Sidewalk Labs, a Google-affiliated company, is abandoning its plan to build a high-tech neighbourhood on Toronto's waterfront, citing what it calls unprecedented economic uncertainty.
The project, dubbed Quayside, still didn't have all of the government approvals it needed to go ahead. Toronto citizens and civic leaders had raised concerns about the privacy implications of the project and how much of the city's developing waterfront Sidewalk Labs wanted to control.
The so-called "smart city" was set to feature a range of cutting edge technology, from residential towers made of timber to the use of autonomous cars and heated sidewalks. The company had initially claimed the project would create 44,000 jobs, generate $4.3 billion in annual tax revenues and add $14.2 billion annually in gross domestic product for Canada.