JULY 6, 2009 • The Canadian provincial government of Ontario is investing $263 million during the next 10 years to help Ubisoft Entertainment set up a game development studio in Toronto. Ubisoft will invest $500 million of its own funds to launch the new studio, which is expected to create 800 jobs by 2019. In addition to the provincial investment, Toronto has a strong film and television industry, which is attractive to Ubisoft.

Impact: Canada has historically been fairly aggressive about offering government incentives to bring industry to the country.  For the video game industry most of the activity has been in the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia centered around the cities of Montreal and Vancouver.  Now Ontario, the largest Canadian province, wants in on the action and they have made a first step forward in a big way.