Waymo is entering Canada through Toronto, starting with a familiar playbook: manually driven cars will map local streets, then the vehicles will be tested on public roads with safety operators, and only later will the public be invited to ride. TechCrunch and Electrek both describe this staged approach. Electrek adds that Waymo wants its first public riders in Toronto in 2028; TechCrunch does not give a date, saying only that the company is not launching a service yet.
Both outlets also agree Waymo has picked Toronto-based Element Fleet Management for local operations and says the expansion will support hundreds of jobs in fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and operations. The winter weather is another shared focus: Toronto will be one of Waymo's most challenging environments, and Electrek notes that the extended mapping and testing phase is meant to test Waymo's all-weather claim.
Where the sources diverge is the regulatory picture. TechCrunch says Waymo received approval to participate in Ontario's automated vehicle pilot program. Electrek, however, points out that Waymo's announcement does not mention a permit, and that Ontario's current testing regulation expires in October 2027 — months before Waymo's reported 2028 launch target — with no commercial driverless ride-hailing framework on the books yet. That makes the timeline as much a test for Ontario's rulemaking as for Waymo's technology.