Hi, thanks for the stats, however, I was actually asking how many of CANADA'S top 500, 1000 companies or the ones trading on the TSX are located in downtown Calgary only vs downtown Toronto only (i.e. not metro Calgary vs metro Toronto). I know Toronto's power is several times higher than Calgary's but with the population being five times higher (metro areas), Calgary is still ahead in per capita terms (and the gap is widening). Another point to note is that Toronto has 75-80 million square feet of office space but Calgary's downtown including what they call "beltline" (think West of Uni, East of Yonge type situation), along with the construction that has taken place in the last five years, actually has 45-47 million square feet of office space (meaning Toronto downtown only has 60% more office space than Calgary downtown).
The fact that you say to look at metro areas instead of downtowns is my main point, in that, the non-downtown areas (almost exclusively 905) have added office space at a far faster clip than what we all would like to see - downtown, especially buildings connected to the PATH!
I remember reading somewhere that in the 1990s the GTA had added absorbed 27 million square feet of office space but I have a feeling only 4-5 million of that was in the downtown - imagine having even 10 million of that in the core instead - imagine the synergy, the energy, the new skyscrapers, the skyline, the power....
Yes, Bay Street is not as prominent
I completely agree with the advantages of being downtown, particularly if connected to the PATH and we all want that, however, much of the new office growth has been in the outer areas - not just back-office, even mid range and Head office ones - I know, 'cause I have been looking for accounting/finance jobs on many different sites and most of them (asides from banking and insurance) are not in the downtown core! It's interesting that you say the high-level executives want their offices where they live and that makes sense theoretically, i guess, but is that the reality? I doubt it because if it was true wouldn't the mid-town office markets (along Yonge from Bloor to Steeles) have seen more absorption that what they have so far (given so many of Toronto's old money neighbourhoods are just off of Yonge north of Bloor)? As well, there is actually a subway line along Yonge and still we don't see new office absorption in these mid town markets.
A personal disclaimer (again) in order to prevent bashing and hatred: I like Toronto and am planning to move there so I'm not against anything in Toronto; I want the GTA, particularly the City of Toronto, to prosper! I bring up Calgary because I think it's more powerful than people in the East like to admit and what gets me is the denial of the fact that it could become a serious contender to Toronto's numero uno position (let's not be like the sleeping hare)!