Waymo is officially heading to Canada! We’re laying the groundwork for our fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Toronto, investing in local facilities and jobs, with the goal of welcoming our first riders in 2028.
In the coming days, you’ll start to see Waymo vehicles on the streets of Toronto as we begin driving manually. We are taking a rigorous, phased, safety-first approach starting with high-definition mapping of local street networks and testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel. This validation period will ensure the Waymo Driver adapts seamlessly to Toronto’s distinct driving conditions.
“Expanding into Canada marks an important milestone in Waymo’s global journey,” said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana. “Toronto is one of the world’s great cities — innovative, diverse, and forward-looking. We’re proud to bring the Waymo Driver to Canada’s largest city and to partner with the vibrant business, arts and cultural communities that share our commitment to safer streets and more accessible mobility.”
To serve Toronto, we’re partnering with Element Fleet Management, a Toronto-headquartered company and global leader in intelligent fleet and mobility solutions that will provide end-to-end fleet management services. Together with Element and our partners, we’ll invest in hundreds of roles over time spanning fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and other operations functions that support our service. This deep partnership builds on Waymo’s existing ties to Canada, which includes our long-term investor relationship with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and our manufacturing partner, Magna International.
"As a Canadian company, we are proud to be expanding our partnership with Waymo to help bring autonomous ride-hailing to Toronto,” said Laura Dottori-Attanasio, Chief Executive Officer, Element Fleet Management. Together with Waymo, Element will help create employment opportunities providing the fleet expertise, operational capabilities, and intelligent mobility solutions needed to support autonomous fleets reliably and at scale."
As one of North America’s fastest-growing metropolitan regions, Toronto has both evolving mobility demands and a dynamic and growing number of tools. From bike lanes to public transit, Waymo’s all-weather Driver can provide an additional option that complements the city’s transportation ecosystem. The data from over 400 million fully autonomous kilometres driven shows the Waymo Driver was involved in 95% fewer (20x fewer) crashes involving serious injury or worse compared to humans in the cities where we operate.
Safety and accessibility are fundamental to Waymo's mission to be the world's most trusted driver, and we're proud to collaborate with leading accessibility and mobility advocacy organizations, including BALANCE for Blind Adults, CNIB, Community Living Toronto, Connected Canadians, and Epilepsy Ontario, among others.
“Innovation that removes barriers to independence is at the heart of everything we do. Waymo’s history of partnering with the sight loss community to build accessible solutions is encouraging and their decision to engage with us early reflects the kind of approach that leads to real results,” said Michelle McQuigge, CEO, BALANCE for Blind Adults.
We can't wait to help residents and visitors explore everything Toronto has to offer. If you’re ready to experience Waymo in Toronto, please sign up for updates to be among the first to ride when we’re ready: waymo.com/waymo-in-canada.