T he need for smarter cities is a global one. Complexities in-volving rapid population growth, changing demographics, aging city infrastructure and constrained public budgets are pressuring cities. They must quickly adopt technologies to remain prosperous, resilient, and inclusive. The global mar-

ketplace for smart city solutions is estimated to reach $1.8-trillion by 2020. A similar digital revolution is underway in the financial services industry. Driv-

en by deals in continental Europe and Asia, global fintech investment exceeded $28-billion in 2015. As the hub of Canada’s financial services industry and the second largest financial centre in North America, the Toronto region is well po-sitioned to capitalize on global fintech activity. The region is one of the fastest growing fintech hubs in the world, with an investment rate exceeding that of Silicon Valley, NYC and London in the last six years.

BARCELONA & NEW YORK

World Trade Centre Toronto and the City of Toronto led trade missions to Barcelona and NYC, promoting

the region’s smart city & fintech strengths.

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IN NOVEMBER, WTC-T organized a delegation from

the City of Toronto, including Councillors Michael

Thompson and Michelle Holland, Chief Informa-

tion Officer Rob Meikle, and City Librarian Vickery

Bowles of the Toronto Public Library, to attend Smart

City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2017 in Barce-

lona. The goals were to promote Toronto’s expertise

in smart city tech, and exchange best practices with

leading global counterparts in the sector.

SCEWC is the world’s leading event on smart cit-

ies—a must-attend meeting place for companies,

cities and institutions that are fully engaged on the

path towards building a smarter city. The 2017 edi-

tion of this event put 675 exhibitors in front of nearly

19,000 attendees from more than 700 cities across 120

countries. Events such as the SCEWC provide oppor-

tunities to develop targeted connections leading to a

smarter and deeper dialogue with like-minded cities

such as New York, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong

and Singapore. Strategic dialogue ultimately leads to

investment and trade opportunities.

“It’s interesting to connect with representatives from

other cities and find out what they’re doing,” said Vick-

ery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library. “To

speak with people from places like Tel Aviv and Copen-

hagen is a tremendous opportunity to learn what peo-

ple around the world are doing with their own smart city

initiatives, and what projects they’re focused on.”

Along with the opportunity to visit exhibitors and net-

work with global peer cities, delegates also made their

own presentations at SWEWC: Councillor Holland spoke

on The Art of Placemaking: Inclusive Public Spaces &

Green Areas, and Rob Meikle followed his Making Safer,

Smarter & Healthier Cities presentation by collaborating

with Vickery Bowles on Smart Cities: the Toronto Expe-

rience. Bowles also presented on Digital Fabrication:

Transforming Citizens from Consumers to Producers.

BARCELONA Smart City Expo World Congress

WHERE: Spain (Barcelona)

WHEN: November 2017 (5 days)

WHY:• Promote Toronto’s smart

cities expertise at a global congress attended by over 120 countries

• Establish the opportunity for a Toronto presence at a future smart cities congress

• Share best practices with global counterparts to establish how Toronto can continue to develop its smart cities sector

WHO:Councillor Michael Thompson, Chair, Toronto Economic Development Committee & Chair, Invest Toronto

Councillor Michelle Holland, Vice Chair of the City f Toronto’s Economic Development Committee & Advocate for the Innovation Economy

Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer, City of Toronto

Vickery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library

“MAKING TORONTO A 21ST-CENTURY SMART CITY REQUIRES COLLABORATING WITH OTHER CITIES AND VALUE-ADD STAKEHOLDERS AROUND THE GLOBE”– Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer, City of Toronto

Councillors Holland and Thompson listen as City partner UrbanLogiq demonstrate their innovative technology

Delegates at the opening of Smart City Expo World Congress 2017

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LATER IN NOVEMBER, Jan De Silva, President &

CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade accompanied

Mayor John Tory and a delegation from the City of

Toronto, MaRS Discovery District, the Toronto Fi-

nancial Services Alliance (TFSA), JPMorgan Chase

Canada and Blackrock Canada to New York City.

The Mayor’s primary goal was to promote the Toron-

to region as a hub for growth, talent attraction and

business development in the fintech sector.

Delegates met with Sidewalk Labs’ CEO Dan

Doctoroff and his team to learn about its indus-

try-leading developments in smart city tech, and

its partnership with Waterfront Toronto to develop

the Quayside district as a global hub of urban in-

novation. The solutions advanced in the Quayside

project will be brought to scale in the multi-bil-

lion-dollar development of the Port Lands, an

underdeveloped area of more than 325 hectares

along Toronto’s eastern waterfront.

A Mayor’s Roundtable was also convened to pro-

mote the partnership between MaRS Discovery Dis-

trict and flagship tech accelerator Grand Central Tech

(GCT). MaRS@GCT will serve as an extension of MaRS

in the heart of New York City, offering support, services

and physical workspace to Canadian technology start-

ups seeing to expand globally.

“Grand Central Tech and MaRS share a strategic

vision. This partnership is helping to draw attention

to the startup activity

happening in Toronto

and New York. Togeth-

er, we’re capitalizing on

this momentum to build

a multi-city investment

pipeline,” said Jeff Hin-

dle, Managing Director,

Finance & Commerce

at MaRS. GCT’s focus on innovation in health, fin-

tech and smart cities solutions also aligns with MaRS’

primary sectors and complements the support that

MaRS offers to Canadian entrepreneurs in Toronto.

“On our trip to NYC, I was inspired by the col-

laborative nature of entrepreneurs. We’re seeing a

trend: collaboration across startup ecosystems in-

creases the chances of building global successes,”

said Hindle, reflecting on the mission. “Companies

can’t just be islands alone. They have to grow glob-

ally to succeed and apply their innovations to prob-

lems all over the world.”

WHERE: United States (NYC)

WHEN: November 2017 (1 day)

WHY:• Advance the growth and talent

attraction narrative for Toronto tech companies, through the Mayor’s remarks at a reception for technology stakeholders and other VIP guests

• Visit Sidewalk Labs and learn more about the specific innovations they have made related to urban technology, as they partner with Waterfront Toronto on the Quayside development

• Raise the profile and create additional media opportunities related to the November 2017 announcement of a Grand Central Tech—MaRS Discovery District partnership

WHO: Mayor John Tory, City of Toronto

Jan De Silva, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Siri Agrell, Director Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Mayor, City of Toronto

Vic Gupta, Principal Secretary, Office of the Mayor, City of Toronto

Jeff Hindle, Managing Director, Fintech & Commerce, MaRS Discovery District

Marcia Moffat, Managing Director, Head of Blackrock Canada

Jennifer Reynolds, President & CEO, Toronto Financial Services Alliance

David Rawlings, CEO, JPMorgan Chase Canada

George Spezza, Director Business Growth Services, City of Toronto

NEW YORK CITY Sidewalk Labs & Grand Central Tech

John Tory on Bloomberg

New York City Mayor’s Roundtable

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WITH 100 BRANCHES AND OVER 10.6 MILLION ITEMS IN ITS COLLECTION, the Toronto Public Li-

brary is the largest neighbourhood-based library

system in the world. Every year, the Library hosts

more than 18 million visits to its physical branches

and nearly 33 million visits to its website. In addi-

tion to the shelves of books and physical media,

today’s Toronto Public Library also emphasizes

universal wi-fi access, Computer Learning Centres

to impart basic skills, and Digital Innovation Hubs

with access to the latest technology and training

including 3D printing and scanning, web design,

coding and audio/video production.

The provision of digital services has become

a cornerstone of the Library’s mission as it looks

to the future. For Vickery Bowles, City Librarian

and chief executive of the organization since

2015, this is also a key contribution the Library

can make towards Toronto’s smart city initiatives.

Mission delegate Vickery Bowles, City Librarian of the Toronto Public Library, discusses her experience at Smart City Expo World Congress 2017 in Barcelona and the Library’s role in helping Toronto become a centre for smart city technology.

“A city cannot be a smart city if people are left

behind. Digital inclusion and digital literacy are

key to making a smart city work,” says Bowles.

“Access, opportunity, connection — those are

the Toronto Public Library’s places in the smart

city narrative. We’ve been part of the Smart Cit-

ies Working Group (SCWG) led by the Board

and by the Economic Development Committee

at the City of Toronto since the very beginning.

We’ve had a lot of support from our colleagues

in the SCWG, who understand that inclusion is

key to a smart city.”

Bowles travelled to Barcelona seeking to raise

the profile of public libraries in the smart cities sec-

tor, “inserting the public library narrative and the

role we play into the discussion of smart cities.” The

Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) provid-

ed an ideal venue for profile-raising, with two oppor-

tunities to present to a global audience: on Smart

Cities: the Toronto Experience (in collaboration with

Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer of the City of

Toronto), and on Digital Fabrication: Transforming

Citizens from Consumers to Producers.

“A highlight was definitely presenting on

‘fab labs’ for our colleagues in Europe, and

talking about initiatives in Milan, Barcelona, Tel

Aviv, Copenhagen and other cities,” observed

Bowles. “It was a tremendous opportunity to

see what people around the world are doing

with their smart city initiatives and what projects

they’re focused on.”

Bowles also noted the importance of cultivat-

ing potential partners: “We’ve done that with the

SCWG, and also in our partnership with Cisco,

which we’ve learned a lot from. Now we’re look-

ing for others to work with and learn from.”

“IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET OUTSIDE YOUR USUAL SECTOR AND CIRCLE OF PARTNERS, AND MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER COMPANIES: STARTUPS, ESTABLISHED PARTNERS, INNOVATORS. IT CHALLENGES YOU TO THINK ‘WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?’ FOR ADVANCING YOUR OWN AGENDA.”

COMPANY: Toronto Public Library

“A HIGHLIGHT WAS DEFINITELY PRESENTING ON ‘FAB LABS’ FOR OUR COLLEAGUES IN EUROPE, AND TALKING ABOUT INITIATIVES IN MILAN, BARCELONA, TEL AVIV, COPENHAGEN AND OTHER CITIES,”

HIGHLIGHT:

DELEGATE EXPERIENCE

“THIS MISSION WAS VERY WELL-THOUGHT-OUT AND WELL-ORGANIZED: THERE WERE CLEAR GOALS DEFINED FOR THE MISSION, AND THE PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION REALLY FACILITATED PRODUCING MEANINGFUL AND TANGIBLE OUTCOMES TO ADVANCE OUR STRATEGIC ACTIONS. “

LESSONS LEARNED

VICKERY BOWLES, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library

ROB MEIKLE, Chief Information Officer, City of Toronto

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SEEKING TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN THE SMART CITIES SECTOR, “INSERTING THE PUBLIC LIBRARY NARRATIVE AND THE ROLE WE PLAY INTO THE DISCUSSION OF SMART CITIES.”

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