators
Ontario has one of the world's great and growing economies, with a big, affluent 'local' customer base and ready access to the wealthy markets in the United States.

Consumer and business confidence runs high in Ontario, thanks to a stable low rate of inflation and administrative policies that offer many strategic commercial advantages.

The great number of profitable businesses in Ontario confirms the province's viability as an investment destination.

Investment in Technology

Encouraged by higher profits, growing foreign and domestic demand, and favourable financing conditions, firms continue to increase machinery and equipment investment. Total real business investment is expected to reach a record level of C$34.0 billion (in 1992$) in 2000, and increase by an average annual rate of 11.8 per cent over the 1999 to 2000 period.

Foreign Investment
In the 10 year period, 1990 to 1999, foreign direct investment in Canada has risen from C$130.9 billion to C$240 billion. Most of this investment (67.9 per cent) has come from the U.S. with European countries (including the U.K.) accounting for a further 23.3 per cent

Markets
Ontario lies at the heart of North America's consumer and industrial markets. Ontario is integrated into the US$11 trillion North American market and has access to over 400 million people.

As barriers to international trade disappear, Ontario businesses are gaining unprecedented access to new markets abroad. Ontario businesses enjoy unrestricted access to the huge U.S. market. Over 130 million people are within a one day's drive of Southern Ontario. 44 per cent of the US population with 48 per cent of US total personal income lives within 500 miles of Southern Ontario - America's richest market.

Ontario is Canada's largest province with a population of over 11 million, 38 per cent of Canada's population. Ontario firms control 53 per cent of all Canadian assets. Ontario - Canada's richest mar

International Trade
Ontario is a major trading economy and exports more per capita than Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the U.S. and Japan. Through NAFTA, Ontario is integrated with the U.S. into the C$11 trillion, 400 million population North American market. In 1999, Ontario exported over C$195 billion of goods to customers worldwide.

Ontario is the third largest trading partner of the U.S. (after Canada and Japan), with total trade of over C$344 billion in 1999. The U.S. is Ontario's largest export market, accounting for over 93 per cent of Ontario's total exports in 1999. Ontario supplied 59 per cent of all Canadian exports to the U.S. and 54 per cent of Canada's total exports.

Ontario's major non-U.S. markets include the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Norway, Mexico, Hong Kong, China, Venezuela, Brazil and Switzerland.

Canada is a member of the World Trade Organization which establishes rules of trade between signatories that ensures fair treatment of Canadian goods and services in all of the major export markets. The recent Uruguay Round Agreement will have all countries eliminate tariffs in a number of sectors and reduce remaining tariffs by an average of one-third by the year 2000.

The Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into effect January 1, 1989, has increased market access for goods and services. Under the FTA, most goods with more than 50 per cent North American content are now tariff free.

Canada has also passed legislation implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which incorporates and expands on many of the provisions in the FTA. This agreement will phase-out tariffs on Canadian exports to and imports from Mexico over a ten year period.

Infrastructure

As well as possessing modern and efficient airports, highways and railways, Ontario is a leader in the technologically advanced infrastructures vital to business: digital switches, fibre optic cables, and other elements of a state-of-the-art telecommunications network. Electricity is reliable and abundant, and is cheaper than in most North American jurisdictions.

Located in the heart of North America, Ontario businesses have easy access to prosperous consumer and industrial markets. The province has an up-to-date, integrated transportation infrastructure, including highways, commuter and urban public transit, province-wide and internationally connected railways, worldwide cargo aviation systems and among the most extensive in-land and international marine shipping facilities anywhere.

Major new infrastructure projects recently completed, include a new superhighway north of Toronto and the widening of other highways. Extension of Toronto's rapid transit and subway system and new telecommunications network infrastructures are underway.

Canadians are leaders in transportation innovation. In the 1996 Global Competitiveness Report, Canada's transportation infrastructure ranked first in the world.

Manufacturers located in Ontario are close to major North American industrial markets. Ontario shares 11 border crossings with the U.S., by road, rail and water.

Road Transportation
Almost 40 per cent of the population of North America is within one day's drive of Ontario. Ontario has an extensive, 72,000 kilometre (45,000 mile) network of paved roads and highways, including 4-lane highways, with advanced freeway traffic management systems to improve efficiency and safety. Highway 401 runs from Windsor, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec, with a minimum of 4 lanes; up to 14 lanes service Metro Toronto. The 14-lane section of the 401 is the second most travelled superhighway in North America.

Ontario has an extremely competitive trucking industry. Some two-thirds of the value of all Ontario exports move by truck. The trucking industry was deregulated in 1989 to ease licensing requirements and maintain a competitive environment for shippers. Ontario has reciprocity agreements on truck licensing with 41 U.S. states.

Ontario provides financial and technological assistance to municipalities toward the provision of public transit services. More than 95 per cent of the province's residents have access to municipal transit. The province was the first jurisdiction in North America to develop and introduce natural gas powered buses into transit service.

Rail Transportation
Transcontinental railway lines provide freight service to eastern and western Canada and to the U.S. The Ontario rail system has over 13,351 kilometres (8,296 miles) of track. Passenger train service is provided by VIA Rail in Ontario and across Canada while Amtrak provides connection to the U.S. The Government of Ontario's GO Transit provides intercity commuter rail and bus services to people in the Greater Toronto Area and some surrounding communities.

Air Transportation
The Province of Ontario enjoys the finest air services in Canada. Ontario has over 60 airports receiving scheduled flights and 20 that can service jet aircraft. Ontario airports service 40 per cent of total national passenger traffic.

Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport is Canada's largest, serving approximately 23 million passengers annually. It ranks fourth in North America by the number of international passengers. Pearson provides direct service to 42 U.S. markets daily and over 45 countries worldwide. Pearson handles almost 400,000 tonnes of cargo annually. Over 50 international airlines provide scheduled service and a number of additional airlines provide charter services on a seasonal basis.

Water Transportation
The Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway, a 3,747 km (2,342 mile) system of locks, deep water canals and natural water connecting Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean, has 95,000 square miles of navigable waters and serves the water borne cargo needs of 17 American states and 4 Canadian provinces.

Ontario has 33 cargo loading ports on the Canadian Coast Guard managed system, and there are several more private ports in Ontario.

Telecommunications
Ontario's communications networks are efficient, affordable and among the best in world. Ontario firms are leaders in communications technologies, including telecommunications, broadcasting, satellite and space technologies, short and long-distance telephone, fibre optics and terminal equipment such as private business exchanges (PBXs) and customer premises equipment (CPE).

Telecommunications companies in Ontario offer a full range of voice and data telecommunications services including public and private line services and long distance - message toll and 800/888 service. Wireless services, including cellular telephone, radio-telephone (exchange or high frequency), PCS (personal communications services), multichannel multipoint distribution systems (MMDS) and LMCS (local multipoint communications services) are also available in the province. Public and private telecommunications networks also provide a number of enhanced calling features, such as call-waiting, call-forwarding, call-management and speed dialling; emergency call service (911) and special assistance to persons with disabilities.

Canada is ahead of the U.S. in digitization and has maintained its position relative to other industrialized nations. The conversion to digital technology is almost 100 per cent. Canada has also constructed the longest terrestrial fibre optic network in the world using state-of-the-art design, manufacturing capability and construction methods.

A full range of business-related data communications networks and services are available in Ontario, including electronic mail, local area networks (LANs), telex, wide area networks (WANs), public message service, public databases, facsimile, and paging services.

Financial Infrastructure
Firms raising short-term funds through loans, trade credit, commercial and financial paper, acceptances or factoring, and companies seeking long-term funds through open market borrowing, new securities issues, loans, or sales financing and leaseback arrangements will find in Toronto all the financial expertise, institutions and capital markets to meet their needs.

Financial Institutions
Thirty-eight of Canada's 52 banks operate from Ontario. The six major national banks account for about 93 per cent of Canada's total banking assets. They are the Royal Bank of Canada, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Toronto-Dominion Bank, and the National Bank of Canada. Five of the six largest banks rank among the top 100 in the world as ranked by asset size.

The branch banking system is a key distinguishing feature of banking in Canada. Some 3,466 bank branches located in communities across Ontario provide firms with direct access to the heart of the commercial banking system.

The chartered banks also operate about 300 international offices and a variety of subsidiary and agency offices in almost 60 countries, and have correspondent relationships with thousands of financial institutions worldwide. 48 of the 53 foreign banks that operate in Canada have their Canadian head offices in Toronto.

Trust companies provide trustee services to individuals and corporations, along with many of the services offered by banks; they receive funds in guaranteed investment certificates, savings deposits and time deposits, and invest in mortgages, securities and other loans. Trust companies are also active in money markets, accepting short-term funds and making short-term loans to corporations and investment dealers.

Canada's banking system is efficient, stable, secure and safe. Most deposits held in banks, trust and loan companies in Canada are insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) to a limit of C$60,000 for each depositor in each institution.

Specialized financial services are provided by a variety of other institutions, including factoring companies (which purchase accounts receivable from manufacturers and wholesalers), loan companies, acceptance corporations, mortgage companies, insurance companies, investment dealers, credit unions, specialized financial leasing companies and venture capital corporations.

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is a Crown corporation whose mission is to help create and develop Canadian small and medium-sized businesses. BDC provides specialized financing for commercially-viable business projects as well as a wide range of business counselling, training and mentoring services. With both financial and management services under one roof, BDC seeks to provide entrepreneurs with complete solutions to their business needs.

The Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) is the largest stock exchange in Canada, second largest in North America in terms of trading value and twelfth largest in the world. The TSE deals in stocks, options and the futures markets. New and refined financial instruments are constantly being developed.

The TSE is owned and operated by its approximately 80 member firms and services approximately 1200 listed companies. Foreign investors are permitted to participate in securities markets without restriction.

Regulation of Financial Institutions
The regulation of financial services is primarily the responsibility of the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, which administers the Bank Act, reviews bank charters, monitors issuance of bank shares and securities, and has responsibility for federally-chartered trust, insurance, and loan companies. Ontario regulates provincially-chartered trust, insurance, and loan companies and credit unions through the Ministry of Finance. The Province also regulates securities dealers through the Ontario Securities Commission. Insurance companies are subject to provincial legislation which restricts their choice of investments, as are pension funds.

Labour

Skilled Labour
55% of the Ontario workforce over 25 years of age have completed post-secondary schooling - higher than any other OECD member country.

Ontario's labour force of more than 6.0 million people made up almost 40 per cent of Canada's total workforce in 1999.

Ontario's workforce is highly skilled. In 1999, 55 per cent of the labour force over 25 years of age had completed their post-secondary education.

In 1998, full and part time enrolment in Ontario colleges was about 142,353 under-graduates and graduates. In 1997, over 7,700 students graduated from college technology programs, ranging form civil, electrical and industrial engineering to chemical/biology programs.

The colleges also provide industrial training programs, such as the in-school portion of apprenticeship training for certified trades, and contract training to individual employers.

Ontario supports the training and development of researchers, and technology transfer to industry through four Centres of Excellence.

While English is the day-to-day language of business in Ontario, more than 50 other major languages are also spoken; the availability of workers speaking such a wide variety of languages helps Ontario firms conduct international business.

The Ontario workforce is balanced and diverse, with significant employment across all sectors

Labour Costs
Dramatically improved cost performance underlies Canada's low inflation rate. Ontario's unit labour cost performance compares favourably with the U.S. and has improved compared to Germany and Japan. Since 1992, Ontario's manufacturing unit labour costs, measured in national currency, have decreased by about 0.4 percent, while labour costs in the U.S. have increased by 13.4 per cent. This pattern of steadily improving cost competitiveness is expected to continue.

Because labour represents a significant portion of direct production costs in manufacturing, improvements in unit labour costs have a strong positive impact. Labour cost performance reflects both lower compensation costs and faster productivity growth.

Salaries and Wages
Wages in Ontario are competitive with those in U.S. jurisdictions. Average manufacturing wages in 1998 were lower in Ontario than in neighbouring US states. When total compensation rates are compared, Ontario provides even more of a cost advantage, largely because of publicly funded health care. Total compensation rates were over C$5 an hour cheaper than Illinois, and over C$13 cheaper than Michigan.

In Ontario, the general minimum hourly wage rate is C$6.85. The student hourly wage rate (students under 18 working less than 28 hours a week excepted) is C$6.40.

Benefits
Ontario, like other jurisdictions, has a number of legislated benefits. The cost of these benefits to employers is comparable to those of competing jurisdictions. On the other hand, the cost of non-mandatory employer contributions are two or three times higher in the US (primarily due to Ontario's publicly funded health care program). While employer benefit plans vary, they typically include pensions, short and long-term medical leave, eye and dental care, drug plans, and private or semi-private hospital accommodation, basic life insurance.

Vacation
Employees in Ontario are entitled to at least two weeks paid vacation following one year of employment, or vacation pay of at least 4 per cent of annual wages in the year the vacation was earned.

OHIP
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) is partially funded by the Employer Health Tax (ETH). The Employer Health Tax, is based on payroll costs, including bonuses and taxable benefits and allowances. Employers with payrolls less than C$400,000 are exempt from the EHT.

Worker's Compensation
Ontario's workers' compensation system provides no-fault workplace accident insurance for workers and their employers.

Employers fund the system through annual assessments based on total payrolls and the accident experience of their industry. In return, employers transfer all responsibility for workplace claims of compensation to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. In 1997, the average Workers' Compensation rate was C$2.85 per C$100 payroll paid.

Employment Insurance
The Employment Insurance system is designed to meet the needs of today's job market by changing its focus from basic income support to active employment measures. The goal is to encourage people to return to the job market and workplace. Employers and employees in Ontario both contribute premiums to the Employment Insurance System for all insurable employment. Earnings subject to Employment Insurance premiums include salaries, wages, paid leave and payment in kind. For 1999, employees pay employment insurance premiums at a rate of 2.55 per cent of wages, ranging up to a maximum annual premium of C$975. The regular contribution plan for employers is 1.4 times the employees contribution. Premiums are paid on the first dollar earned to a yearly maximum of C$39,000 per employee.

Pension
Employers and eligible employees in Ontario contribute to the Canada Pension Plan, which provides retirement pension income as early as age 60 (subject to some conditions and actuarial reduction), and survivor benefits and disability benefits in respect of deceased and disabled contributors. The Canada Pension Plan rate in 1999 is 3.5 per cent of wages for employers and employees, up to a maximum contribution of C$1,186.50. Such contributions can be made to a maximum age of 70.

Education

Primary and Secondary Education
Ontario has an excellent, highly developed standardized public education system. There are two publicly funded school systems -- public and Roman Catholic -- in addition to private and independent elementary and secondary schools throughout the province. Schooling is compulsory for all children between the ages of six and sixteen. English as a Second Language programs are offered to children whose first language is not English.

Ontario has a broadly based, comprehensive, publicly funded education system which supports 5,667 elementary and secondary schools throughout the province. As well, there are 560 private schools in Ontario. There is a three-tiered system consisting of elementary (to grade 8), secondary (grades 9 to 12), and post-secondary levels.

With the Technology Incentive Partnership Program (TIPP), the Ontario government is taking steps to ensure that the province's schools remain in stride with developments in information technology. TIPP has been designed to foster collaboration among school boards, faculties of education, and the private sector in better integrating information technology into Ontario's elementary and secondary school systems.

Post Secondary Education
Ontario's post-secondary education system consists of a network of 46 publicly funded institutions: 25 colleges of applied arts and technology, with more than 100 campuses throughout the province; 17 universities; and 4 additional more specialized, university level institutions. Ontario's universities and colleges employ some of the best faculties in the world.

The 1996 Global Competitiveness Report reported that Canada has the highest rate of post-secondary enrolment in the world.

An OSSD (Ontario Secondary School Diploma, Grade 12) is the usual requirement for admission to a post-secondary program in one of the colleges. Colleges prepare students for careers in business, applied arts, technology, and health sciences. They also offer an extensive range of part-time and continuing education courses, apprenticeships and skills training programs.

Admission to university requires six OACs {Ontario Academic Credits} beyond Grade 12. Ontario's universities and university-related institutions offer a complete range of programs in the arts and sciences, as well as graduate and professional programs. Total enrolment in Ontario universities was over 228,000 students for the fall semester of 1996. Total graduates in 1995/6 at all levels (Bachelor, First Professional, Masters, and Doctoral) were over 65,000.

Co-op programs, offered at several universities in certain programs, provide alternating terms of academic study and work experience. The University of Waterloo was a pioneer, and is today one of the premier institutions in the world offering post-secondary co-op programs.

Ontario's post-secondary education system attracts students from all over the world. During the 1996 fall semester there were over 9,000 international students registered at Ontario universities.

Ontario's colleges and universities are largely publicly-funded. University tuition fees are low by any international standard; the fee for a two-semester full-time program in arts and sciences was approximately CND$3,551 in 1998/9. Foreign students pay additional international student fees.

Tuition fees for college post-secondary programs were about CND$1,543 for the 1998/9 academic year

Apprenticeship and Trade Qualification
Apprenticeship training is a partnership: employers bear the cost of workplace training, the apprentice invests time and effort, and government pays for administration and the in-school cost of the program. Apprenticeship and Client Services Offices throughout the province assist individuals and firms with all aspects of apprenticeship training.

Typically, programs range from 2 to 5 years, with a combination of on-the-job training and formal study in one of the colleges of applied arts and technology.

Apprentices attend school either full-time for a few months, or for one day a week during the year. In some cases, night school and correspondence courses are available.

To successfully complete an apprenticeship, individuals must pass a Certificate of Qualification examination. In certain regulated occupations, certification is compulsory (e.g. electrician); only holders of a Certificate of Qualification or registered apprentices can work in these occupations. Although regulated occupations with voluntary certification do not require Certificates of Qualification or Apprenticeship (e.g. carpenter), these indicate a level of acquired skill, and some employers and unions require this confirmation.

The Ontario Youth Program gives participants a chance to combine work experience and a secondary school program, with credits toward an apprenticeship.

Quality of Life

Toronto is Canada's number one tourist destination. Ontario's cities are colourful, friendly, multicultural, clean and safe.

Ontario residents enjoy a high standard of living. The government's commitment to reducing personal taxes means that people in Ontario will have even more personal income at their disposal - a good sign for your business.

Ontario is the undisputed centre for business in Canada, attracting many of the world's largest companies. Their investments have yielded such positive returns that many companies are now expanding operations in the province.

Ambitious and prosperous, safe and secure, friendly and clean, Ontario is a preferred location for those who value quality of life. For the sixth year in a row, Canada was ranked first in the 2000 United Nations Human Development Index, a measurement of quality of life based on factors such as life expectancy, literacy and standard of living.

In a 1997 survey of 118 cities worldwide, Corporate Resources Group (Geneva) rated four Canadian cities in its top ten list for quality of life benefits. The top-rated US city was Boston in 30th place.

Climate
The right climate for your business and your family.

Ontario residents experience seasonal temperature shifts, with coldest days in January and the warmest in July.

Large bodies of water in the north and south of the province provide a moderating influence on the climate -- cooling summers, making winters less severe, delaying autumn frosts, and cutting day/night temperature differences.

Ontario's climate ranges from humid continental in the south (with chilly winters, warm summers, and lots of humidity) to subarctic in the far north. Toronto's average temperature in the summer is 21 degrees Celsius, or 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

People
The mix of ethnic and linguistic groups that make up Ontario contribute to the cultural life and spirit of the province. More than 50 major languages are spoken in Ontario. Ontario's population is more diversified than Canada as a whole while Ontario's capital, Toronto, is Canada's most multicultural city.

With over 11 million people, Ontario is Canada's most populous province, accounting for about 38 per cent of the country's population. By 2016, Ontario is projected to have a population of 13.7 million, a 20 per cent increase. About 77 per cent of the population lives in urban centers.

Health Care
Ontario has one of the best health care systems in the world. The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) provides medical and hospital services at no charge to eligible residents of Ontario.

The health care system provides long-term and home care services, community and public health programs, assistive device programs, services for the mentally ill, and part of the costs of prescription drugs for people over 65 or on social assistance. It also operates psychiatric hospitals and medical laboratories, co-ordinates emergency services, and regulates hospitals and nursing homes.

Health care is publicly supported and universally accessible in Ontario. It is one of the reasons business operating costs in Ontario are lower than in many competing jurisdictions.

Stable Political System
Ontario is one of 10 provinces and three territories which form Canada. Canada is a constitutional monarchy; both Canada and Ontario have political systems based on the British parliamentary model.

Canada has a three-tiered system with Federal, Provincial, and Municipal levels of government, each having different responsibilities. Canada's capital is in Ottawa, Ontario; Ontario's capital is Toronto. Municipal governments are under provincial jurisdiction and each is governed by an elected mayor and council.

Cost of Living
The annual Bank of Switzerland international cost-of-living comparison has been finding Toronto to be among the least expensive major financial centers in the world in which to live. Ontario is forecast to have lowest inflation rates of the G-7 nations.

Housing
In 1998 Ontario had over four and a quarter million households. Two-thirds of dwellings in Ontario are owned by the occupant. Ontario offers a range of affordable housing, with the average price varying from around C$110,000 in smaller communities to about C$220,000 in central Toronto.

Public Safety
Ontario cities are among the safest in North America. Both homicide and robbery rates are well below those of US cities of comparable size. The Province's urban centers strive to maintain their safety record and visitors often comment on the cleanliness of Ontario's cities and the friendliness of their residents.

Culture
Toronto is the third largest theatre centre in the English speaking world after New York and London. Musicals, opera, ballet, symphony concerts fill out the cultural scene in Ontario's cities.

World renowned and critically acclaimed Stratford and Shaw festivals bring visitors from afar.

Recreation
Professional sports teams, unspoiled lakes and forests, serviced parkland, golf courses and beaches - Ontario has it all, to suit everyone's recreation interests.

Urban Lifestyles
Ontario's cities are colourful, friendly, multicultural, clean and safe. Ottawa - Canada's capital - is the meeting place of French and English. Toronto is Canada's largest city with a population of 4.3 million. It is Canada's number one tourist destination.

Setting Up a Business

An investor setting up a business in Ontario has many options, including setting up a corporation, a sole proprietorship, a partnership (general and limited), or a joint venture

Corporation
A corporation is a legal entity separate and apart from its individual shareholders; debts and obligations are liabilities of the corporation, not the individual shareholders.

A business may incorporate in Ontario under either federal or provincial law. A federally incorporated corporation can carry on business throughout Canada, although it may be required to register or obtain a license in a province in which it does business. A corporation incorporated under provincial law can carry on business only in Ontario and must usually become licensed or registered in any other province in which it intends to do business.

Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is a business carried on by an individual. It may employ others. The proprietor is entitled to all profits from the business and is personally liable for all its debts and obligations. The individual's liability is not limited to the assets in the business, but extends to personal assets. A sole proprietorship is not required to be registered if the business is carried on under the owner's name.

Partnership
Partnerships must be registered under the Business Names Act of the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations. A partnership formed in Ontario may, as a rule, carry on business only in Ontario. However, most provinces provide for the registration of extra-provincial partnerships which will entitle such a partnership to carry on business in other provinces as well.

In a limited partnership, partners are liable only to the extent of the capital they have contributed. Limited partners become general partners when they participate in the management of the business.

Joint Ventures
A joint venture is a business activity carried out by two or more persons. There is no legislation which specifically regulates joint ventures in Ontario, and there is no precise legal definition or status for a joint venture. When a new corporation is formed to carry on the joint venture business, it is sometimes referred to as an incorporated joint venture.

Non-Resident Corporation
A non-resident corporation or individual can also carry on business in Ontario by means of a partnership or joint venture arrangement. Corporations can enter into such an arrangement either directly or through a Canadian subsidiary. It is not uncommon for a foreign corporation, either directly or through a wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, to form what amounts to an incorporated joint venture with another corporation. Typically, such arrangements involve the licensing of specific technology or know-how to the Canadian joint venture corporation.

Branches
A branch must be licensed or registered in Ontario and any other province in which the foreign company wishes to carry on business. Legally, the branch has no separate status from the foreign company itself, it is merely carrying on business in Ontario. The foreign company will be liable to the employees and creditors of the branch for the actions of, and debts contracted by, its managers and agents on behalf of the branch.

Subsidiaries
A subsidiary can be incorporated (under either federal or Ontario law) or an existing Canadian corporation can be acquired. A number of factors are relevant in considering whether to use a subsidiary or a branch for Canadian operations. Tax considerations and raising capital may play a major part in the choice.

Let your business take advantage of what Ontario has to offer!

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