STRONG ECONOMY DRIVEN BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGYToronto is Canada’s largest city, as well as the

country’s financial and technology hub. It is home to

40% of Canada’s head offices, representing 20% of

Canada’s total GDP, making it the largest Data Centre

market in Canada. In 2017 the World Economic

Forum ranked Toronto as the eighth most high-

tech city in the world. This is due in part to the tech

boom that Toronto has experienced over that last

few years, driven by labour availability and strong

investment. Continuing to attract top talent has been

key to the city’s success. Investment in Toronto based

companies has been strong, receiving $611 million

in investment in the first half of 2018, according to

PwC’s Money Tree Report. Technology has also been

a driving force for Toronto’s commercial real estate

market. Tech giants like Shopify and Microsoft have

expanded their footprints in the city. Vacancy rates

across all sectors of Toronto’s real estate market

have been very low, leading to Toronto and other key

economic centres finding a way to balance strong

growth, and demand for skilled labour.

DEMAND Historically, Toronto has been an undersupplied

market. New builds and site expansions in the last

three years have greatly increased the amount of

Data Centre space available. Beginning at the end

of 2017 and continuing through the first half of 2018,

the Toronto market has seen strong absorption. Much

Canadian DATA CENTRE INSIGHTS

A C U S H M A N & W A K E F I E L D C A N A D I A N D A T A C E N T R E R E P O R T

Toronto Data Centre Market Overview

of this absorption has been retail deals, however

there is also robust wholesale demand. Hyperscale’s

initial entrance into Canada in 2016, has allowed

providers readiness to expand their footprints or

enter new Canadian markets. With two international

wholesale providers entering the market in recent

years, Toronto is now better equipped to handle the

long-term growth and scale that has been seen in

other major American Data Centre cities, Chicago

and Dallas. This increase in supply from expansion

and new entrants, has triggered downward pressure

on pricing, consistent with the global trend driven

by increased competition. Additionally, Toronto’s

large and growing population, attracts demand from

Cloud, SaaS and other media services, as well as

the booming tech sector with growing demand that

needs to be met.

A C U S H M A N & W A K E F I E L D C A N A D I A N D A T A C E N T R E R E P O R T

Canadian DATA CENTRE INSIGHTS

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

KEY INDICATORS

PREVIOUS TRENDS:

PRICING HOLDS

Cushman & Wakefield ULC, Brokerage | 161 Bay Street, Suite 1500 | P.O. Box 602 | Toronto, ON M5J 2S1 | Canada©2018 Cushman & Wakefield ULC, Brokerage. All

rights reserved. The information contained within this report is gathered from multiple sources believed to be reliable.

The information may contain errors or omissions and is presented without any warranty or representations as to its accuracy.

RANDOLPH BORRONVice ChairmanGlobal Data Centre Advisory GroupDirect: +1 416 359 2474randy.borron@cushwake.com

• Shared Services Canada has opened a state of the art Data Centre in Base Borden.

• Cologix opened new space at 151 Front in late 2018, and has been operating successfully.

• 1547 Data Centre and CIM Group purchased I.C.E. Data Centre’s Toronto facility.

• Hyperscale providers have yet to make the same impact on the Toronto market as they have in Montreal, with multi megawatt transactions. This trend is expected in Toronto soon, and will largely impact the city’s vacancy rates.

• 1 Century Place, the former Toronto Star Printing Press purchased by Dupont Fabros now Digital Realty has opened with 12 MW. The total facility is 711,000 square feet, with 46 MW of capacity.

• Metro Optic Inc., Crosslake Fiber ULC and Kingston Utilities are working together to create a new fiber optic cable, from Montreal to Kingston and into Lake Ontario leading to Toronto. The project is set to be completed in the second half of 2019.

• C15Edge launched its 1MW facility in Etobicoke in 2016. It has options on neighbouring space, so they can expand as needed.

113 MW Short term

Retail $250 - $500

Wholesale $160 - $250155 MW

Long term

VACANCY 16%

SIZE OF MARKET

240 MW

NUMBER OF FACILITIES

51

EXPANSION CAPACITY

PRICING

JIM TSAKNISVice PresidentGlobal Data Centre Advisory Group

MICHAEL BORRONResearch AnalystGlobal Data Centre Advisory Group

BOBBY KOUTSARISDirectorGlobal Data Centre Advisory Group