Amazon expanding Vancouver tech hub and creating 3,000 jobs

What has caused Amazon’s growing interest in Canada? We speak to retail expert Doug Stephens about Amazon bringing 3,000 jobs to Vancouver with a new tech hub and what has sparked Amazon’s interest in the Canadian market.

Retail giant Amazon has announced it's expanding its Vancouver tech hub with a new office that will employ another 3,000 people in the city.

At a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday, the company revealed it's opening a 416,000-square-foot development centre where engineers will work on cutting edge machine learning, e-commerce and cloud computing technology.

"The new jobs that we'll be creating at Amazon, like those we already have, will be corporate positions with most being specialized high-tech roles," said Jesse Dougherty, manager of Amazon web services.

"Those of us working here are pioneering new software that is used globally to support our retail websites and innovating to create new tools in the cloud."

The office will be housed in a new tower at the former Canada Post building on Georgia Street, just block away from Amazon's current office at Telus Garden.

Amazon will only occupy about a third of the new development, dubbed The Post, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2022. Developer Quadreal said the project will feature a mix of office and retail space.

The new office will not be Amazon's much-hyped second North American headquarters, HQ2, whose location hasn't been announced yet. Toronto is the only Canadian city to make the company's shortlist.

But Trudeau said the federal government is keen to work with the company as it develops its presence across the country.

"Canadians share your passion for invention and your commitment to excellence, and that's why we're so excited to see Amazon growing right here in Vancouver," he said at Monday's event.

There are about 1,000 people working at Amazon's existing Vancouver office, and the company promised a 1,000-worker expansion last fall. The new jobs announced Monday will bring the company's local workforce up to 5,000 in the coming years.

Dougherty noted Amazon's Canadian presence has boomed since it opened its first software development site in Vancouver seven years ago with fewer than 30 workers.

"We now have teams of developers building critical software for Amazon and our customers all over the world," he said. "Amazon's future here in Vancouver is very bright."

With files from CTV Vancouver's Ben Miljure