July 21, 2006

Toronto Expo 2015 could result in $5B in infrastructure investment

TORONTO

If Toronto succeeds in winning the right to host Expo 2015, it will mean billions of dollars in opportunities for Canadian businesses, both large and small, in industries ranging from construction to culture, retail and tourism, said City Councillor Brian Ashton, Chair of the Toronto 2015 World Expo Steering Committee.

“There will be opportunities for the construction industry to build $5-billion in infrastructure — iconic buildings, futuristic pavilions, bridges, roads, transit routes, public amenities and affordable housing,” he said.

“There will be opportunities for the environmental sector to provide the new technologies and services that will make Expo 2015 the most environmentally sustainable global event in history; and for the hospitality sector to shelter, feed and entertain the millions of visitors to Expo.”

Ashton noted that a World Expo will generate $13.5 billion in new GDP in Canada and Ontario, with $8.1 billion of that generated in Toronto; create 215,000 jobs in Canada, with 143,000 of those in Toronto; provide $8.4 billion in wages and salaries in Canada and Ontario, with $5.6 billion going to workers in Toronto; create at least 200 acres of serviced land with an added value of over $500-million; and build an estimated 1,900 affordable housing units. All told, a World Expo will return $7 for every $1 invested.

Ashton encouraged the business community to “step up to the plate” and become actively involved in Toronto’s bid for Expo 2015.

“We live in a world where economic opportunities don’t just fall in your lap. You have to go out and aggressively create them,” he said.

“We need the business community actively involved as an advocate for the bid to the provincial and federal governments and to the BIE, and as a financial partner in mounting the bid.

“We need the business community to be 100 per cent behind the bid. We will be looking to Canada’s business community to provide a minimum of $5-million to sponsor the preparation of the bid, and, if we’re successful, to invest close to $500-million in World Expo sponsorship.”

On May 25, Toronto City Council overwhelmingly endorsed a bid for the 2015 World Expo.

The BIE will select the host site for the 2015 World Expo at its meeting in Paris in February 2008. Major (registered) World Expos take place every five years.

The next World Expo will take place in Shanghai in 2010.

Canada’s last major Expo was the extremely successful Expo ‘67 in Montreal.

A smaller but equally successful Expo was held in Vancouver in 1986.

DCN NEWS SERVICES

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