Toronto attracts workers from across Canada and all over the globe, and many companies are vying for new talent in the country's economic heart — some more attractive to potential hires than others.
The winners of the Greater Toronto's Top Employers 2024 ranking published by Canada's Top 100 include a range of business types that have offered employees the best conditions in a fast-changing work climate, where companies continue to adapt to post-pandemic work models and patterns.
This year marks the 18th annual edition of the top employers list, coming at a time when businesses are getting ever more creative in attracting employees back to in-person workspaces, often through fun and creative office environments designed to foster the connectivity challenged by years of remote work.
In other cases, companies are accepting the new reality and working on ways to better connect employees working in-office and remotely.
Among the companies on this year's list, Manulife Canada's global headquarters in Toronto recently underwent a full transformation, creating a flexible work environment designed to better connect in-person and remote workers, with features like a 21,000-square-foot subsidized cafeteria.
Similarly, Vena Solutions Inc. has rewritten its work model to better accommodate the post-pandemic work culture. Chief People Officer at Vena, Tracey Mikita, says that, before the pandemic, the tech company functioned solely as an in-person workplace, but now lets most of its workforce choose their ideal conditions.
"We continue to have really solid business results, so it's hard to justify pushing folks back to the office when people are engaged and lots of great work is getting done," says Mikita.
Mikita stated that Vena has worked towards "being less of a place where you just go to do your work, to more of a collaborative social space where teams have their meetings."
"I think there was always this worry that engagement would plummet if we moved to a remote or hybrid culture, but I would say culturally, we've proven that wrong. Our engagement scores have been at all-time highs through the pandemic and people are feeling good across the board."
"We just worked really hard to enhance communication and make the employee experience a priority."
Other businesses, like Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), have noted that when employees do come in, it's with a purpose.
WSIB's chief people officer Anna Filice says the company tries to host events that bring the team together at least once per month.
"Some of our locations don't actually have a physical space, so we'll meet at a local convention centre and spend a few purposeful hours together," says Filice.
"Because we're so deliberate about it, we're actually spending more meaningful time with our teams than when we were heads down in a cubicle five days a week."
This year's picks were determined via a selection process using the same eight criteria as the company's annual national Top 100 list, including workplace; work atmosphere and social; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time-off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.
To qualify for the list, an employer — whether private or public sector — must have its head office or principal place of business in the Greater Toronto Area.
So, without further ado, here are the top 100 employers in the Greater Toronto Area for 2024:
- Accenture Inc.
- ADP Canada Co.
- AGF Management Ltd.
- AIG Insurance Company of Canada
- Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario / AGCO
- Alectra Inc.
- AMD Canada
- Amex Bank of Canada
- Arup Canada Inc.
- AstraZeneca Canada Inc.
- Aviva Canada Inc.
- Baker McKenzie LLP
- BASF Canada Inc.
- Baycrest
- Bayer Inc.
- BDO Canada LLP
- Bennington Financial Corp.
- Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
- Blue Ant Media Inc.
- Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
- Boston Consulting Group of Canada Limited
- CAAT Pension Plan
- Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited
- Campbell Company of Canada
- Canadian Standards Association / CSA Group
- Capital One Canada
- Centennial College
- Ceridian Canada Ltd.
- CHEP Canada Corp.
- Children's Aid Society of Toronto
- Choice Properties REIT
- CIBC
- Citi Canada
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, The
- Colliers International Canada
- Compass Group Canada
- Corus Entertainment Inc.
- Credit Valley Conservation Authority / CVC
- CRH Canada Group Inc.
- Daily Bread Food Bank
- Dentsu Canada Inc.
- Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.
- Dream
- Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology
- Dynacare Inc.
- Dyson Canada Ltd.
- Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc
- EF Educational Tours
- Equifax Canada Co.
- EY
- Fidelity Canada
- First Capital REIT
- First Insurance Funding of Canada / FIRST Canada
- Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd.
- FreshBooks
- Fundserv Inc.
- General Mills Canada Corporation
- George Brown College
- Gilead Sciences Canada Inc.
- GlaxoSmithKline Inc. / GSK
- Ground Transportation Systems Canada Inc. (Thales Group)
- Haleon Canada ULC
- Halton, Regional Municipality of
- Halton Regional Police Service
- HarperCollins Canada Ltd. and Harlequin Enterprises ULC
- Hatch Ltd.
- Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada / HIROC
- Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan / HOOPP
- Henkel Canada Corp.
- Hershey Canada Inc.
- Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Canada Co.
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
- Home Depot Canada Inc.
- HomeEquity Bank
- Hospital for Sick Children, The
- Humber College
- Humber River Health
- Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.
- IAMGOLD Corporation
- Independent Electricity System Operator / IESO
- Interac Corp.
- Investment Management Corporation of Ontario / IMCO
- ISA Cybersecurity Inc.
- Kellanova Canada Inc.
- Kinross Gold Corporation
- KPMG LLP
- Kraft Heinz Canada ULC
- Kruger Products Inc.
- Labatt Breweries of Canada
- League Inc.
- Liquor Control Board of Ontario / LCBO
- Loblaw Companies Ltd.
- Loopio Inc.
- Manulife
- Mars Canada
- Mattamy Homes Limited
- Mazda Canada Inc.
- McCain Foods Ltd.
- McCarthy Tétrault LLP
- McMillan LLP
- Media.Monks
- Medtronic Canada ULC
- Mercer (Canada) Ltd.
- Metrolinx
- Michael Garron Hospital | Toronto East Health Network
- Mondelez Canada Inc.
- Multiplex Construction Canada Ltd.
- Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
- Neighbourhood Group Community Services, The
- Nelson Education Ltd.
- Nestlé Canada Inc.
- Northland Power Inc.
- Olympus Canada Inc.
- OMERS Administration Corporation
- Ontario Dental Association, The
- Ontario Energy Board / OEB
- Ontario Medical Association
- Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
- Penguin Random House Canada Ltd.
- PepsiCo Canada
- Philips Canada
- Pink Triangle Press
- Plan International Canada Inc.
- Procter & Gamble Inc.
- Questrade Financial Group
- RGA Life Reinsurance Company of Canada
- RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
- Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Royal Ontario Museum / ROM
- R.V. Anderson Associates Limited
- Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.
- Sanofi Canada
- Schneider Electric Canada Inc.
- Scotiabank
- Seneca Polytechnic
- Slalom Consulting ULC
- Sobeys Inc.
- Spaulding Ridge, LLC
- Spin Master Ltd.
- Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada Inc.
- Tarion Warranty Corp.
- TD Bank Group
- Teranet Inc.
- Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd.
- ThoughtWorks Canada Corporation
- TMX Group Limited
- Toronto, City of
- Toronto Community Housing Corporation
- Toronto Zoo
- Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
- Tucows.com Co.
- Unilever Canada, Inc.
- Unity Health Toronto
- University of Toronto
- Vena Solutions Inc.
- Visa Canada Corporation
- Workplace Safety and Insurance Board / WSIB
- World Vision Canada
- Xerox Canada Ltd.
- Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd.
- YMCA of Greater Toronto
- York Regional Police
- YWCA Toronto
- Zurich Canada