Waymo said on October 16, 2026 that it has been approved to take part in Ontario’s Automated Vehicle Pilot Program, giving the Alphabet-owned company its first foothold in Canada. The company received its permit from Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation and will begin work in Toronto, Canada’s largest city.
What happens first
The rollout is staged. Waymo says its vehicles will initially be driven manually to build high-definition maps of local street networks. After that, the company will test autonomous driving on public roads with a trained human safety operator on board. Only later will those operators be removed from the driver’s seat, and after that Waymo plans to invite members of the public to take rides.
Commercial service is not imminent. Waymo is targeting a fully autonomous service in Toronto in 2028, and says riders will eventually hail a car through the Waymo app. The first vehicles will be a limited number of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE models, with the fleet scaling gradually.
Where testing will happen
Waymo lists a long set of Toronto neighbourhoods for its mapping and validation work, including St. Lawrence Market, Harbourfront, Roncesvalles Village, Parkdale, Liberty Village, Don Mills, Yorkdale, Leaside, East York, Summerhill, Yonge & Eglinton, Weston, Mimico and Etobicoke. Testing hours typically run around the clock, seven days a week, because the company says it needs to handle all of Toronto’s road conditions.
Who runs the fleet
Waymo is not building local operations from scratch. Toronto-based Element Fleet Management announced the same day that it will manage onsite operations for the Toronto fleet through its Element Mobility division, covering vehicle readiness, maintenance, charging infrastructure, energy management and connected fleet data. The two companies already work together in San Diego, and Element says the Toronto expansion is expected in 2028 and should support hundreds of roles over time in fleet maintenance, validation driving and customer service.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana called the move an important milestone in the company’s global expansion. Toronto is also the northernmost and likely the most wintry market Waymo has attempted, which makes snow, ice and salt a real test of both the driving system and the operational side of keeping cars clean and available.
Why it matters
Waymo says its driver has covered more than 450 million fully autonomous kilometres on public roads. The company currently runs robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities and is testing in London and Tokyo. Canada adds a new regulatory framework, a different climate and a much smaller pool of local experience to draw on.
For Toronto riders, the practical timeline is still years away: mapping first, supervised testing second, public rides third, commercial service in 2028. Nothing in the announcement changes how transit, taxis or ride-hailing work today.
Sources
- Waymo blog, “Hello Toronto! Waymo is En Route”: https://waymo.com/blog/2026/10/waymo-in-toronto/
- Waymo Canada page: https://waymo.com/intl/en-ca/waymo-in-canada/
- CBC News, “Waymo to launch first phase of driverless taxi testing in Toronto with service expected in 2028”: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/waymo-autonomous-driving-robotaxi-toronto-2028-9.7383437
- TechCrunch, “Waymo’s robotaxis are headed to Canada”: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/16/waymos-robotaxis-are-headed-to-canada/
- Element Fleet Management press release, October 16, 2026: https://www.elementfleet.com/about/news/element-expands-strategic-partnership-with-waymo-as-autonomous-mobility-arrives-in-canada
