Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle division, is making its way into Canada following the approval to engage in Ontario’s automated vehicle pilot initiative.
However, the company is not yet ready to offer a robotaxi service. Waymo consistently adopts a similar approach when entering new cities, starting with manual mapping, progressing to testing, and ultimately establishing a commercial operation.
In a recent update, Waymo announced that its self-driving cars will initially be manually operated in Toronto to gather detailed maps of the city’s roadways. Following this, the vehicles will undergo tests on public streets with a human safety operator present. Eventually, these operators will be removed from the driver’s seat, leading to public rides in their robotaxis.
Waymo’s entry into Canada is part of its ambitious expansion strategy that is gaining momentum. Just two years ago, the company was active in only three commercial locations and had yet to operate on freeways. The expansion commenced in March 2025 with a service launch in Austin, followed by Atlanta. Currently, Waymo operates robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities and is testing in London and Tokyo.
Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana noted that Canada marks a significant step in the company’s global expansion. Notably, Toronto is the northernmost city and faces winter conditions, presenting a unique challenge for Waymo’s autonomous vehicle technology and operational efficiency.
To support its swift expansion plans, Waymo is collaborating with various third-party companies to manage its fleet in each city. In Toronto, Waymo has teamed up with Element Fleet Management, anticipating the creation of hundreds of jobs in areas like fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and operations.
