Article content

Quality of life and a more accommodating immigration regime are two reasons why Colliers International can see Amazon deciding to locate its new headquarters north of the border.

Amazon announced earlier this month that it is hunting for a site for a new US$5 billion headquarters in North America, in addition to its sprawling Seattle campus.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canada could be right fit for Amazon HQ2, says Colliers Back to video

To stand a chance at landing the 100-acre Amazon HQ2, a city must have a metro population of more than one million, and be able to offer development sites within 48 kilometres of the city that are served by mass transit.

Colliers looked at six Canadian cities — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa — that meet those requirements.

Amazon said it will hire up to 50,000 new full-time HQ2 employees over the next 15 years who would have an average pay of more than US$100,000 a year.

Since Amazon’s growth needs are significant and a large proportion of its staff are technology workers, Colliers, a Canada-based global commercial real estate company, says Canada may offer a more appealing market due to a potentially more accommodating immigration regime at present.