'No doubt:' Waterloo Region to join Toronto in bid for Amazon HQ

Waterloo Region plans to join in apartnership of Toronto-area municipalities biddingto become the new home of Amazon's second North American headquarters.

"Let there be no doubt, we plan to join to combine with the Toronto-region bid," said TonyLaMantia, president and CEO of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation.

• Toronto's bid for Amazon HQ to focus on wealth of tech talent

The ecommerce giant plansto spend $5 billion to build a massive operation for up to 50,000 employees, equalling its current headquarters in Seattle.

The company issued a Request for Proposal to cities across North America, laying out its demands, including 500,000 square feet (46,451 square metres) of space by 2019 that could eventually extend to more than eight-million square feet.

Toronto-arealeaders announced Wednesday that Toronto, Mississauga, Halton, York, Brampton and Durham Region would submit a single, regional bid for the operation.

Those municipalities are working with Toronto Global, a newly-formed organization, focused on bringing big business to GTA.

Toronto Global doesn't includeWaterloo Region, and after some initial speculation that theregion may have been left out, Waterloo Region confirmed they're on boardas well.

LaMantiasaid there had been "mayor to mayor" discussions with the City of Toronto, and the region had spoken with the province and Toronto Global.

"It makes good business sense," said LaMantia. "It's smart to join the Toronto Global bid, it would be foolish in many ways not to do that, because I think we have to put our best foot forward and make sure that we are focused on winning."

'Immense talent' in Waterloo Region

On Thursday, Toronto mayor John Tory told CBC-KWWaterloo Region would be a major asset to the partnership.

"If the Toronto region wants to put the best bid forward that it can, the immense talent not only in the Waterloo university community, but also in the tech community in the broader region is something that, why wouldn't you say is a huge part of what makes us a global contender?" he said.

Tory told CBC Newsthere's no guarantee Amazon will choose Toronto Global's bid, especially given the potential tax breaks rival cities and states may lavish on the company.

Including Waterloo Region could help improve the odds, Tory added.

Candidates must meet specific requirements to be considered. Key criteria include: a prime location, access to mass transit and proximity to an international airport.

Cities have until Oct. 19 to apply, and Amazon said it will make a final decision next year.