Waymo Enters Canada, but No Robotaxis for Now: Toronto Is Its Northernmost City Yet, and Snow Will Be the Real Test

Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo has been granted permission to take part in the automated vehicle pilot programme of the Canadian province of Ontario. Sounds like a launch. It isn't. For now nobody in Toronto will be riding in a driverless car.

The company has a recipe it repeats in every city. First the vehicles will be driven by people, manually, to make detailed maps of Toronto's streets. Then come tests on public roads with a safety operator in the driver's seat. Only once the operators get out of the vehicles will the public be invited to ride.

What draws attention is the speed. Two years ago Waymo operated commercially in only three markets, and its robotaxis didn't drive on motorways. The expansion began in March 2025 with Austin, then Atlanta. Today the company offers service in 15 US cities and is testing in London and Tokyo.

Toronto is the northernmost and probably the most wintry city where Waymo has tried to drive so far. Tekedra Mawakana, one of its two co-CEOs, calls the move into Canada an important step on the company's global journey. But the test isn't in the press release, it's on the street, when the first snow falls.

Waymo won't maintain the fleet on its own. The partner is local firm Element Fleet Management, and the company expects hundreds of jobs in maintenance, test driving, customer service and operations. The irony is hard to miss: a car without a driver, and among the new jobs are ones for people who will drive it during the tests. Will a robotaxi ever cope with Balkan traffic?