Why Google's Toronto 'Smart City' project is running into hefty local resistance

Why Google’s Toronto ‘Smart City’ project is running into hefty local resistance

A project headed up by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and aimed at creating a “smart city” on Toronto’s waterfront, is facing stiff resistance from local officials whose chief concern is how residents’ personal data will be handled.

Behind the project are Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet subsidiary, and Waterfront Toronto, a Canadian government body and public stewards of the city’s waterfront revitalization. On Tuesday, Sidewalk made public its intentions to invest $50 million for the next planning stage of the deal.

But there have been notable rumbles of local discontent, calling the entire project into question.