Ontario's distribution networks

Ontario is a natural distribution centre for major markets in North America. One look at the map tells the story. Ontario's food producers and food processors are located in the heart of a market of more than 450 million prosperous consumers. Forty per cent of North American consumers live within a day's drive of Toronto, Ontario's largest city.

Ontario: a proud member of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
NAFTA has opened up trade among Canada, the United States and Mexico. It has created a transparent, rules-based trade and investment environment for Canada-based exporters and investors to keep trade rolling smoothly.

About our transportation infrastructure
Ontario’s transportation systems are well integrated with U.S. and global systems.

• High-speed highways and rail networks with advanced traffic-management systems support just-in-time deliveries. They connect Ontario with markets across Canada, the United States and Latin America.
• International inland marine lines offer shipping to ports throughout the Great Lakes and around the world.
• International air cargo speed small-volume, high-value shipments. There are five international and 80 regional airports in the province. Leading business centres in Ontario are only a short flight from major North American cities. These include New York, Chicago and Boston.

With easy access to ingredients and global markets, Ontario has emerged as a leading North American hub for world-class food processing.

Quick facts

• Fifteen road, rail and marine border-crossings provide access to the U.S. market.
• Ontario’s largest city, Toronto, is located within one day’s drive of almost 160 million consumers. The U.S. states within this radius are home to almost half of the U.S. population.
• The border crossing between Windsor, in southern Ontario, and Detroit, in the northern United States, is the busiest trade corridor in North America. Every year, more than 16 million trucks and cars and $140 billion in goods pass through this gateway.
• Ontario’s largest airport, Toronto’s Pearson International, is serviced by more than 75 airlines. They provide direct routes to 50 cities in the United Sates and 105 cities abroad.