Waymo’s Robotaxis Are Headed to Canada, Starting With Toronto Testing

Waymo is expanding into Canada after receiving approval to participate in Ontario’s automated vehicle pilot program. The company will begin in Toronto by manually driving self-driving vehicles to create high-definition maps of local street networks.

This is not a robotaxi launch yet. The first phase is about preparing vehicles and systems for local roads before moving into autonomous testing.

Waymo tends to follow a phased approach when entering a new city: manual mapping, public-road testing, and eventually commercial service. In Toronto, the company plans to test autonomous vehicles on public roads with a human safety operator on board.

Those operators are expected to be removed from the driver’s seat later, after which Waymo plans to invite the public to take rides in its robotaxis. The timing for those later stages was not specified in the provided material.

The Canada move is part of Waymo’s accelerated push into new markets. TechCrunch notes that two years ago Waymo was operating in only three commercial markets, while today it has robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities and is testing in London and Tokyo.

Toronto also appears to be a meaningful weather and operations test. The city is described as the northernmost and possibly most wintry location Waymo has so far tried to operate in, creating a real-world challenge for its autonomous vehicle technology and operations.

Waymo said it has partnered with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management as part of its city-by-city fleet strategy. The company expects to support hundreds of jobs in areas including fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and operations.

For readers tracking the autonomous vehicle market, the key signal is not an immediate public launch but the start of a structured local deployment process. Watch for updates on safety-operator testing, driverless testing, and when public rides begin.