Ontario and the UK have a strong long-standing trade and investment relationship; in fact the United Kingdom is Ontario's largest export destination outside North America. Approximately three percent of foreign capital investment in Ontario is from the UK and more than 200 companies from the UK have operations in Ontario, employing more than 40,000 people.
- There are 630 Canadian-owned businesses operating in London; of which, two-thirds are in the financial and business services industries and one-third are in technology.
- The UK imports 6 per cent of Ontario’s total global exports; second only to the United States. The UK is also one of the top ten sources of Ontario's imports.
- In 2010 Ontario exports to the UK were valued at C$11.1 billion, while Ontario imported C$3.7 billion worth of goods from the UK.
- The top good exported from Ontario to the UK is unwrought gold, while the top good imported by Ontario from the UK is packaged medications for retail use. See the Ontario-United Kingdom Trade Fact Sheet.
- In March 2010, The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada, announced that it would acquire Camelot Group, which has an exclusive license to operate the UK National Lottery, for an estimated £389 million.
- The Toronto Dominion Bank has a large presence in the UK, operating in the areas of wholesale banking services delivered by TD Securities and wealth management services offered by TD Waterhouse.
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- 321,650 people living in Ontario were born in the UK. (Source)
- British and French settlers first populated Ontario. The following figures represent the number of Ontarians who report an ethnic origin from countries within the UK. (Note: Irish origin is not restricted to those from Northern Ireland.)
- English: 2,971,360
- Welsh: 182,825
- Scottish: 2,101,100
- Irish: 1,988,940
- Frederick Varley was born in Sheffield, England and immigrated to Ontario in 1912. He is part of the famed Group of Seven. He was one of only two artists in the group to paint portraits.
- Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland but it was in his Brantford, Ontario home that he first developed his idea for the telephone.
- Kiefer Sutherland was born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, Canada. He is best known for the television series 24, which ran for 7 seasons, having its series finale just last month. He is the grandson of Tommy Douglas, who brought universal health care to Canada, and the son of actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas.
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- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh visited Ontario in June 2010.
- The United Kingdom has had a consulate in Ontario for more than 50 years.
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The International Marketing Centre in London
The International Marketing Centre in London is located in the Canadian High Commission. Its mandate is to promote awareness of Ontario and the province's many business opportunities in the UK by working with UK companies to find investment opportunities in Ontario and promoting awareness of and access to Ontario-produced goods and services.
The Centre is active in promoting Ontario's strengths across many sectors, particularly Energy (Alternatives) / Environmental, Information Technology (IT) and Defence and Security. For more in-depth information on Ontario's investment advantages in these and other key industries and sectors, review the Ontario-UK Investment Fact Sheet and the list of Ontario Industry Profiles:
Contact Information
Mr. Andrew Thompson
Business Development Officer - Ontario
Email: andrew.thompson@international.gc.ca
Tel: (011 44 20) 7258-6677
Fax: (011 44 20) 7258-6666
Ontario International Marketing Centre
c/o The High Commission of Canada
MacDonald House
1 Grosvenor Square
London W1K 4AB
