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Absolutely love, despite the fact that it's mentioned numerous times that Amazon is searching all of NA for its second hq, that both Canada, and Mexico are comp

Absolutely love, despite the fact that it's mentioned numerous times that Amazon is searching all of NA for its second hq, that both Canada, and Mexico are completely ignored. This is despite the fact that Toronto is currently the continents fastest growing tech market due to a lot of factors that would be of incredible interest to a behemoth like Amazon. Feels a like a bit of a snub of the thumb by NYT on that one...

jacques_chester 9y ago
As they explained in the article: > (With apologies to Canada, we’ve set aside Toronto and several other large cities because they’re not included in most of the data sets we’ve used to determine which places meet Amazon’s needs.)
- umanwizard 9y ago
  If the NYT were intellectually honest, that would have been the point at which the editor said "okay, this is pointless, let's not do the article". Reporting results you know are flawed is not the correct response to discovering that it's impossible to get non-flawed results.
  - PorgSmorg 9y ago
    Exactly! As I mentioned in my reply to this comment, if they actually used the platitudes of data available on the subject - instead of clearly cherry - Toronto would easily be in the top 3, at the very least. The fact that they admit that the data they chose didn't mention Toronto doesn't help their case any.
- PorgSmorg 9y ago
  >we’ve set aside Toronto and several other large cities because they’re not included in most of the data sets we’ve used Not because the data isn't available, which it is (in abundance), but because it's not available in the data sets the chose to use. Not to put on a tinfoil hat or anything, but I have a very strong suspicion that they chose the data they did, and specifically mention leaving Toronto out, because they know that if they did otherwise, the data would show that Toronto is probably, if not the best, one of the top 3 options, and that likely wouldn't go over well with their core readership...
  - chibg10 9y ago
    I think the biggest issue with Toronto is the fact that every American tech worker (60% of the probable HQ2 labor pool, conservatively) would need to get a Canadian work visa before being onboarded. Sounds like a horrible, horrible headache for both Amazon and prospective employees.
    - umanwizard 9y ago
      Getting H1Bs is an even bigger headache, and much of Amazon's potential workforce isn't American.
krrrh 9y ago
The second-class nature of amazon.ca would indicate that Amazon doesn't take the market very seriously.
- randymercury 9y ago
  I think a lot of the issues with Amazon.ca stem from NAFTA's exclusion of ecommerce. That's one thing I'm actually pretty excited for in terms of the NAFTA negotiations.
bsder 9y ago
Amazon set up shop somewhere that they might not be able to buy the government? Not likely. They're staying inside US borders--sorry, Toronto.
TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
Toronto has expensive cost of living, though.
kps 9y ago
Bezos has political ambitions, so a non-US location is out. My money is on a swing state, so probably Raleigh or Denver.
JPKab 9y ago
I'm simply not a fan of any business building huge HQ offices in Toronto. Ontario as a province is all too happy to regulate the crap out of things that don't need it, and the population has an amazing capacity to support the regulations, regardless of merit, as long as they are different enough from whatever the US is doing. The weather is terrible compared to Vancouver or ANYWHERE IN THE US. Yeah, it's easy to bring in immigrants, but that's not enough for a 50,000 strong hq. Let's not forget that they are in the midst of a huge, epic housing bubble that dwarfs anything seen in the US in 2007. Toronto is insanely expensive for the privilege of living in a city whose weather is approximately (less snow, but still) like that of the cities in the US that are known for their terrible winters. (Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland)

jacques_chester 9y ago

As they explained in the article: > (With apologies to Canada, we’ve set aside Toronto and several other large cities because they’re not included in most of the data sets we’ve used to determine which places meet Amazon’s needs.)

umanwizard 9y ago
If the NYT were intellectually honest, that would have been the point at which the editor said "okay, this is pointless, let's not do the article". Reporting results you know are flawed is not the correct response to discovering that it's impossible to get non-flawed results.
- PorgSmorg 9y ago
  Exactly! As I mentioned in my reply to this comment, if they actually used the platitudes of data available on the subject - instead of clearly cherry - Toronto would easily be in the top 3, at the very least. The fact that they admit that the data they chose didn't mention Toronto doesn't help their case any.
PorgSmorg 9y ago
>we’ve set aside Toronto and several other large cities because they’re not included in most of the data sets we’ve used Not because the data isn't available, which it is (in abundance), but because it's not available in the data sets the chose to use. Not to put on a tinfoil hat or anything, but I have a very strong suspicion that they chose the data they did, and specifically mention leaving Toronto out, because they know that if they did otherwise, the data would show that Toronto is probably, if not the best, one of the top 3 options, and that likely wouldn't go over well with their core readership...
- chibg10 9y ago
  I think the biggest issue with Toronto is the fact that every American tech worker (60% of the probable HQ2 labor pool, conservatively) would need to get a Canadian work visa before being onboarded. Sounds like a horrible, horrible headache for both Amazon and prospective employees.
  - umanwizard 9y ago
    Getting H1Bs is an even bigger headache, and much of Amazon's potential workforce isn't American.

krrrh 9y ago

The second-class nature of amazon.ca would indicate that Amazon doesn't take the market very seriously.

randymercury 9y ago
I think a lot of the issues with Amazon.ca stem from NAFTA's exclusion of ecommerce. That's one thing I'm actually pretty excited for in terms of the NAFTA negotiations.

bsder 9y ago

Amazon set up shop somewhere that they might not be able to buy the government? Not likely. They're staying inside US borders--sorry, Toronto.

TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago

Toronto has expensive cost of living, though.

kps 9y ago

Bezos has political ambitions, so a non-US location is out. My money is on a swing state, so probably Raleigh or Denver.

JPKab 9y ago

I'm simply not a fan of any business building huge HQ offices in Toronto. Ontario as a province is all too happy to regulate the crap out of things that don't need it, and the population has an amazing capacity to support the regulations, regardless of merit, as long as they are different enough from whatever the US is doing. The weather is terrible compared to Vancouver or ANYWHERE IN THE US. Yeah, it's easy to bring in immigrants, but that's not enough for a 50,000 strong hq. Let's not forget that they are in the midst of a huge, epic housing bubble that dwarfs anything seen in the US in 2007. Toronto is insanely expensive for the privilege of living in a city whose weather is approximately (less snow, but still) like that of the cities in the US that are known for their terrible winters. (Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland)