CEOs and investors broke ground on Canada's first designer outlet mall on Wednesday.

Toronto Premium Outlets will be built near Highway 401 and Trafalgar Road in Halton Hills, just north of Oakville, Ont.

Consumers will be able to save 30 to 70 per cent off designer name-brand merchandise at the 100 outlet stores at the centre.

The centre is a joint project by U.S. outlet mall developer Simon Property Group Inc. and Ontario-based Calloway Real Estate Investment Trust.

The hope is that nearby residents will visit the centre to avoid a trip to the U.S., said Calloway CEO Al Mowani.

"There's a population base of over six million people within an hour's drive," Mowani said.

The outlet mall will bring "jobs, tourism, and growth to the area," said Simon Property Group co-president John Klein.

"It will be a real opportunity for people to have positions in good companies," he said. "These companies are oftentimes nationally or internationally known firms that sell their goods here."

Halton Hills mayor Rick Bonnette said there will be a job fair in the town so that residents can have the first pick of jobs at the outlet mall.

The mall is expected to add 500 full- and part-time jobs to the area, as well as temporary construction jobs for the next 16 months.

Similar Premium Outlets in the U.S. house tenants that include Michael Kors, J.Crew and Hugo Boss Factory Store.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Zuraidah Alman