The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a
metropolitan area of
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
, Canada. It contains the cities of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
Kitchener and
Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of
North Dumfries
The Township of North Dumfries is a rural township in Ontario, Canada, part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.
Communities
North Dumfries includes the following communities: Ayr, Branchton, Clyde (formerly from Beverley Township, Wentwor ...
,
Wellesley,
Wilmot Wilmot may refer to:
Places Australia
*Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania
* Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region
Canada
*Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former t ...
and
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
. Kitchener, the largest city, is the seat of government.
The region is in area. The population was 587,165 at the 2021 Canada census. In 2016, the Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo area was rated Canada's third-best area to find full-time employment.
The region was formerly called
Waterloo County
Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.
Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory of ...
, created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973. The county consisted of five townships: Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot, Waterloo, and North Dumfries.
History
Up to the 17th century, the
Attawandaron
The Neutral Confederacy (also Neutral Nation, Neutral people, or ''Attawandaron'' by neighbouring tribes) were an Iroquoian people who lived in what is now southwestern and south-central Ontario in Canada, North America. They lived throughout t ...
(Neutral) nation inhabited the
Grand River area. European explorers admired their farming practices.
In the wake of a smallpox epidemic and European incursions, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and the Wendat (Huron) Confederacies waged war from 1642-1650. Invasion by the Haudenosaunee's Seneca and Mohawk nations ended Attawandaron independence.
In 1784, in recognition of Haudenosaunee support
during the American War of Independence and the consequent loss of its land in New York state,
the British government granted the Grand River valley to the Confederacy. The latter settled in the lower Grand River Valley, the present
Brant County
The County of Brant (2021 population 39,474) is a single-tier municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario. Although it retains the word "county" in its name, the municipality is a single-tier municipal government and has no upper tier. The ...
, and sold land in the upper Grand, now part of Waterloo Township, to Loyalist Colonel Richard Beasley. In 1816, William Dickson, a Scottish-born land speculator, acquired along the Grand River, in present North and South Dumfries Townships, and the city of Cambridge.
North and South Dumfries Townships
Dickson planned to divide the tract into lots to sell to Scottish settlers.
He and American-born miller, Absalom Shade, chose the confluence of Mill Creek and the Grand River to found Shade's Mills. In 1825, the growing settlement had a post office.
Despite settlers' reluctance, Dickson renamed the settlement Galt in honour of John Galt, a Scottish novelist and Canada Company Commissioner. Galt's visit in 1827 brought wider acceptance to the name change.
Initially serving local farmers, Galt's industrial development in the late 1830s eventually earned it the nickname "The Manchester of Canada". It remained the area's main town until Berlin overtook it at the beginning of the 20th century.
Kitchener-Waterloo
Pre-modern era
According to the City of Waterloo, indigenous people lived in the area, including the
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
,
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
and the
Neutral Nation
The Neutral Confederacy (also Neutral Nation, Neutral people, or ''Attawandaron'' by neighbouring tribes) were an Iroquoian people who lived in what is now southwestern and south-central Ontario in Canada, North America. They lived throughout ...
.
One report states that at least two "aboriginal settlements from the 1500s can now be identified near Schneider and Strasburg Creeks" in Kitchener. The finds include the remains of a First Nations village, estimated to be 500 years old, discovered in 2010 in the Strasburg Creek area with "artifacts going back as far as 9,000 years". In 2020, a site at Fischer-Hallman Road was found to include artifacts from a "Late Woodland
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
village" that was inhabited circa 1300 to 1600. Archeologists found some 35,000 objects including stone tools and a 4,000 year old arrowhead.
1800 to 1820
![Conestoga Wagon 1883](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Conestoga_Wagon_1883.jpg)
Settlement of the later Waterloo Township started in 1800 (in an area that is now Kitchener) by Joseph Schoerg (later called Sherk) and Samuel Betzner, Jr. (brothers-in-law),
Mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
, from
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Franklin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,932 Its county seat is Chambersburg.
Franklin County comprises the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...
. Joseph Schoerg and his wife settled on Lot No.11, B.F. Beasley Block, S.R., on the bank of the Grand River opposite Doon, and Betzner and his wife settled on the west bank of the Grand River, on a farm near an area that is now the village of Blair.
As of March 2021, the homes built by these families' next generation still stand on Pioneer Tower Road, Kitchener. Built circa 1830, they are listed as historically important: the John Betzner homestead (restored) and the David Schoerg farmstead (not yet restored).
![Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower, crop 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Waterloo_Pioneer_Memorial_Tower%2C_crop_2.jpg)
Other settlers followed, mostly from Pennsylvania, and also purchased land in Block Number 2,
German Company
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Tract from Richard Beasley who had acquired a massive territory previously owned by the Six Nations.
The first school opened in 1802 near the village of Blair, then known as Shinglebridge; it became part of
Preston, Ontario
Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to 1973 it was an independent town, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the city of Galt, Ontario ...
and then part of
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridg ...
. The first teacher's name was Mr. Rittenhaus.
After 1803, many Pennsylvania pioneers bought lots from the German Company, established by
Mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The 60,000-acre section included most of Block 2 of the former Grand River Indian Lands acquired by Beasley and previously owned by the
Six Nations Indians. Many farms were 400 or more acres in size.
Most settlers before 1830 were Pennsylvania Mennonites, often called
Pennsylvania Dutch (an anglicization of ''Deutsch'') because of the German dialect they spoke from their origins in Germany and Switzerland.
By the early 1800s, a
corduroy road had been built along what is now King Street in Waterloo; its remains were unearthed in 2016. The road was probably built by Mennonites using technology acquired in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, between the late 1790s and 1816. The log road was buried in about 1840 and a new road built on top of it. A historian explained that the road had been built for access to the mill but was also "one of the first roads cut through (the woods) so people could start settling the area".
In 1806, Abraham Erb, from Franklin County, bought 900 acres (360 ha) from the German Company in what would be later part of the City of Waterloo. The putative founder of the city, Erb built a sawmill in 1808 and a gristmill in 1816; the latter operated for 111 years and still stands in Waterloo Park.
Benjamin Eby arrived from Lancaster County in 1806. The putative founder of Kitchener, he purchased a large tract in that area. The settlement, Ebytown, was on the south-east side of present-day Queen Street. Ordained a Mennonite pastor in 1809, and later a bishop, Eby oversaw the building of the first church in 1813 and the confession's subsequent growth. Many Mennonite meeting houses, or places of worship, were basic frame buildings, a structure still common among
Old Order Mennonites in rural Waterloo Region. Settlers often held a "bee" to help newcomers erect large buildings, a custom that persists today among traditional Mennnonite communities.
![Joseph Schneider Haus NHS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Joseph_Schneider_Haus_NHS.jpg)
In 1806, Joseph Schneider, of south German stock, arrived from Lancaster County. He bought lot 17 of the German Company Tract of block 2. A farmer, he helped build what became "Schneider's Road". By 1816, he had built a sawmill.
In 1807, Pennsylvanians John and Jacob Erb, among others, purchased 45,195 acres (182.9 km
2) of Block 3 (Woolwich township).
The War of 1812 interrupted immigration from the United States. The pacifist Mennonite settlers were employed in camps, hospitals and transportation.
Samuel and Elia Schneider arrived in 1816.
A network of small settlements emerged. Abram Weber settled on the corner of later King and Wilmot Streets, and David Weber by the later Grand Trunk Railway station.
Benjamin Eby encouraged manufacturers to move to Ebytown. Jacob Hoffman arrived around 1830 to start the regions's first furniture factory.
1820 to 1852
![Martins Old Order Mennonite Church (5390735434)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Martins_Old_Order_Mennonite_Church_%285390735434%29.jpg)
Immigration continued strongly in the 1820s, driven by a severe agricultural depression in Lancaster County.
John Eby, druggist and chemist, arrived from Pennsylvania about 1820 and opened a shop west of present-day Eby Street. In the same year, after clearing a farm and creating a rough road, Joseph Schneider built a frame house on the south side of the future Queen Street ; the renovated home still stands. The settlement around "Schneider's Road" became the nucleus of Berlin.
In 1830, Phineas Varnum established the centre of later Berlin (Kitchener). Leasing land from Joseph Schneider, he opened a blacksmith shop on the site of the later Walper House (now the Walper Hotel). A tavern and store opened there at the same time.
Still considered a hamlet,
Ebytown became Berlin in 1833.
By 1830, the village of
Preston was a thriving business centre under the impulse of
Jacob Hespeler, a native of
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
. He later moved to the village of New Hope, renamed
Hespeler in 1857 in recognition of his enterprise and public service. Jacob Beck, from the Grand Duchy of Baden, founded the village of Baden in Wilmot Township and started a foundry and machine shop. Jacob Beck was the father of Sir
Adam Beck
Sir Adam Beck (June 20, 1857 – August 15, 1925) was a Canadian politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.
Biography
Beck was born in Baden, Upper Canada (now Ontario) to German i ...
, founder of the
Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.
By 1835, many immigrants were coming to Waterloo County from Germany and the British Isles. The Germans settled in areas like New Germany in the Lower Block of Block Two. In 1835, some 70% of the population was Mennonite; by 1851, that number had declined to 26% of a much larger population.
The county's first newspaper, ''Canada Museum und Allgemeine Zeitung,'' came off the press on August 27, 1835. Written mostly in German with some English articles, it was published for five years.
By the 1840s, the growing German-speaking population had made the area a popular choice for German immigrants.
They founded communities in the south of the Mennonite area. The largest was Berlin (now Kitchener).
In 1841, the population count was 4,424. ''Smith's Canadian Gazetteer'' of 1846 states that the population of Waterloo Township, within Waterloo County, consisted primarily of Pennsylvania Mennonites and German immigrants who had brought money with them. Many spoke no English. There were now eight grist and twenty saw mills in the township. In 1846 the village of Waterloo had a population of 200, "mostly Germans". It had a grist mill, a sawmill and some tradesmen. Berlin (Kitchener) had a population of about 400, also "mostly German", and more tradesmen than the village of Waterloo.
After 1852
![Map of Waterloo County, Ontario, 1883](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Map_of_Waterloo_County%2C_Ontario%2C_1883.png)
Previously part of the United County of Waterloo, Wellington and Grey, Waterloo became a separate entity in 1853, with five townships. Galt and Berlin contended to be the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
; one requirement was the construction of a
courthouse and jail. When local merchant Joseph Gaukel donated a small portion of his land for that purpose at the corner of present current Queen and
Weber streets, Berlin was selected. A courthouse and
gaol
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...
were built within a few months.
The first county council meeting was held in the new facility on 24 January 1853. Both buildings figure in the
Canadian Register of Historic Places. The council included 12 members from the five townships and two villages; Dr. John Scott was appointed as the first warden (reeve). In the following years, the region's physical and social infrastructure developed to include roads, bridges, agricultural societies, markets, and schools.
![Kids fishing in Hespeler, Ontario, next to a streetcar stop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Kids_fishing_in_Hespeler%2C_Ontario%2C_next_to_a_streetcar_stop.jpg)
The Grand Trunk railway reached Berlin in 1856, accelerating industrial growth. Over the next decade, comfortable homes replaced the early settlers' log cabins.
House of Industry and Refuge
In 1869, the county built a large "
Poorhouse
A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy.
Workhouses
In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...
" with an attached farm, the House of Industry and Refuge. It accommodated some 3,200 people before being closed down in 1951 and later demolished. Located on Frederick St. in Kitchener, behind the now Frederick Street Mall, it sought to help indigents and convicts before social welfare programmes became available. A 2009 report by the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
'' stated that "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work".
Electric streetcar
A new streetcar system, the
Galt, Preston and Hespeler electric railway (later called the
Grand River Railway
The Grand River Railway was an interurban electric railway (known as a radial in Ontario) in what is now the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Southwestern Ontario.
History
Background
Preston and Berlin Railway
Starting in the 185 ...
) began operation in 1894, connecting Preston and Galt. In 1911, the line reached Hespeler, Berlin (Kitchener) and Waterloo; by 1916 it had been extended to Brantford/Port Dover. The electric rail system ended passenger services in April, 1955.
German heritage
![Waterloo oktoberfest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Waterloo_oktoberfest.jpg)
Some sources estimate that roughly 50,000 European Germans arrived in the Waterloo area from 1830-1860. Unlike the largely German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania, the later arrivals – from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and present day and Poland, France and Russia, were of other denominations. The first groups were predominantly Roman Catholic; those who arrive later were primarily Lutheran.
In 1862, German-speaking groups held a ''Sängerfest'' ("Singer Festival") that attracted an estimated 10,000 people. The festival continued for several years.
By 1863, Berlin's German population exceeded 2,000. the community started the ''Friedenfest'' to celebrate the German victory in the Franco-Prussian war. The event continued annual until the start of World War I.
By 1871, nearly 55 percent of the population had German origins, including the Pennsylvania Mennonites and European Germans. This group greatly outnumbered the Scots (18 per cent), the English (12.6 per cent) and the Irish (8 per cent).
Berlin, Ontario was a bilingual town, with German being the dominant language spoken. More than one visitor commented on the necessity of speaking German in Berlin.
In 1897, the Canadians with origins in Germany raised funds to erect a large monument, with a bronze bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I, in Victoria Park. The monument would be destroyed by townspeople just after the start of World War I.
By the early 1900s, northern Waterloo County – the Kitchener, Waterloo, Elmira area – exhibited a strong German culture and those of German origin made up a third of the population in 1911. Lutherans were the primary religious group. There were nearly three times as many Lutherans as Mennonites at that time. The latter primarily resided in the rural areas and small communities.
Before and during World War I, there was some
anti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia.
Anti-German sentiment largely began wit ...
in Canada and some cultural sanctions on the community, particularly in Berlin, Ontario. However, by 1919 most of the population of what would become Kitchener-Waterloo and Elmira were Canadian by birth; over 95 percent had been born in Ontario.
Those of the Mennonite religion were pacifist, so they could not enlist, while others who were not born in Canada refused to fight against the country of their birth.
Anti-German sentiment during World War I was the primary reason for renaming
Berlin Kitchener in 1916 to honour British Field Marshal
Lord Kitchener, who had died that year when his cruiser was sunk by a German submarine.
The
Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower built in 1926 commemorates the settlement by the
Pennsylvania Dutch (''Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch'' or Pennsylvania German) of the
Grand River area in what later became Waterloo County.
The region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira.
Over time, after WW II, the anti-German sentiment faded. The
Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...
event, with beer halls and German entertainment, and a large parade, was established in 1969 to honour the Region's German heritage. The events typically attract an average of 700,000 people to the county. During the 2016 Oktoberfest parade, an estimated 150,000 people lined the streets along the route.
In the year 2000, the Government of Ontario declared an annual German Pioneers Day to recognize the achievements of settlers from Germany. Each year since then, the Waterloo Region area honours the current families of several such pioneers who had settled in the area.
The Waterloo region remained predominantly German-speaking until the early 20th century, and its German heritage is reflected in the region's large
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
community and the annual
Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...
.
There are still traditional Mennonite communities located north of Kitchener-Waterloo. While the best known is
St. Jacobs, with its very popular thrice-weekly outdoor market, the community of
Linwood Linwood may refer to:
Places
Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia
*Linwood, South Australia
* Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales
Canada
* Linwood, Ontario
* Linwood, ...
has attracted increased tourist volume in recent years due to its highly authentic Mennonite lifestyle.
Restructuring
In 1973, the regional municipality style of government was imposed on the county by the provincial government. The cities of Galt, Kitchener, and Waterloo were previously independent single tier municipalities prior to joining the newly formed regional municipality. In that major reorganization, the fifteen towns and townships of the county were reduced to just seven in the new Region of Waterloo. The new city of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
was created through the amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, the Village of Blair, and various parcels of township land. One township vanished when the former Waterloo Township was divided among Woolwich Township and the three cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. The settlement of Bridgeport was annexed to the city of Kitchener. The settlement of Erbsville was annexed to the city of Waterloo. The former county government was given broader powers as a
regional municipality.
Regardless of the resistance, the amalgamation proceeded and became effective 1 January 1973, creating the Region of Waterloo, with Jack A. Young appointed by the provincial government as the first Regional Chair. The region took over many services, including police, waste management, recreation, planning, roads and social services.
Further municipal amalgamation began discussions in the 1990s, with little progress. In late 2005, Kitchener's city council voted to visit the subject again, with the possibility of reducing the seven constituent municipalities into one or more cities. A new proposal in 2010 would study only the merger of Kitchener and Waterloo, with a public referendum on whether the idea should be looked into. Kitchener residents voted 2–1 in favour of studying the merger while Waterloo residents voted 2–1 against. Waterloo city council voted against the study.
Government
![WaterlooRegionHQ-Frederick](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/WaterlooRegionHQ-Frederick.JPG)
The region's governing body is the 16 member Waterloo Regional Council. The council consists of the Regional Chair, the mayors of the seven cities and townships, and eight additional councillors – four from Kitchener and two each from Cambridge and Waterloo.
Beginning in 1978, the Regional Chair was appointed for a 2-year term by the councillors, who were elected by the citizens of Waterloo Region. James E. (Jim) Gray was appointed in 1978. In 1982, the Chair's term was extended to 3 years and Jim Gray was appointed for his third term. He retired in 1985. Ken Seiling held the position of Regional Chair from 1985 to 2018, when he declined to run again for the seat. His successor is
Karen Redman
Karen Redman, ( née Longo; born January 8, 1953) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2008, representing the riding of Kitchener Centre for the Liberal Party. She served as Chief Governme ...
.
Beginning with the 1997 election, the citizens of Waterloo Region have directly elected the chair. Of the nine regional municipalities in Ontario, Waterloo Region and the
Regional Municipality of Halton
The Regional Municipality of Halton, or Halton Region, is a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. It comprises the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hi ...
are the only ones that allow for direct election of the chair.
Communities
Within the townships are many communities. Some were once independent and had their own reeves and councils but lost this status in amalgamation. These communities include:
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
,
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
, Bloomingdale,
Breslau,
Conestogo,
Doon,
Elmira, Freeport, Heidelberg, Mannheim,
Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, ...
,
New Dundee,
New Hamburg,
Petersberg Petersberg may refer to:
* The Hotel Petersberg near Bonn, the site of the
** Petersberg Agreement, 1949, regarding the international status of West Germany.
** Petersberg tasks, 1992 and 1997, regarding European security cooperation. Also known a ...
,
Roseville, St. Agatha, St. Clements,
St. Jacobs,
Wellesley,
West Montrose, and
Winterbourne.
Demographics
As a
census division in the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Waterloo had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Historic populations:
* Population in 2016: 535,154
* Population in 2011: 507,096
* Population in 2006: 478,121
* Population in 2001: 438,515
* Population in 1996: 405,435
Immigrants accounted for 22.6% of the region's total population according to the
2016 Canadian Census, while visible minorities accounted for 19.0% of the region's total population.
Education
![WLU 2014 Sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/WLU_2014_Sign.jpg)
Waterloo Region is home to the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
,
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
, and
Conestoga College
Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, Conestoga serves approximately 23,000 registered students through campuses and training centres in ...
. For a list of all elementary and secondary schools in the area, see the
List of Waterloo Region, Ontario schools
This list of schools in Waterloo Region shows the colleges and universities, secondary schools, and elementary schools based in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Currently, four school boards operate in Waterloo Region. Pub ...
.
Crime rate
The national average for the crime severity index was 70.96 per 100,000 people in 2016, according to a study published by
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...
while the rate was much lower for Waterloo Region: 61 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the rate for nearby
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
(population 132, 350) was 55 per 100,000 people. By comparison, "Canada's most dangerous place",
North Battleford
North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
, had an index of 353.
An updated report by Maclean's in 2019 ranked the Region as the 49th most dangerous community in Canada, with robbery approximately as prevalent as the Canadian average of 60 incidents per 100,000 people. The region has a homicide rate of 0.89 per 100,000, below the Canadian average of 1.68 per 100,000.
Real estate
As of March, 2019, the average (mean) selling price of a detached home sold on the Multiple Listing System of Kitchener and Waterloo was $585,668 (in Canadian dollars), an increase of 0.8 per cent compared to March 2018. The average selling price for an apartment style condominium was $320,857, an increase of 7.5 per cent from March, 2018. These prices are significantly less than prices in Toronto, where the average selling price for a detached home in the 416 area code was $1,267,598 in March, 2019, and the average selling price for an apartment style condominium was $603,969.
Business
![Waterloo ontario campus 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Waterloo_ontario_campus_1.jpg)
Waterloo Region is also experiencing significant commercial growth. The presence of two universities, the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
and
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
, acts as a catalyst for high-tech growth and innovation. The region is known for its
high concentration of tech companies, such as
BlackBerry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...
(formerly Research In Motion),
OpenText
OpenText Corporation (also written ''opentext'') is a Canadian company that develops and sells enterprise information management (EIM) software.
OpenText, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is Canada's fourth-largest software company ...
,
Kik, and
Maplesoft
Waterloo Maple Inc. is a Canadian software company, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. It operates under the trade name Maplesoft. It is best known as the manufacturer of the Maple computer algebra system, and MapleSim physical modeling and s ...
. As such, it has often been referred to as "Canada's Silicon Valley".
Canada's top three fastest growing tech companies are located in the Region: Kitchener's
ApplyBoard, Intellijoint Surgical, and Waterloo's Auvik Networks. The list also includes Kitchener's Smile.io, and
Vidyard
Vidyard is a software company headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, that creates software to host and analyze video performance. The company was founded in May 2010.
Beginnings
Originally starting as a fourth-year design project at the University ...
.
Major employers in the region
*
Waterloo Region District School Board
Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 24 prior to 1999) is the public school board for the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It operates 105 elementary schools, 16 secondar ...
(5,000 employees)
*
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) operates automobile manufacturing factories in Ontario, Canada. It is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor North America, itself a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan. The plant assembles compact cro ...
(6,500 employees)
*
Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial Corporation (also known as Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife" an ...
(3,800 employees)
*
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
(3,500 employees)
*
Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company.
Sun Life has a presence in investment management with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in a number o ...
(3,300 employees)
*
BlackBerry Ltd
BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablets ...
(3,000 employees)
*
Grand River Hospital
Grand River Hospital is a 665-bed hospital serving Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, and surrounding communities, primarily through its KW and Freeport Sites, both located in Kitchener. The two sites were independent hospitals that merged to form ...
(2,200 employees)
*
ATS Automation Tooling Systems (1,800 employees)
*
City of Kitchener
)
, image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg
, image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg
, image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, blank_emblem_type = ...
(1,700 employees)
Services
Over time, many services have come to be delegated to the jurisdiction of the municipal government. These include
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
,
emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
,
waste management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
,
licensing enforcement
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
,
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and the
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...
system. The main administration of these services is run from Kitchener, however many service offices may be found in different parts of the Region. For example, from a geographically central location in north Cambridge, maintenance operations and the police headquarters are able to manage operations and provide services to the entire service area.
Health care
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/St._Mary%27s_General_Hospital_Kitchener_Ontario_2015.jpg)
Hospital services in the region are provided by
Grand River Hospital
Grand River Hospital is a 665-bed hospital serving Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, and surrounding communities, primarily through its KW and Freeport Sites, both located in Kitchener. The two sites were independent hospitals that merged to form ...
which includes a Freeport Campus and
St. Mary's General Hospital, both located in Kitchener, as well as Cambridge Memorial Hospital. All three were highly ranked for safety in a national comparison study in 2017–2018, particularly the two located in Kitchener, but all would benefit from reduced wait times. Long-term care beds are provided at numerous facilities, including the Village of Winston Park in Kitchener and Saint Luke's Place in Cambridge which were promised additional funding by the province in 2018 for expansion.
Grand River Hospital has a capacity of 574-beds; the Freeport location was merged into it in April 1995. That secondary campus provides complex continuing care, rehabilitation, longer-term specialized mental health and other services. The King St. location is also the home of the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre which opened in 2003. St. Mary's General Hospital is a 150-bed adult acute-care facility and includes the Regional Cardiac Care Centre with two cardiovascular operating rooms, an eight-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit and 45 inpatient beds.
As of late 2018, Cambridge Memorial had 143 beds but was in the midst of a major expansion. The general contractor went into receivership in late 2018 and that stalled the process; the new section was not expected to be completed until approximately 2021. The expansion will eventually add 54 new beds and double the size of the Emergency department.
Family doctors are often in short supply, and a source of great concern among residents. Recruiting efforts over the previous 15 years certainly achieved some success as of September 2018, but needed to be continued.
Announced January 2006, as a new School of Medicine, the Waterloo Regional Campus of
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
was completed in 2009. In 2018, the campus included "a complete on-site clinical skills laboratory with 4 skills rooms and 2 observation rooms, classrooms with video-conferencing capabilities and a state-of-the-art anatomy lab that was built in 2013 with a high definition video system", according to the university. Its Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine building includes the Centre for Family Medicine and the
University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science
The School of Optometry and Vision Science is one of the professional schools at the University of Waterloo. It is a school within the university's Faculty of Science and is the larger of the two optometry schools in Canada. The School is the ...
.
Transportation
![Ion Flexity Freedom 514 service livery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Ion_Flexity_Freedom_514_service_livery.jpg)
Public transportation is provided by
Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit (GRT) is the public transport operator for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, alongside the I ...
, which is an amalgamation of the former Cambridge Transit and Kitchener Transit systems, the latter of which had also served the City of Waterloo for many decades.
In June 2011, regional council approved the plan for a
light rail transit (LRT) line from Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo to Fairview Park Mall in south Kitchener, with rapid buses through to Cambridge. In Stage 1, the
Ion rapid transit
Ion, stylized as ION, is an integrated public transportation network in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Keolis and is part of the Grand River Transit (GRT) system, partially replacing GRT's Route 2 ...
system runs between Waterloo and Kitchener, passing through the downtown/uptown areas. This phase opened in 2019.
Until light rail transit is extended to the downtown Galt area of Cambridge from Kitchener in Stage 2, the rapid transit link will use specially branded buses between Fairview Park Mall and the Ainslie Street Transit Terminal. Other stops for this Ion bus are at Hespeler Road at the Delta, Can-Amera, Cambridge Centre, Pinebush, and Sportsworld. The rapid transit bus uses bus-only priority traffic signals at Pinebush, Sportsworld, and other places to minimize slowdowns at times of heavy traffic.
Construction on the light rail system began in August 2014, and the Stage 1 service was expected to begin in late 2017. In 2016, however, the start date was changed to early 2018 because of delays in the manufacture and delivery of the vehicles by
Bombardier Transportation. By March 2017 a single sample-only train car had arrived. All trams were eventually delivered by December 2018 and the service started operating on June 21, 2019.
By late February 2017, plans for the Stage 2 (Cambridge section) of the Ion rail service were in the very early stage with public consultations just getting started. (At least one journalist has pointed out the similarity between this plan and the electric
Grand River Railway
The Grand River Railway was an interurban electric railway (known as a radial in Ontario) in what is now the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Southwestern Ontario.
History
Background
Preston and Berlin Railway
Starting in the 185 ...
of the early 1900s.) As the original plan to share the CP Rail line had become unworkable since the original route had been planned, a new route between Kitchener and Preston was proposed. Multiple options for the new Stage 2 route were researched and presented to the public, with Regional Council approving the final route and preliminary design on April 22, 2020, and starting the required environmental assessment later in December.
Waterloo Region was the home of the first carsharing organization in Ontario in 1998.
Community CarShare Cooperative (previously known as Grand River CarShare) provides access to vehicles on a self-serve, pay-per-use basis. Cars are located in many neighbourhoods around the Region. It is meant to complement other sustainable modes of transportation such as public transit, biking, and carpooling, or act as a transition out of owning a vehicle. Community CarShare has 27 vehicles stationed in the Region of Waterloo.
The region also owns and operates the
Region of Waterloo International Airport
Region of Waterloo International Airport or Kitchener/Waterloo Airport is an international airport serving the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Woolwich, Ontario, Canada, west of Toronto. It has year round daily flights to Edmonton, ...
, near
Breslau. The airport is the 20th busiest in Canada as of December 2010
and underwent a major expansion in 2003.
GO Transit
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...
and
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
provide rail services to the region on the
Kitchener line
Kitchener is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends westward from Union Station in Toronto to Kitchener, though most trains originate and terminate in Brampton in off-peak ...
.
Media
Notable people
*
David Bauer, Canadian ice hockey player and coach, educator and Catholic priest, inductee into multiple sports halls of fame
*
Rich Beddoe is the drummer for the Canadian rock band
Finger Eleven
Finger Eleven is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album ''The Greyest of Blue Skies'' bringing th ...
. He is from
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridg ...
.
*Hockey player
Todd Bertuzzi
Todd Bertuzzi (born February 2, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a power forward (ice hockey), power forward, he has played in the NHL for the New York ...
of the
Detroit Red Wings makes his offseason home in Kitchener.
*
Tim Brent
Tim Brent (born March 10, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played over 200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.
Playing career
Junior hockey
...
is a hockey player from
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridg ...
.
*
Amanda Burk, artist who grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo.
*
David Chilton
__NOTOC__
David Harold Chilton (1951–1997) was an American pastor, Reconstructionist, speaker and author of several books on economics, eschatology and Christian Worldview from Placerville, California. He contributed three books on eschatolo ...
, author of the financial planning guide ''
The Wealthy Barber
''The Wealthy Barber'', full title (''The Wealthy Barber: The Common Sense Guide to Successful Financial Planning'') is a financial planning book franchise by Canadian author David Barr Chilton, David Chilton. The first book in the series was in ...
'' was born in
Kitchener and lives in the region.
*Author and journalist
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...
grew up in
Elmira, Ontario
Elmira is the largest community in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, Canada. It is north of the city of Waterloo near the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's northern border with Wellington County. The community was listed in the 2016 Canadi ...
.
*
Mike Hoffman, hockey player from Kitchener
*
David Johnston
David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...
, former president of the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
and
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...
lives in
Wellesley Township.
*
Lisa LaFlamme, journalist, from Kitchener.
*
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
, Canada's longest serving prime minister, was born in Kitchener's predecessor Berlin, Ontario. His boyhood home is now
Woodside National Historic Site
Woodside National Historic Site is the childhood home of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. King resided there from 1886 to 1893. The house is located in the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The house was built in 185 ...
.
*
Mike Lazaridis
Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis (born March 14, 1961) is a Canadian businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and founder of BlackBerry, which created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. With an estimated net worth of ...
, founder of
Research In Motion
BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablet ...
, came as a student to attend the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
.
*Boxer
Lennox Lewis lived in Kitchener from the age of 12 and began his boxing career there. He maintains a home in Kitchener.
*
Lois Maxwell
Lois Ruth Maxwell (born Lois Ruth Hooker; 14 February 1927 – 29 September 2007) was a Canadian actress who portrayed Miss Moneypenny in the first fourteen Eon-produced ''James Bond'' films (1962–1985). She was the first actress to play the ...
, Golden Globe winning actress and the original
Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Service ( MI6).
Al ...
in the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
movies, was born in Kitchener.
*
Jamal Murray
Jamal Murray (born February 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Canadian national team. He played one season of college basketball fo ...
, professional basketball player from Kitchener
*
Helmut Oberlander
Helmut Oberlander (15 February 1924 – 20 September 2021) was a naturalized Canadian citizen who was a member of the ''Einsatzgruppen'' death squads of Nazi Germany in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II. Oberlander was on the Simon W ...
, Ukrainian former Canadian who was a member of the Einsatzgruppen death squads of Nazi Germany in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II
*
Joseph E. Seagram was a partner in 1869, and sole owner in 1883, in the company later known as
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the ...
.
*
Donald Shaver
Donald McQueen Shaver (born August 12, 1920) was a Canadian pioneer in the poultry industry, who founded a breeding company that achieved worldwide prominence. At its peak Shaver Poultry Breeding Farms was the world's largest, being one of only ...
created a world leading poultry breeding business.
*
Dave Sim
Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book '' Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical ...
, creator of the comic book ''
Cerebus the Aardvark
''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...
'', has lived in Kitchener since he was two years old.
*
Edna Staebler
Edna Staebler (January 15, 1906 – September 12, 2006) was a Canadian writer and award-winning literary journalist,Faculty of Arts, August 28, 2012, , ''Wilfrid Laurier University'', Headlines, Retrieved 11/26/2012 best known for her series of c ...
, author and literary journalist, best known for her series of cookbooks, particularly ''Food That Really Schmecks''
*Former
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
all-star
Scott Stevens
Ronald Scott Stevens (born April 1, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. As a defenseman, Stevens played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues and New Jers ...
of the
New Jersey Devils was born in Kitchener and played for the
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...
. He also maintains a home there.
*Landscape artist
Homer Watson was born in the village of Doon (now part of Kitchener).
See also
*
List of municipalities in Ontario
*
List of townships in Ontario
*
Quebec City–Windsor Corridor
*
Waterloo County, Ontario
Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.
Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory o ...
*
List of secondary schools in Ontario#Regional Municipality of Waterloo
References
*
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Municipality Of Waterloo
Waterloo
Southwestern Ontario