Waterloo is a city in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It is one of three cities in the

Regional Municipality of Waterloo 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 Dumfr ...

(formerly

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 ...

). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Due to the close proximity of the city of Kitchener to Waterloo, the two together are often referred to as "Kitchener–Waterloo", "K-W" or "The Twin Cities". While several unsuccessful attempts to combine the municipalities of Kitchener and Waterloo have been made, following the 1973 establishment of the Region of Waterloo, less motivation to do so existed, and as a result, Waterloo remains an independent city. At the time of the 2021 census, the population of Waterloo was 121,436.

History

Indigenous peoples and settlement

According to the city,

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

lived in its area, including the

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 ...

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, Potawatomi, ...

and

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 ...

. After the end of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

, a

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

war chief, wanted

Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. From 1778 to 1786, he serve ...

to give the Mohawk and Six Nations a tract of land surrounding the Grand River, in return for their loyalty to the British in the war. Haldimand's 1784 ''

Haldimand Proclamation The ''Haldimand Proclamation'' was a decree that granted land to the Mohawk (or Kanien'kehà:ka) (Mohawk nation) who had served on the British side during the American Revolution. The decree was issued by the Governor of the Province of Quebec, ...

'' granted the land "six miles deep from either side of the rand Riverbeginning at Lake Erie and extending in that proportion to the very head of the said river." Haldimand, who had previously ordered for potential mill sites to be identified in the region, decreed in 1788 that mill sites would be included in the grant (which would not have been included otherwise). In 1796, Richard Beasley purchased Block Number 2 of the grant from

(on behalf of the Six Nations) with a mortgage held by the Six Nations. Block 2, 94,012 acres in size, was situated in the District of Gore. To meet his mortgage obligations, Beasley had to sell portions of the land to settlers. This was counter to the original mortgage agreement, but subsequent changes to the agreement were made to permit land sales.

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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

counties Lancaster and Montgomery were the first wave of immigrants to the area. In the year 1800 alone, Beasley sold over 14,000 acres to Mennonite settlers. A group of 26 Mennonites from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, pooled their resources into the German Company of Pennsylvania, which was then represented by Daniel Erb and Samuel Bricker. The company purchased all the unsold land from Beasley in 1803, resulting in a discharge of the mortgage held by the Six Nations. This discharge allowed Beasley to clear his obligation with the Six Nations, and allowed the settlers to have deeds to their purchased land. The payment to Beasley, in cash, arrived from Pennsylvania in kegs, carried in a wagon surrounded by armed guards. Many of the pioneers who arrived from Pennsylvania after November 1803 bought land in a 60,000-acre tract of Block 2 from the German Company of Pennsylvania. The tract included almost two-thirds of Block 2. Many of the first farms were least 400 acres in size.

Development (19th century)

The Mennonites divided the land into smaller lots; two lots owned by Abraham Erb—who is often called the founder of the Village of Waterloo—became the central core of Waterloo. Erb had come to the area in 1806 from Pennsylvania. He had bought from the German Company Tract and settled where there was enough water power to operate mills. He founded a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

in 1808 and

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

in 1816; they saw business flourish. Other early settlers of what would become Waterloo included Samuel and Elia Schneider, who arrived in 1816. Until about 1820, settlements such as this were quite small. Erb also built what is now known as the Erb-Kumpf House in c. 1812, making it likely one of the oldest homes in Waterloo. First School in Waterloo, Ontario (1820)

First School in Waterloo, Ontario (1820)

The first school in what is now the City of Waterloo was built on land donated by Erb; the log building was constructed in 1820. A larger school house of stone was built in 1842 and was replaced with a brick school building in 1852. Over the decades, the log building was moved, eventually to

Waterloo Park Waterloo Park is an urban park situated in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada on land within Block 2 of the Haldimand Tract. Spanning 111 acres within the Uptown area of Waterloo, it opened in 1893 and is the oldest park in the city. Managed by the Cit ...

, where it still stands. The German spoken in Waterloo County is based upon the 18th century Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. In turn, the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect is based upon the dialect of German spoken in southwestern Germany. In 1816, the new Waterloo Township was officially incorporated while being named after

Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo (, ; wa, Waterlô) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Wallonia, located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, which in 2011 had a population of 29,706 and an area of . Waterloo lies a short distance south of Brussels, ...

, the site of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

(1815), which had ended the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

in Europe. After that war, the new township became a popular destination for German immigrants. By the 1840s, German settlers had overtaken the Mennonites as the dominant segment of the population. Many Germans settled in the small hamlet to the southeast of Waterloo. In their honour, the village was named Berlin in 1833 ( renamed to Kitchener in 1916). The first Catholic family to arrive were the Spetz family from Alsace who came in 1828. By 1831, Waterloo had a small post office in the King and Erb Street area, operated by Daniel Snyder, some 11 years before one would open in neighbouring Berlin. The ''Smith's Canadian Gazetteer'' of 1846 states that the Township of Waterloo (smaller than Waterloo County) consisted primarily of Pennsylvanian Mennonites and immigrants directly from Germany who had brought money with them. At the time, many did not speak English. There were eight grist and twenty sawmills in the township. In 1841, the population count was 4424. In 1846 the village of Waterloo had a population of 200, "mostly Germans". There was a grist mill and a sawmill and some tradesmen. By comparison, Berlin (Kitchener) had a population of about 400, also "mostly German", and more tradesmen than the village of Waterloo. Berlin was chosen as the site of the seat for the County of Waterloo in 1853. By 1869, the population was 2000. Waterloo was incorporated as a village in 1857 and became the Town of Waterloo in 1876 and the City of Waterloo in 1948.

20th and 21st centuries

The presence 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 Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

in the city induced technological and innovative companies to base in Waterloo, especially companies specializing in computing and

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

. For example,

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 tablets ...

(now BlackBerry Limited), which developed

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 of ...

, was started by

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 ...

and Doug Fregin in 1984. A 1994 issue of the ''

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new ''National Post'',"Black says Post to merge with new paper". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 23, ...

'' mentioned Waterloo-based companies MKS,

WATCOM Watcom International Corporation was a software company, which was founded in 1981 by Wes Graham and Ian McPhee. Founding staff (Fred Crigger, Jack Schueler and McPhee) were formerly members of Professor Graham's Computer Systems Group at the Uni ...

, and

Open Text In semiotic analysis (the studies of signs or symbols), an open text is a text that allows multiple or mediated interpretation by the readers. In contrast, a closed text leads the reader to one intended interpretation. The concept of the open te ...

in a list of the top 100 independent software companies in Canada. In 2016, two sections of a

corduroy road A corduroy road or log road is a type of road or timber trackway made by placing logs, perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area. The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the bes ...

were unearthed. One was in the King Street area of the business district and the second was discovered near the Conestoga Mall. 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".

Geography

Waterloo's city centre is near the intersection of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and Erb streets. The city centre was once along Albert Street, near the Marsland Centre and the Waterloo Public Library. The town hall, fire hall, and farmers' market were located there. Amidst some controversy, all were demolished between 1965 and 1969. Historically, Waterloo's swamp land near where the village was first developed caused problems for development. To mitigate these issues, sand was taken from nearby areas to raise the land; buildings were built on foundations of oak planks; and King Street was originally built as a

Waterways

The Grand River flows southward along the city's east side. Its most significant tributary within the city is Laurel Creek, whose

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

lies just to the west of the city limits and its mouth just to the east, and crosses much of the city's central areas, including the University of Waterloo lands and Waterloo Park; it flows under the uptown area in a culvert. In the city's west end, the Waterloo Moraine provides over 300,000 people in the region with drinking water. Much of the gently hilly Waterloo Moraine underlies existing developed areas. Ongoing urban growth, mostly low-density residential suburbs (in accordance with requests by land developers), will cover increasing amounts of the remaining undeveloped portions of the Waterloo Moraine.

Climate

Waterloo has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

of the warm summer subtype (''Dfb'' under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

); this means that there are large seasonal differences, with warm, humid summers and cold winters. Compared to other parts of Canada, Waterloo has fairly moderate weather. Winter temperatures usually occur between mid-December and mid-March, while summer temperatures generally occur between mid-May and late September. It is not uncommon for temperatures to exceed 30 °C (86 °F) several times each summer. Waterloo has approximately 140 frost-free days per year.

Demographics

As of the

2021 Canadian census 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 sl ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Waterloo has a population of , a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , the city has a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . As of 2021, the median age is 36.0 years old, as compared to 37.7 in 2016. Waterloo's median age is 13% lower than Ontario's median age, which is 41.6 years old. At the

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...

(CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo CMA 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. The most common ethnic or cultural origins reported in Waterloo in 2021 were German (17.9%), English (17.0%), Scottish (14.6%), Irish (14.3%), Canadian (10.2%), Chinese (8.9%), Indian (6.4%), French (6.0%), British Isles (4.1%), Polish (4.1%), Dutch (3.9%), Italian (3.3%), and Ukrainian (2.4%).

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

people made up 1.3% of the population, mostly

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

(0.7%) and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

(0.5%). Ethnocultural backgrounds in the city included

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

(63.7%),

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

(10.7%),

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

(9.2%),

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

(3.1%),

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

(2.7%),

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

(1.9%),

West Asian Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes An ...

(1.7%),

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

n (1.4%),

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

(1.4), and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

(1.0%). In 2021, 45.8% of the population identified as

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, with

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(17.9%) making up the largest denomination, followed by

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

(3.3%),

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

(3.2%),

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

(2.8%),

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

(2.4%), and other denominations. 37.7% of the population reported no religious affiliation. Others identified as

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

(8.1%),

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

(4.7%),

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

(1.2%),

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

(1.1%), and with other religions.

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was the

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

of 64.6% of the population in 2021. This was followed by

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

(6.2%),

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

(2.2%),

German 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 ...

(1.5%),

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

(1.5%),

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

(1.3%), Punjabi (1.2%),

(1.1%),

Iranian Persian Iranian Persian, Western Persian or Western Farsi, natively simply known as Persian (, ), refers to the varieties of the modern Persian language spoken in Iran and by minorities in neighboring countries, as well as by Iranian communities throu ...

(1.0%),

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...

(1.0%),

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

(0.9%), and French (0.9%). Of the official languages, 98.2% of the population reported knowing English and 8.8% French.

Economy

According to the

2016 Canadian Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...

, Waterloo has a median household income (after tax) of $72,239. This is significantly higher than the national median of $61,348. The unemployment rate in Waterloo (6.9%) is lower than the national rate of 7.7%. The median value of a dwelling in Waterloo ($399,997) is higher than the national median of $341,556. The Intelligent Community Forum named Waterloo the Top Intelligent Community of 2007. Waterloo has a strong knowledge and service-based economy with significant insurance and high-tech sectors as well as two universities. The city's largest employers are

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 ...

, the

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 ...

Sandvine Sandvine Incorporated is an application and network intelligence company based in Waterloo, Ontario. Sandvine markets network policy control products that are designed to implement broad network policies, including Internet censorship, Network con ...

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 ...

. The city is also home to three well-known think tanks – the

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI, Perimeter, PITP) is an independent research centre in foundational theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1999. The institute's founding and major benefactor i ...

, an advanced centre for the study of foundational, theoretical physics and award-winning educational outreach in science; the

Institute for Quantum Computing The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) is an affiliate scientific research institute of the University of Waterloo located in Waterloo, Ontario with a multidisciplinary approach to the field of quantum information processing. IQC was founde ...

, based at the University of Waterloo, which carries out innovative research in the computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences; and the

Centre for International Governance Innovation The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI, pronounced "see-jee") is an independent, non-partisan think tank on global governance. CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral ...

, an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges. The city is part of

Canada's Technology Triangle Canada's Technology Triangle (CTT) was a promotional organization that represented Waterloo Region, which includes the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo and the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich. The organizatio ...

(CTT), a joint economic development initiative of Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge and the

Region of Waterloo 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 ...

that markets the region internationally. Despite its name, CTT does not focus exclusively on promoting technology industries, but on all aspects of economic development. Waterloo has a strong technology sector with hundreds of high-tech firms. The dominant technology company in the city is BlackBerry, makers of the

, which has its headquarters in the city and owns several office buildings near the University of Waterloo's main campus. Notable Waterloo-based high-tech companies include: *

Aeryon Labs Aeryon Labs is a Canadian developer and manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Founded in 2007, it is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. Aeryon Defense is a wholly owned subsidiary, based in Denver, Colorado, focused on sales and support fo ...

Dalsa Teledyne DALSA (formerly DALSA Corporation) is a Canadian company specializing in the design and manufacture of specialized electronic imaging components (image sensors, cameras, frame grabbers, imaging software) as well as specialized semiconduc ...

Descartes Systems Group The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (commonly referred to as Descartes) is a Canadian multinational technology company specializing in logistics software, supply chain management software, and cloud-based services for logistics businesses. Descart ...

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

(in neighbouring Kitchener) *

Kik Messenger Kik Messenger, commonly called Kik, is a freeware instant messaging mobile app from the Canada, Canadian company Kik Interactive, available on iOS and Android (operating system), Android operating systems. The application uses a smartphone's int ...

(in neighbouring Kitchener) *

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 ...

MKS Inc. MKS, Inc (formerly called Mortice Kern Systems) is a subsidiary of PTC, Inc. It was previously a multinational independent software vendor that was acquired by Parametric Technology Corporation (now PTC) on May 31, 2011. MKS operated in the A ...

ON Semiconductor onsemi (stylized in lowercase; legally ON Semiconductor Corporation; formerly ON Semiconductor until August 5, 2021) is an American semiconductor supplier company, based in Phoenix, Arizona and ranked #483 on the 2022 ''Fortune'' 500 based on it ...

* OpenText Corporation *

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 ...

Many other high-tech companies, with headquarters elsewhere, take advantage of the concentration of high-tech employees in the Waterloo area, and have research and development centres there.

Shopify Shopify Inc. is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Shopify is the name of its proprietary e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. The Shopify platform offers online ret ...

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

McAfee McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...

NCR Corporation NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

and Agfa are among the large, international technology companies with development offices in Waterloo. Before it became known for technology, Waterloo was sometimes referred to as "the

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

of Canada" because of the many insurance companies based in the area.

Manulife 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 ...

, Equitable Life of Canada and Economical Insurance have a large presence in the city. Breweries and distilleries had been a significant industry in the Waterloo area until 1993 when a

Labatt Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Int ...

-owned brewery was shut down. The Brick Brewing Company operated in Waterloo but is now based in Kitchener. Waterloo was the original home of distiller

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 lar ...

(also the home town of many descendants of J.P. Seagram), which closed its Waterloo plant in 1992. Of the remaining Seagram buildings, one became home of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), while others were converted into condominiums. The city encourages location filming of movies and TV series and many have taken advantage of Waterloo locations. Examples include '' Downsizing'' (released in 2017), ''The Demolisher'' (2015) and '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2015).

Arts and culture

Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest is an annual nine-day festival in the twin cities of Kitchener– Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Based on the original German Oktoberfest, it is billed as ''Canada's Greatest Bavarian Festival'', and is the second-l ...

is a nine-day

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

celebration held in both Kitchener and Waterloo. It is the second largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world, and the largest outside of Germany. In 2013, CBC reported that the festival receives over 700,000 annual visitors, has 1,780 volunteers, was broadcast to 1.8 million national television viewers, and generated an estimated $21 million of economic activity.

Tri-Pride Tri-Pride, stylized tri-Pride, is an annual non-profit LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Gay Pride, Pride festival in the Waterloo Region of Ontario, encompassing the cities of Cambridge, Ontario, Cambridge, Kitchener, Ontario ...

is a non-profit LGBT pride festival held annually during

Pride Month LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...

in the "tri-cities" of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. The

Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony The Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony (KWS) is an orchestra based in the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Its home venue is Centre In The Square in Kitchener, Ontario. The orchestra comprises 52 professional musicians under fu ...

is located in Kitchener. According to their website, they perform over 222 concerts annually to an audience of over 90,000, both in the concert hall and across the

Waterloo Region 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 Dumfr ...

. The Waterloo Busker Carnival is a busking festival held annually in August in Waterloo public square. Admission is free, and the festival has been operating since 1989. The

Rainbow Reels Queer and Trans Film Festival The Rainbow Reels Queer and Trans Film Festival is an annual LGBTQ film festival in Kitchener- Waterloo, Ontario. First staged in 2001, the festival was launched by WPIRG and staged primarily at the University of Waterloo's Davis Centre. It subse ...

is an annual

LBGT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

which screens at Princess Twin Cinemas in Uptown Waterloo.

Inactive or past

The

Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema (WFAC) was an annual international film festival for animated feature films, held in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It ran for 13 years, from 2001 to 2013. The festival was founded in to promote appreciatio ...

was an annual

dedicated to feature-length animation films. It was held from 2001 to 2013. The

International Olympiad in Informatics The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) is an annual competitive programming and one of the International Science Olympiads for secondary school students. It is the second largest science olympiad, after International Mathematical Olympia ...

, a

competitive programming Competitive programming is a mind sport usually held over the Internet or a local network, involving participants trying to program according to provided specifications. Contestants are referred to as ''sport programmers''. Competitive programm ...

competition for secondary school students, was held in Waterloo in 2010.

Attractions

Waterloo's local tourist tourist attractions and areas of interest include: the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, the

Waterloo Central Railway The Waterloo Central Railway (WCR) is a non-profit heritage railway owned and operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS). In May 2007, SOLRS received joint approval from the Region of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo ...

, the City of Waterloo Museum, a statue of monkeys entitled "Banana", the

, the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market (although the market is just outside city limits),

's Earth Sciences Museum, and Conestoga Mall.

Recreation

Waterloo's parks and recreation facilities mainly comprise

, Bechtel Park, Laurel Creek Conservation Area, the

Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex The Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex is a recreation facility in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Father David Bauer Drive, west of Uptown. The complex contains the Sun Life Financial Arena, a 4,132-seat multi-purpose arena that ...

RIM Park RIM Park is a 500-acre (2 km²) city park facility offering both outdoor and indoor amenities on the northeast side of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, near the Eastbridge neighbourhood. Key facilities and features include the Manulif ...

, and over of mixed-use trails.

Parks

Created in 1890,

is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

in Uptown Waterloo which includes an animal farm, sports fields, and a

splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typical ...

. It is the oldest park in the city; the mixed-use

Laurel Trail Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (m ...

and the rapid transit

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

line both run through the park. Bechtel Park is located in eastern Waterloo, and houses a dog park, three soccer fields, a

field house Field house or fieldhouse is an American English term for an indoor sports arena or stadium, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey, or a support building for various adjacent sports fields, e.g. locker room, team room, coac ...

, and more. Laurel Creek Conservation Area is in western Waterloo—north-west of

's Environmental Reserve—and houses 122 campsites, of trails, and facilities for

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

, swimming,

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, cycling, and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex Interior - Waterloo, ON

The

, then described as the "largest and most expensive project in the city's history", opened in 1993. It includes an arena seating 3,500, swimming and banquet facilities, and an indoor track.

, originally called Millennium Park, opened in September 2001. Its features include outdoor soccer fields, ice rinks, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, meeting rooms and more. RIM Park is in proximity to the

Walter Bean Grand River Trail The Walter Bean Grand River Trail (also sometimes shortened as the Walter Bean Trail) is a multi-use trail that runs along the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The trail runs throug ...

Grey Silo Golf Course Grey Silo Golf Course is an 18-hole public golf course located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 2000 and owned by the city of Waterloo, the course is within RIM Park along the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River. Designed by Steve Young, it w ...

, and Waterloo Public Library's Eastside Branch. There are a number of small playgrounds, woodlots, and recreation facilities around Waterloo which are not mentioned above due to their size.

Mixed-use trails

Trails for walking, hiking, and biking play an important part in Waterloo's recreational infrastructure. Waterloo had of trails by 2007, as compared to of trails in 1987. In 1988, a trail network comprising 135 kilometers of trails connecting neighborhoods was proposed. The Iron Horse Trail, connecting Waterloo and Kitchener, opened in 1997. Then-mayor Joan McKinnon brought upon the connection of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the A ...

into the Waterloo Region, which ran from the Iron Horse Trail to Waterloo's northern boundary. The

, announced in 1999, served to create an accessible trail along the Grand River. ''Waterloo: An Illustrated History, 1857–2007'' states, " he trailwas particularly needed in Waterloo as the river's geographic location on the edge of the city meant that, unlike so many other Canadian cities, the river had not historically played a central role in the community."

Sports

In July 2002, Waterloo, along with Kitchener, hosted the Ontario Summer Games. The following sports teams are based in Waterloo: Waterloo Wildfire (

National Ringette League The National Ringette League (NRL), ''(french: Ligue Nationale de Ringuette, LNR)'', is the premier sports league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18+. All of the NRL's eli ...

Waterloo Siskins The Kitchener-Waterloo Siskins are a junior ice hockey team based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Founded in 1934, the Siskins are one of the longest runni ...

(

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is c ...

Waterloo United BVB International Academy Waterloo is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Waterloo, Ontario that plays in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. Their home stadium is Warrior Field at the University of Waterloo. Water ...

(

League One Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, commonly shortened to Laurier Golden Hawks, is the name used by the varsity sports teams of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University ...

, and

Waterloo Warriors The Waterloo Warriors are the athletic teams that represent the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The Warriors have found success over certain spans in football, hockey, rugby, golf and basketball among others, and the Warrior ...

Government

Waterloo was part of

until 1973 when a restructuring created the

, which consists of the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a 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. Cambridge bec ...

, and the townships of

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 throu ...

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 ...

, Wellesley, and

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, Wentwort ...

. The Region handles many services, including paramedic services, policing, waste management, recreation, planning, roads and social services. The Waterloo Award, established in 1997, is the highest civic honour a person can receive from the City of Waterloo.

Waterloo City Council Waterloo City Council is the governing body for the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the Mayor of Waterloo and 7 ward councillors. Current Waterloo City Council *Mayor, Dorothy McCabe Dorothy McCabe (born c. 1969) is ...

consists of a mayor and seven councillors, each representing a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. The number of wards was increased from five to seven in the November 2006 elections. As of 2022, the mayor of Waterloo is Dorothy McCabe, elected in October 2022. The current Waterloo councillors are as follows, as of 2022, listed by ascending ward number: Sandra Hanmer (Southwest Ward), Royce Bodaly (Northwest Ward), Hans Roach (Lakeshore Ward), Diane Freeman (Northeast Ward), Jen Vasic (Southeast Ward), Mary Lou Roe (Central-Columbia Ward), and Julie Wright (Uptown Ward). In politics, Waterloo is within the federal

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of Waterloo, and within the provincial electoral district also named Waterloo.

Transportation

Roads

Highway 85, part of the larger

Conestoga Parkway The Conestoga Parkway, officially the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway, is a controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress ...

, is the only

controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

that runs through Waterloo. To the north, the divided freeway ends at the city limit, and the road becomes Waterloo Regional Road 85, which accesses

St. Jacobs St. Jacobs is a community and former village located in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, Woolwich in Waterloo Regional Municipality, Ontario, Waterloo Region, Ontario, just north of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo. It is a popular locati ...

and Elmira, before ending in Elmira. To the south, Highway 85 becomes Highway 7 within Kitchener, before diverging into eastbound Highway 8 (to

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

interchange, and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

) and westbound Highway 7/8 (to New Hamburg, Stratford, and Goderich). Highway 85 has 5 interchanges within Waterloo, from north to south, with the regional road number in brackets: King Street (15), Northfield Drive (50), King Street (15),

University Avenue A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

(57), and Bridgeport Road (9).

Public transportation

Public transit was provided by the Kitchener Public Utilities Commission from 1888 to 1973, and included street cars (1888–1947) and trolley coaches (1947–1973). 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 to operate in 1894 connecting Preston and Galt. In 1911, the line reached Hespeler, Kitchener (then Berlin) and Waterloo; by 1916 it had been extended to

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

Port Dover Port Dover is an unincorporated community and former town located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is the site of the recurring Friday the 13th motorcycle rally. Prior to the War of 1812, this community w ...

. The Kitchener Public Utilities Commission operated electric streetcars serving Kitchener and Waterloo until 1946. The electric rail system ended passenger services in April, 1955, leaving the city and region with no local rail services for more than 60 years. Electric trolley coaches replaced the streetcars, operating from January 1, 1947, to March 26, 1973.

Public transport 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, typical ...

throughout the

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 ...

, created by a merger of Kitchener Transit (which served Waterloo) and Cambridge Transit in January 2000. As of 2020, GRT operates a number of local and express bus routes in Waterloo, with several running into Kitchener. In September 2005 an

express bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...

route called iXpress was added for runs from downtown

to Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo via

Fairview Park Mall CF Fairview Park (commonly known as Fairview Park Mall) is a large shopping mall of 120 stores in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, owned and managed by Cadillac Fairview.

in south Kitchener. Waterloo is served by GO buses which stop at the

and

, with destinations of Square One City Centre Terminal,

Milton GO Station Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel Prize, Nobel laureate in Economics, author ...

, and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Light rapid transit

In June 2011, the Waterloo Region council confirmed approval of the plan for a light rail transit line between Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo and Fairview Park Mall in south Kitchener, with rapid buses through to the "downtown Galt" area of Cambridge. Service began June 21, 2019. In the current 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 200 i ...

trains run through the downtown/uptown areas of Kitchener and Waterloo. The

ION An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

light rail system travels between Conestoga station in Waterloo and Fairway station in Kitchener, with a total of 19 stations along the route. At Fairway station, ION light rail connects to the ION bus (Route 302) and travels to the Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge. Stage 2 will see the ION bus converted to light rail allowing for a full integration of the Waterloo Region.

Rail

Waterloo is not currently served by any regularly scheduled passenger rail service. Both

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 ...

and

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 ...

run trains to the nearby

Kitchener station Kitchener station is a railway station located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, slightly to the northeast of downtown Kitchener, at 126 Weber Street West, near the corner of Victoria Street. It is a heritage building containing a waiting room and t ...

: GO Transit via 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 h ...

and Via Rail via its Ontario-Québec route. Kitchener station is accessible to Waterloo through buses, or can be reached by transferring from

Kitchener Central Station Central Station is a light rail station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, which is planned to be expanded into an intermodal transit terminal. , it consists of an Ion light rail stop and Grand River Transit bus stops. The site is planned to also ...

. Both rail operators run infrequent trains. On weekdays,

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

GO trains run eastbound (to Toronto) nine times per day, and westbound eight times per day. No Kitchener line trains are run on the weekends. Including weekends, Via Rail operates one train per day, both westbound and eastbound. The non-profit tourist railway

is a revival of the Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway. It departs from the St. Jacobs Farmers Market and runs trains at 10 am, 12 pm, and 2 pm from April to November. The Waterloo Station continues to operate as a Visitor & Heritage Information Centre.

Air

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, Vancou ...

in nearby Breslau serves Waterloo and the surrounding region, although it is not heavily served by scheduled airlines. Most air travellers use Toronto's

Lester B. Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the su ...

or John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. As of 2022, the Region of Waterloo International Airport has year round flights to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Cancun,

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

, Deer Lake,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Halifax,

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. The airport has seasonal flights to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. As of 2022, the airport's airlines are

Flair Airlines Flair Airlines is a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The airline operates scheduled passenger and chartered services with a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. The company slogan is ''Plane and Simple.'' The a ...

, Pivot Airlines, and

WestJet WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...

Services

Health care

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 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 in Kitchener, but all would benefit from reduced wait times. Long-term care beds are provided at numerous facilities. Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services and Waterloo Fire Rescue respond to medical emergencies within the city of Waterloo. Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services may transport patients to either Grand River Hospital or St. Mary's General Hospital

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

s, depending on proximity, anticipated wait times and the type of emergency. 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 expected to be completed in 2021. 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 Waterloo 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 ...

Libraries

Albert St entrance, Waterloo Public Library (23112152935)

The Waterloo Public Library was founded in 1888. As of 2022, the library has 4 branches (in order of opening): the Main Branch, the Albert McCormick Branch, the John M. Harper Branch and the Eastside Branch. The Waterloo's Mechanics' Institute, formed in 1875, was the origin of the Waterloo Public Library. Operating out of the then town hall, they offered books at a subscription fee. The fees were abolished in 1887-8 and the city took control over the library, calling it Waterloo Free Library. In 1905, a Carnegie library was built to house the books, across from the current location of the Main Branch, which replaced it in 1964. The Eastside Branch, opened May 7, 2022, is the newest branch built. The $10-million library is built into the existing RIM Park Manulife Sportsplex and has around 35,000 books.

Fire protection

Fire protection and rescue services are provided by Waterloo Fire Rescue, a service of the City of Waterloo. As of 2020, there are four active fire stations in Waterloo. Waterloo Fire Rescue responds to fires, medical emergencies, car accidents and chemical incidents. (Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services also responds to medical emergencies.) When the two-tier regional government system was implemented in the early 1970s, police service was moved to the regional government, but fire service remained at the local municipality (city or township) level. From time to time, the media and interested parties raise the question of whether this service should remain at the city level, or whether there might be cost savings or service improvements if the various fire services were merged into regional fire service. A 2019 newspaper article stated that "there would likely be no cost savings, but service would improve under regionalized system," in the view of some former fire chiefs.

Policing

Waterloo Regional Police Service, the seventh-largest police service in the province of Ontario, provides general police service in the city of Waterloo. The Waterloo Regional Police North Division is located at 45 Columbia Street East, Waterloo. Waterloo Regional Police also serve the municipalities of Kitchener and Cambridge and the Townships of Wellesley, Wilmot, Woolwich and North Dumfries. City of Waterloo bylaws controlling matters such as parking, weeds and noise are enforced by city bylaw enforcement officers. The two universities each have special constables who are first responders to all emergencies at their respective university campuses. Special Constables may lay charges and/or make arrests under the same legal authority as police officers. As of 2019, University of Waterloo Police Service had twenty-four Special Constables. Wilfrid Laurier University also has a Special Constable Service. The Ontario Provincial Police patrols provincial highways. Two homicides were reported in the Waterloo Region in 2021, neither of which was in the city of Waterloo.

Education

The

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 ...

is the region's public school board. As of 2022, in Waterloo, they run 21 elementary schools (see

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 ...

) and three secondary schools, which are

Bluevale Collegiate Institute Bluevale Collegiate Institute (BCI; simply known as Bluevale) is a secondary school in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, run by the Waterloo Region District School Board. As of the 2019–2020 school year, Bluevale has an enrollment of 1,240 students. T ...

, Laurel Heights Secondary School, and

Waterloo Collegiate Institute Waterloo Collegiate Institute (WCI) is a secondary school in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school is run by the Waterloo Region District School Board. During the 2019–2020 school year, 1,475 students were enrolled at the school. It has magnet ...

. The

Waterloo Catholic District School Board Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) is a school board serving the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is headquartered in Kitchener, and is currently the eighth-largest Catholic school system in Ontario. As of November 2023, thi ...

is the region's catholic school board. As of 2022, in Waterloo, they run 8 elementary schools and one secondary school, which is

St. David Catholic Secondary School St. David Catholic Secondary School, established in 1965, is a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic high school instructing students from grades 9 to 12. St. David CSS is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Ontario and is a member of the Wate ...

. There are a number of private and other schools not associated with the above boards, but there are no secondary schools in Waterloo unassociated with the boards. Waterloo is home to the following universities and colleges: the

St. Jerome's University St. Jerome's University, commonly shortened to St. Jerome's or SJU, is a public Roman Catholic university in Waterloo, Ontario. It is federated with the University of Waterloo. St. Jerome's, within the University of Waterloo, combines academics ...

St. Paul's University College United College, formerly known as St. Paul’s University College, is a university college affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The College contributes to the University of Waterloo by offering academic progra ...

Conrad Grebel University College Conrad Grebel University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The college is owned by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and named for early Anabaptist leader Conrad Grebel. Its ...

Renison University College Renison University College is an affiliated university college of the University of Waterloo and located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Renison's campus is situated on the western border of Waterloo's main campus. The university college offers a ...

, 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 ...

(based in Kitchener but has a Waterloo campus). The University of Waterloo is a

public research university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national university ...

that saw 37,884 students in 2022. The university has the largest post-secondary co-op program in the world and ranked 151–200 in the world and 7–8 in Canada in the 2021

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

. Wilfrid Laurier University saw about 20,000 students in 2022, including its campuses in

and

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

Media

The ''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...

'' is a daily newspaper that covers the

, while the ''Waterloo Chronicle'' covers the city; both are published by

Metroland Media Group Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland publishes more than 7 ...

. There are a number of FM radio stations that reach Waterloo, (see Media in Waterloo Region#Radio) although

CKMS-FM CKMS-FM (branded as ''Radio Waterloo'') is a Canadian community radio station, broadcasting at 102.7 FM in Waterloo, Ontario. History The station launched in 1977 at 94.5 FM as the campus radio station of the University of Waterloo The Uni ...

is the only to broadcast out of the city.

CKGL CKGL (570 AM broadcasting, AM) is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 570 AM broadcasting, AM in Kitchener, Ontario. The station currently broadcasts a all-news radio, news/talk radio, talk format branded on-air as ''CityNews 570''. The ...

(570 News) is the only AM radio station broadcasting from the Region.

CKCO-DT CKCO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Part of the CTV Television Network, it is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside London-based CTV 2 station CFPL-DT, although the two stations maintain ...

( CTV Kitchener) is the only television station that broadcasts from the Region.

Notable people

* Walter Bowman (Born 1870), First non-British player to play in the English Football League. *

Lorna Geddes Lorna Geddes (born 1943) is a Canadian ballerina who worked with the National Ballet of Canada for 59 years. Early life and training Geddes was born in Waterloo, Ontario and began dancing at the age of three. After training with National Ballet ...

(born 1943), ballerina with National Ballet of Canada

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Ontario German Canadian High-technology business districts in Canada Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Mennonitism in Ontario Populated places established in 1857 1857 establishments in Ontario

History

Indigenous peoples and settlement

Development (19th century)

20th and 21st centuries

Geography

Waterways

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Arts and culture

Inactive or past

Attractions

Recreation

Parks

Mixed-use trails

Sports

Government

Transportation

Roads

Public transportation

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Rail

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Services

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Fire protection

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Notable people

See also

References

Bibliography

External links