WSIB settling into new London headquarters

WSIB London offices are now open on Tartan Drive after the province moved them from Toronto. CTV’s Bryan Bicknell explains.

It’s now official: the province’s Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) has settled into its new permanent headquarters in London, Ont., relocating from downtown Toronto.

The arms-length government agency has taken up residence at the former 3M office tower at 300 Tartan Dr. in east London.

It’s part of a move to decentralize Ontario’s crown corporations, according to WSIB President and CEO Jeffery Lang.

“The premier made it very clear when he asked me to do this. He said, ‘Let’s bring some of these larger organizations out into the province.’ And so, he chose London. I’m very happy that he did,” said Lang.

It was 2022 when the province announced it would move WSIB from its office on Front Street in Toronto. Not long after, the former 3M building was purchased for $21 million, reportedly about half the market value at the time.

The move is expected to save the organization approximately $70 million per year, according to Lang.

“Real estate values are about half of what they are in Toronto. So, it made a lot of sense from an economic standpoint to locate outside of the GTA, and it also helps us attract people. Because we have 3,000 employees in Toronto, and it’s expensive to live in Toronto,” he said.

WSIB has been in the new space since June, with close to 500 people working at the location, half having relocated from offices around the province.

Eventually, up to 1,000 people are expected to work from the London headquarters.

The move also means the closure of the London WSIB office on Dufferin Avenue.

“We had about 250 people working in the London area. We had an office on Dufferin Street. And when this became available, they’re moving in here now, and our senior executives, and our learning and development centre,” explained Lang.

The building is 110,000 square feet in size, and has undergone several million dollars in renovations, according to Lang. It’s located on a 50-acre (20 hectare) property, which also supports the London Food Bank with a one-acre onsite vegetable garden.