Geographic Profile

As noted above, there are 2,583 warehouse establishments in Canada (for NAICS 4931). It is not surprising that these locations are distributed largely in line with the population distribution in the country. In addition, warehouses and distribution centres are often located near major transportation hubs like airports, ports, or highway exchanges.

Warehouse establishments (NAICS 4931) by province (2020)*

Province/territory Warehouse
Establishments
% of total
Ontario 1,019 39.5%
Quebec 471 18.2%
British Columbia 377 14.6%
Alberta 373 14.4%
Saskatchewan 96 3.7%
Manitoba 85 3.3%
Nova Scotia 52 2.0%
New Brunswick 51 2.0%
Newfoundland and
Labrador
48 1.9%
Prince Edward Island 8 0.3%
Northwest Territories 2 0.1%
Nunavut 1 0.0%
Yukon 0 0.0%
Canada - total 2,583 100%

 

Within this provincial distribution, regional hubs have developed, driven by a long list of factors including land cost, proximity to customers and suppliers, proximity to major transportation hubs, availability of workers, labour costs, development costs, property taxes and other tax concerns, access to development or business subsidies, and so on. The largest regional mega-hub of warehouses in Canada is in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), a region that saw the development of 161 new warehouse facilities between 2003 and 2013 alone.** Within this mega-hub, the largest clusters are located in Mississauga and Brampton.

Other large regional warehouse hubs in Canada include:

  • Delta, Surrey, Richmond, and Burnaby in BC
  • Dorval, Pointe Claire, Sainte-Laurent, Lachine in QC

 

https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/app/cis/businesses-entreprises/4931

** Gagandeep Singh. “Logistics Sprawl: Spatial Patterns and Characteristics of New Warehousing Establishments in The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.” Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto. (2018). (https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/89515/1/Singh_Gagandeep_201806_MAS_thesis.pdf).