Ontario Launches SelectOntario
Becomes First Province to Introduce GIS Investment Attraction Tool

SelectOntario: Using technology to promote investment:Ontario is now the first province in Canada to implement a state-of-the-art geographic information system (GIS) tool for the purposes of investment attraction.

SelectOntario is a flexible and dynamic search tool that showcases investment properties, infrastructure and location advantages and workforce skills for site selectors to help make investment decision-making faster and easier.

SelectOntario lets users search for their ideal investment location by business needs they define. Most tools require users to search available sites first. SelectOntario allows the user to define their search based on the types of things that are most important to their investment decision – proximity to transportation routes and infrastructure, availability of real estate, availability of skilled workers and industry cluster locations.

There are four types of searches available, and soon, search results from one search type can be combined with the others to find the ideal investment and site location.

Site searches allow a user to find an ideal site for sale or lease based on very specific property criteria essential to their business such as price, industrial type, and proximity to highways, airports and railways.

Community searches contain data for over 500 communities in Ontario. Users can find an ideal community to locate their business by community name, demographics and  labour force statistics.

Industry sector searches help users locate hundreds of existing Ontario industry clusters based on either NAICS or SIC codes.

Skills searches focus on educational level and field of study for Ontario’s workforce by community as well as graduation statistics by program at Ontario’s universities and colleges.

SelectOntario will give site selectors quick access to key information needed to invest in over 500 communities in Ontario.