Tech conference that has resulted in nearly $200M in economic impact for Toronto won’t return in 2025

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in an armchair discussion with founder and CEO of BroadbandTV Corp. Shahrfad Rafaiti at the Collision and Web Summit in Toronto on Monday, May 20, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Next week's Collision technology conference in Toronto will be the final one.

Web Summit, which runs the travelling conference, has announced that it will launch a new North American flagship event in Vancouver next year.

"Web Summit Vancouver will take over from Collision in Toronto, which became the fastest-growing technology event in North America. The new event will continue the company's mission to support and connect the global technology ecosystem," the company said in a news release Wednesday.

Collision, which showcases startups and business heavyweights, has been held in Toronto since 2019. According to Web Summit, Collision brought $189 million in economic impact to Toronto during its in-person events in 2019, 2022, and 2023. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was hosted online in 2020 and 2021.

Web Summit said next week's conference is projected to bring $77 million in economic impact to the city with more than 40,000 tech entrepreneurs from over 130 countries expected to attend.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and actor and cannabis entrepreneur Seth Rogen are some of the notable featured speakers from past years.

"The time has come to transition Collision into Web Summit. We have had the most incredible time in Toronto and are looking forward to continuing our Canadian journey in Vancouver," said Paddy Cosgrave, the founder and CEO of Web Summit.

The company cited the growing tech sector in Vancouver as one of the reasons why it is launching the new event there.

"We can't wait to gather the tech world and take over the city next year. Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities with a flourishing tech community that connects the Americas, Asia and the West Coast."

Andrew Weir, the president and CEO of Destination Toronto, called Collision a Toronto success story.

“We are looking forward to a successful Collision next week with tens of thousands of attendees and a celebration of Toronto as a tech powerhouse, as we pass the torch for this particular event to Vancouver,” Weir said in a statement.

He added: “Our community is focused on attracting new events that stimulate visitation, investment and talent attraction as essential economic catalysts,” noting that Consensus, a crypto-centric conference, will be held in Toronto for the first time next year.

With files from The Canadian Press