Waymo's Self-Driving Taxis Are Heading to Canada

Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, is expanding into Canada. It has been approved to take part in Ontario's automated vehicle pilot program.

Riders will not be able to hop in a Waymo car in Toronto just yet. The company says it follows the same plan in every new city. First, cars are driven by people to map the streets in detail. Next, the company tests its self-driving vehicles on public roads with a human safety operator on board. Later the operator leaves the driver's seat, and finally the public is invited to ride.

Waymo said in a blog post on Friday that its cars will be driven by hand in Toronto to create high-definition maps of the local streets. That is the first step.

The move is part of a fast push into new places. Two years ago, Waymo offered paid rides in just three places, and its robotaxis did not yet use freeways. Its growth started in March 2025 in Austin, followed by Atlanta. Today it runs robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities and is testing in London and Tokyo.

Tekedra Mawakana, one of Waymo's co-CEOs, said the Canadian expansion is an important milestone in the company's journey around the world.

Toronto will also be a test of winter driving. TechCrunch says it is the northernmost and possibly the most wintry city where Waymo has tried to operate, so the conditions will test the company's technology.

To grow faster, Waymo now works with other companies to manage its cars in each city. In Toronto, it has partnered with Element Fleet Management, a Toronto company. Waymo expects the partnership to support hundreds of jobs in areas such as vehicle maintenance, test driving, customer service and operations.