Waymo self-driving taxis could be coming to Toronto

Waymo self-driving taxis have become a sensation on U.S. city streets, and it's now looking like the autonomous ride-hailing service from Google parent company, Alphabet, could soon bring its driverless rides to Toronto.

The City of Toronto is currently in talks with lobbyists for Alphabet, details of which are outlined in a registration filed under the City's lobbyist registrar last month.

As first reported by Matt Elliott in his City Hall Watcher newsletter, the lobbying file is still in its earliest stages but outlines exploratory communications suggesting Waymo is considering a north-of-the-border expansion.

The lobbying file from Nov. 6, 2025, notes that lobbyists will be "Communicating about the potential development of by-laws and regulations related to autonomous driving technologies, including as it relates to operational authorizations, commercial operations, goods delivery operations and ridehail operations."

Waymo already operates its driverless taxis in U.S. cities Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta, and is either testing or planning to expand operations in additional cities, including San Diego, Miami, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Dallas.

Self-driving vehicles have already been used to limited success in Toronto, including a recent pilot using Magna International's autonomous cars, though this project was ultimately scrapped in October.

Self-driving delivery vehicles will arrive on Toronto streets this year https://t.co/o6EhSuea9w

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 4, 2025

It's also not the first ambitious tech-driven plan for Toronto from Alphabet, coming years after the aborted Quayside smart city project that would have transformed a portion of the city's waterfront into a digitally-connected neighbourhood, with every last detail collecting data down to public benches equipped with sensors.

While that project was ultimately doomed by factors including municipal planning hurdles and changes to the housing market amid the pandemic, there could be another barrier in the way of Alphabet's potential Waymo expansion in Toronto's brutally unpredictable weather.

None of the U.S. cities where Waymo currently operates self-driving taxis are known for their winter conditions, and Toronto's notoriously snowy winters could prove a challenge for the autonomous vehicles. 

Even during much more favourable summer weather, Magna International's recent autonomous vehicle pilot in Toronto suffered numerous challenges, including frequent abrupt stops observed by City officials.