Waterloo, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario
, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo
, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener
.
Kitchener and Waterloo are often jointly referred to as "Kitchener-Waterloo" (K-W), or "the twin cities", although they have separate city governments. There have been several attempts to amalgamate the two cities (sometimes with the city of Cambridge
as well), but none have been successful.
The reported population for the city can vary depending on how temporary residents at Waterloo's two universities are counted. At the time of the 2006 census
, Waterloo had a population of 97,475. That number as with all populations counts nationally does not include post-secondary students who are temporary residents. The city's total population at the end of 2006 with over 20,000 non-resident post-secondary students included was 114,700. As of 2009 the City of Waterloo reported the population including temporary residents to be 121,700 on their website.
alliance that made up the League of Six Nations. Almost immediately—and with much controversy—the native groups began to sell some of the land. Between 1796 and 1798, 93000 acres (376.4 km²) were sold through a Crown Grant to Richard Beasley
, with the Six Nations Indians continuing to hold the mortgage on the lands.
The first wave of immigrants to the area was Mennonites from Pennsylvania
. They bought deeds to land parcels from Beasley and began moving into the area in 1804. The following year, a group of 26 Mennonites pooled resources to purchase all of the unsold land from Beasley and discharge the mortgage held by the Six Nations Indians.
The Mennonites divided the land into smaller lots; two lots initially owned by Abraham Erb
became the central core of Waterloo. Erb is often called the founder of Waterloo, as it was his sawmill (1808) and grist mill (1816) that became the focal point of the area.
In 1816, the new township was named after Waterloo, Belgium
, the site of the Battle of Waterloo
, which had ended the Napoleonic Wars
in Europe. After that war, the area 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). Berlin was chosen as the site of the seat for the County of Waterloo
in 1853.
Waterloo was incorporated as a village in 1857 and became the Town of Waterloo in 1876 and the City of Waterloo in 1948.
, who was elected in November 2006 and re-elected in 2010. The current Waterloo City Council is constituted as follows:
The City is responsible for fire protection, libraries, parks and recreation, and secondary streets. Many municipal services are provided through the Regional Municipality of Waterloo
(often referred to as Waterloo Region or the Region of Waterloo), which consists of the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener
, and Cambridge
, and the townships of Woolwich
, Wilmot
, Wellesley, and North Dumfries
. Regional responsibilities include social welfare, community health, and policing through the Waterloo Regional Police Service
.
Past and present city councils have been committed to providing for the explosive population growth that is coming with the local economic boom. Rapidly developing subdivisions are often described by their critics as urban sprawl that threatens environmentally sensitive areas and valuable agricultural land.
Federally and provincially, the entire city of Waterloo is contained within the Kitchener-Waterloo electoral district
.
Residents refer to the Waterloo city centre as "uptown" (often capitalized), while "downtown" is reserved for the Kitchener
city centre.
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.
There are five main parks in the city. RIM Park
occupies 2 square kilometres (500 acres) and is home to a variety of indoor and outdoor sporting facilities, including an eighteen-hole golf course, and the heritage Martin Farm House. Waterloo Park is in Uptown Waterloo, and contains historical buildings, a bandshell, animal displays, and the Lions' Lagoon water park in its 45 hectare
s (111 acres). The park is also known for its light displays during the Christmas holiday season, known as "Wonders of Winter" http://www.wondersofwinter.ca/. Bechtel Park occupies 44 hectares (109 acres) and has many outdoor sporting facilities along with wetlands, meadows and hardwood forest. The park also includes an off-leash dog park, and adjacent city-operated cemetery. Hillside Park covers 25 hectares (62 acres) and includes two lighted ball diamonds. Lexington Park includes a ball diamond and a soccer pitch on the former site of the K-W Municipal Airport. The 3 square kilometre (725 acre) Laurel Creek Conservation Area lies in the northwest of the city.
The Grand River
flows southward along the east side of the city. Its most significant tributary within the city is Laurel Creek, whose source
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 west end of the city, 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 in the form of low-density residential suburbs (in accordance with requests by land developers), will cover increasing amounts of the remaining undeveloped portions of the Waterloo Moraine.
of the hot summer subtype (Dfa under the Koppen climate classification
); this means that there are large seasonal differences, usually very warm to hot (and humid) summers and cold (to very cold) winters. Compared to the rest of Canada, it has moderate weather. Winter temperatures generally last from the middle of December until the middle of March, while summer temperatures generally occur between the middle of May to close to the end of September. Temperatures can exceed 30℃ (86℉) several times a year. Waterloo has approximately 140 frost-free days per year.
, the University of Waterloo
, Manulife Financial
, Research In Motion
, Sandvine
and Wilfrid Laurier University
.
The city is also home to three well known think tanks - the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
, an advanced centre for the study of foundational, theoretical physics and award-winning educational outreach in science; the Institute for Quantum Computing
, based at the University of Waterloo, which carries out innovative research in computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences; and the Centre for International Governance Innovation
, an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges.
The city is part of Canada's Technology Triangle
(CTT), a joint economic development initiative of Waterloo, Kitchener
, Cambridge
and the Region of Waterloo
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 Research In Motion
, makers of the BlackBerry
, 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:
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. Sybase
, Google
, Oracle
, Intel, McAfee
, NCR Corporation
, Electronic Arts
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 of Canada" because of the many insurance companies based in the area. Manulife, Sun Life Financial
, Equitable Life of Canada and Economical Insurance have a significant presence in the city.
Breweries and distilleries had been a significant industry in the Waterloo area until 1993 when a Labatt-owned brewery was shut down. Now the only major brewery is the Brick Brewing Company
. Waterloo was the original home of distiller Seagram
(also 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.
and Highway 8
connect Waterloo with Kitchener
, Cambridge
, Highway 7/8
, and Highway 401
.
Waterloo shares several of its north-south arterial road
s with neighbouring Kitchener. They include (from east to west) Bridge Street, Weber Street, King Street, Westmount Road, and Fischer-Hallman Road. Regina Street (located between Weber and King Streets) and Albert Street (located between King Street and Westmount Road) are north-south roads located entirely within Waterloo.
The city's east-west thoroughfares are almost entirely located within city limits, with the exception of Union Street, which has a small section in Kitchener, and Bridgeport Road which has its eastern end in the Bridgeport area of Kitchener. Waterloo's major east-west arterial roads are (from south to north) Union Street, Erb Street, Bridgeport Road, University Avenue, Columbia Street, and Northfield Drive.
is provided by Grand River Transit
, created by a merger of Kitchener Transit (which served Waterloo) and Cambridge Transit in January 2000. GRT operates a number of bus routes in Waterloo, with many running into Kitchener
. In September 2005 an express bus
route called iXpress was added that runs from downtown Cambridge
through Kitchener to Conestoga Mall
in North Waterloo. Regional council has supported the construction of a light rail system to connect Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge. In June 2011, regional council approved the plan for a light rail line from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Mall in Kitchener, with rapid buses through Cambridge.
trains between Sarnia
and Toronto
stop at the nearby Kitchener railway station
southeast of uptown Waterloo at the corner of Victoria Street and Weber Street. The station is accessible by local buses via Kitchener's downtown Charles Street transit terminal.
The nearest GO Transit
railway station is Milton GO Station. City councillors and public petitions have called for the extension of GO trains to the Region of Waterloo, and an environmental assessment for GO trains to downtown Kitchener by extending the Milton line has been completed. Meanwhile, Waterloo is served by GO buses which stop at the University of Waterloo
and Wilfrid Laurier University
, with destinations of Square One City Centre Terminal and Milton GO Station.
In May 2007, city council gave approval for a non-profit tourist train to run between Waterloo station and St. Jacobs
, reviving the route of the Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway
from the late 1990s. The Waterloo Central Railway
are run on trains at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm from April to November.
in nearby Breslau, but while it is a thriving general-aviation
field, it is not heavily served by scheduled airlines. Most air travellers use Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport or John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. WestJet
has scheduled daily non-stop service to Calgary from Waterloo International Airport using Boeing 737-700 aircraft. They started service out of Waterloo International Airport on May 14, 2007, for the summer season and then decided to fly year-round due to strong passenger demand. As of June 27, 2010, Westjet also flies non-stop daily from Waterloo International Airport to Vancouver for the summer season. Bearskin Airlines
started offering service in the fall of 2007 with three flights daily between Kitchener and Ottawa using a Fairchild Turboprop aircraft. Strong demand has resulted in Bearskin Airlines
adding a fourth flight on Fridays. During the winter months Sunwing Airlines offers service to Dominican Republic
. Recent upgrades to the runways, approach lighting and terminal building have permitted larger aircraft to use this airport. Past airlines that no longer service the airport include Trillium (to Ottawa), Mesaba (Northwest Airlines feeder to Detroit) and Sky Service (sun destinations).
Many locals are of ethnic German
descent. There is also a strong Mennonite
presence. The universities and colleges attract a large number of individuals from elsewhere in Canada and the world. The ethnic makeup of Waterloo is 82.3% White, 12.3% Asian, 1.2% Black and 0.9% Hispanic.
Other nearby attractions include:
named Waterloo the Top Intelligent Community of 2007.
in Berlin/Kitchener. In 1914, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
added a high school department, named the College School, primarily to provide secondary education for prospective seminary students. The College School was discontinued in 1929. Between 1940 and 1950, due to overcrowding in Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School
, some grade nine classes were housed in Elizabeth Ziegler Public School
. In a recent online poll Lackner Woods Public School was voted the best school in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.
Starting in the 1960s, several high schools opened in Waterloo. In 1958 it was announced that Waterloo would have its own secondary school. A $1,247,268 school was built on a 20 acre (81,000 m2) site on Hazel Street. Waterloo Collegiate Institute
opened on September 6, 1960. In 1968, Laurel Vocational School (later University Heights Secondary School) opened, and in 1972 Waterloo's third public high school, Bluevale Collegiate Institute
, opened. In 1965, St. David Senior School, which served grades 7-10, opened in the north of the city. St. David was turned into a high school in 1985 and was renamed St. David Catholic Secondary School
. University Heights Secondary School closed in 2004 and Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School
opened that same year.
As of 2007, there are four high schools based in Waterloo. Three are operated by the Waterloo Region District School Board
: Bluevale Collegiate Institute (east), Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School (west), and Waterloo Collegiate Institute (central). One is operated by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board
: St. David Catholic Secondary School.
and Wilfrid Laurier University
are located in Waterloo. This includes the many associated universities and colleges, including St. Jerome's University
, St. Paul's University College, Conrad Grebel University College
, Renison University College and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Kitchener-based Conestoga College
also has a Waterloo campus, located at the former University Heights Secondary School on University Avenue near Weber Street. Conestoga purchased the building in January 2006 for nearly $6 million from the Waterloo Region District School Board. It is double the size of its previous Waterloo campus on King Street, which was sold after the University Heights building was acquired.
, which includes the K-W and Freeport health centres (formerly independent hospitals that amalgamated in April 1995), and St. Mary's General Hospital
.
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
.
Kitchener and Waterloo are often jointly referred to as "Kitchener-Waterloo" (K-W), or "the twin cities", although they have separate city governments. There have been several attempts to amalgamate the two cities (sometimes with the city of Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
as well), but none have been successful.
The reported population for the city can vary depending on how temporary residents at Waterloo's two universities are counted. At the time of the 2006 census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
, Waterloo had a population of 97,475. That number as with all populations counts nationally does not include post-secondary students who are temporary residents. The city's total population at the end of 2006 with over 20,000 non-resident post-secondary students included was 114,700. As of 2009 the City of Waterloo reported the population including temporary residents to be 121,700 on their website.
History
Waterloo was built on land that was part of a parcel of 675000 acres (2,731.6 km²) assigned in 1784 to the IroquoisIroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
alliance that made up the League of Six Nations. Almost immediately—and with much controversy—the native groups began to sell some of the land. Between 1796 and 1798, 93000 acres (376.4 km²) were sold through a Crown Grant to Richard Beasley
Richard Beasley
Richard Beasley was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman in Upper Canada.He was born in New York in 1761 and moved to Quebec in 1777. In 1783, he formed a partnership with Peter Smith in the fur trade. In 1788, he settled in Barton Township on Lake Ontario near the current city of...
, with the Six Nations Indians continuing to hold the mortgage on the lands.
The first wave of immigrants to the area was Mennonites from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. They bought deeds to land parcels from Beasley and began moving into the area in 1804. The following year, a group of 26 Mennonites pooled resources to purchase all of the unsold land from Beasley and discharge the mortgage held by the Six Nations Indians.
The Mennonites divided the land into smaller lots; two lots initially owned by Abraham Erb
Abraham Erb
Abraham Erb was the first Mennonite settler, and generally considered the founder of Waterloo, Ontario....
became the central core of Waterloo. Erb is often called the founder of Waterloo, as it was his sawmill (1808) and grist mill (1816) that became the focal point of the area.
In 1816, the new township was named after Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo is a Walloon municipality located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. On December 31, 2009, Waterloo had a total population of 29,573. The total area is 21.03 km² which gives a population density of 1,407 inhabitants per km²...
, the site of the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, which had ended the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
in Europe. After that war, the area became a popular destination for German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
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
Berlin to Kitchener name change
Through the latter half of the 19th century and into the first decade of the 20th, the City of Berlin, Ontario, Canada, was a bustling industrial centre celebrating its German heritage...
to Kitchener in 1916). Berlin was chosen as the site of the seat for the County of Waterloo
Waterloo County, Ontario
Waterloo County, created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973, was the forerunner of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It consisted of five townships: Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot, Waterloo, and North Dumfries...
in 1853.
Waterloo was incorporated as a village in 1857 and became the Town of Waterloo in 1876 and the City of Waterloo in 1948.
Government
Waterloo city council consists of seven councillors, each representing a ward, and a mayor. The number of wards expanded from five to seven in the November 2006 elections. The current mayor of Waterloo is Brenda HalloranBrenda Halloran
Brenda Halloran is a Canadian politician, currently serving as mayor of Waterloo, Ontario. She was first elected in the 2006 municipal election, defeating incumbent mayor Herb Epp and former mayor Brian Turnbull...
, who was elected in November 2006 and re-elected in 2010. The current Waterloo City Council is constituted as follows:
- Ward 1 (Southwest): Scott Witmer
- Ward 2 (Northwest): Karen Scian
- Ward 3 (Lakeshore): Angela Vieth
- Ward 4 (Northeast): Diane Freeman
- Ward 5 (Southeast): Mark Whaley
- Ward 6 (Central-Columbia): Jeff Henry
- Ward 7 (Uptown): Melissa Durrell
The City is responsible for fire protection, libraries, parks and recreation, and secondary streets. Many municipal services are provided through the Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
(often referred to as Waterloo Region or the Region of Waterloo), which consists of the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, and Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
, and the townships of Woolwich
Woolwich, Ontario
The Township of Woolwich is a rural township in Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Region of Waterloo, immediately to the north and east of the City of Waterloo. Its 2006 census population was 19,658.-Communities:*Bloomingdale*Breslau*Conestogo*Elmira...
, Wilmot
Wilmot, Ontario
The Township of Wilmot is a rural township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Its 2006 Census population was 17,097.-Communities:*Baden* Mannheim*New Dundee*New Hamburg* Petersburg* Phillipsburg*St...
, Wellesley, and North Dumfries
North Dumfries, Ontario
The Township of North Dumfries is a rural township in Ontario, Canada, part of the Region of Waterloo. Its 2006 Census population was 9,063.The township includes the communities of Ayr, Branchton, Clyde, Reidsville and Roseville.-History:...
. Regional responsibilities include social welfare, community health, and policing through the Waterloo Regional Police Service
Waterloo Regional Police
The Waterloo Regional Police Service provides policing services for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada which encompasses the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge,as well as the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.WRPS was established in 1973 to...
.
Past and present city councils have been committed to providing for the explosive population growth that is coming with the local economic boom. Rapidly developing subdivisions are often described by their critics as urban sprawl that threatens environmentally sensitive areas and valuable agricultural land.
Federally and provincially, the entire city of Waterloo is contained within the Kitchener-Waterloo electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
.
Geography
Waterloo's city centre is located near the intersection of King and Erb streets. Since 1961, the centrepiece has been the Waterloo Town Square shopping centre, which underwent a thorough renovation in 2006. Much of the mall was torn down and has been replaced by buildings that emphasize street-facing storefronts.Residents refer to the Waterloo city centre as "uptown" (often capitalized), while "downtown" is reserved for the Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
city centre.
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.
There are five main parks in the city. RIM Park
RIM Park
RIM Park is a 500-acre city park facility on the northeast side of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, close to the neighbourhood of Eastbridge. Key facilities and features include the Manulife Financial Sportsplex and Healthy Living Centre, the heritage Mennonite Martin farm, and the Grey Silo...
occupies 2 square kilometres (500 acres) and is home to a variety of indoor and outdoor sporting facilities, including an eighteen-hole golf course, and the heritage Martin Farm House. Waterloo Park is in Uptown Waterloo, and contains historical buildings, a bandshell, animal displays, and the Lions' Lagoon water park in its 45 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (111 acres). The park is also known for its light displays during the Christmas holiday season, known as "Wonders of Winter" http://www.wondersofwinter.ca/. Bechtel Park occupies 44 hectares (109 acres) and has many outdoor sporting facilities along with wetlands, meadows and hardwood forest. The park also includes an off-leash dog park, and adjacent city-operated cemetery. Hillside Park covers 25 hectares (62 acres) and includes two lighted ball diamonds. Lexington Park includes a ball diamond and a soccer pitch on the former site of the K-W Municipal Airport. The 3 square kilometre (725 acre) Laurel Creek Conservation Area lies in the northwest of the city.
The Grand River
Grand River (Ontario)
The Grand River is a large river in southwestern Ontario, Canada. From its source, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville at Port Maitland...
flows southward along the east side of the city. Its most significant tributary within the city is Laurel Creek, whose source
Sunfish Lake (Ontario)
Sunfish Lake is a small, 25 hectare meromictic lake located north-west of Waterloo, Ontario in the village of St. Agatha in northern Wilmot Township, and is the source of Laurel Creek. It is one of a few meromictic lakes in Ontario, that is, its deep bottom waters are totally devoid of oxygen...
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 west end of the city, the Waterloo Moraine
Waterloo Moraine
The Waterloo Moraine is a landform and sediment body in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada. It covers a large portion of the cities of Waterloo and Kitchener and the township of Wilmot, and some parts of the townships of Wellesley and North Dumfries...
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 in the form of 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 climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
of the hot summer subtype (Dfa under the Koppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
); this means that there are large seasonal differences, usually very warm to hot (and humid) summers and cold (to very cold) winters. Compared to the rest of Canada, it has moderate weather. Winter temperatures generally last from the middle of December until the middle of March, while summer temperatures generally occur between the middle of May to close to the end of September. Temperatures can exceed 30℃ (86℉) several times a year. Waterloo has approximately 140 frost-free days per year.
Economy
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 FinancialSun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial Inc. is an international financial services company known primarily as a life insurance company. Based in Toronto, Canada, Sun Life and its partners provide insurance, retirement and investment solutions for individuals and businesses around the world including Canada, the United...
, the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial Corporation , is a Canadian insurance company and financial services provider. Manulife Financial's global head office is located in Toronto, Canada and the Company has operations in 21 countries and territories worldwide.The Company operates in Canada and Asia through the brand...
, Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
, Sandvine
Sandvine
Sandvine Incorporated , in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.Sandvine network policy control products are designed to implement broad network policies, ranging from service creation, billing, congestion management, and security...
and Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
.
The city is also home to three well known think tanks - the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, resident-based research institute devoted to foundational issues in theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Perimeter Institute was founded in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis...
, an advanced centre for the study of foundational, theoretical physics and award-winning educational outreach in science; the Institute for Quantum Computing
Institute for Quantum Computing
The Institute for Quantum Computing, or IQC, located in Waterloo, Canada, is an affiliate research institute of the University of Waterloo with a multidisciplinary approach to the field of quantum information processing.-IQC's Mission:...
, based at the University of Waterloo, which carries out innovative research in computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences; and the Centre for International Governance Innovation
Centre for International Governance Innovation
The Centre for International Governance Innovation is an independent, non-partisan think tank on global governance. Led by experienced practitioners and academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements...
, an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges.
The city is part of Canada's Technology Triangle
Canada's Technology Triangle
Canada’s Technology Triangle represents Waterloo Region, which includes the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo and the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich. The origins of the name Canada’s Technology Triangle date back to 1987...
(CTT), a joint economic development initiative of Waterloo, Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
and the Region of Waterloo
Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
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 Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
, makers of the BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
, 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:
- DalsaDalsaTeledyne DALSA is a Canadian company specializing in the design and manufacture of specialized electronic cameras.The company was founded in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1980 by imaging pioneer Dr. Savvas Chamberlain, a former Professor in Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo...
- Descartes Systems Group
- MaplesoftWaterloo MapleWaterloo Maple Inc. is a Canadian software company, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. It operates under the trading name Maplesoft and is best known as the manufacturer of the Maple computer algebra system and MapleSim physical modeling and simulation software.-Corporate history:Waterloo Maple Inc...
- MKS Inc.
- Open Text CorporationOpen Text CorporationOpenText Corporation Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. As Canada's largest software company, it produces and distributes computer software applications designed to enable Enterprise content management solutions for large corporations across all industries....
- Research In Motion (RIM)Research In MotionResearch In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
- SandvineSandvineSandvine Incorporated , in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.Sandvine network policy control products are designed to implement broad network policies, ranging from service creation, billing, congestion management, and security...
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. Sybase
Sybase
Sybase, an SAP company, is an enterprise software and services company offering software to manage, analyze, and mobilize information, using relational databases, analytics and data warehousing solutions and mobile applications development platforms....
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, Intel, McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
, NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation is an American technology company specializing in kiosk products for the retail, financial, travel, healthcare, food service, entertainment, gaming and public sector industries. Its main products are self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, check...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
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 of Canada" because of the many insurance companies based in the area. Manulife, Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial Inc. is an international financial services company known primarily as a life insurance company. Based in Toronto, Canada, Sun Life and its partners provide insurance, retirement and investment solutions for individuals and businesses around the world including Canada, the United...
, Equitable Life of Canada and Economical Insurance have a significant presence in the city.
Breweries and distilleries had been a significant industry in the Waterloo area until 1993 when a Labatt-owned brewery was shut down. Now the only major brewery is the Brick Brewing Company
Brick Brewing Company
Brick Brewing Company Limited is located in Waterloo, Ontario. It is Ontario's first craft brewery. Brick's most successful brand is the Laker series...
. Waterloo was the original home of distiller Seagram
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
(also home town of many descendants of J.P. Seagram), which closed its Waterloo plant in 1992. Of the remaining Seagram buildings, one
Seagram Museum
The Seagram Museum in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada was the city's final operational remnant of the world-renowned distillery founded by Waterloo entrepreneur Joseph E. Seagram in the mid-19th century.The museum operated from May 1984 to March 1997...
became home of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Centre for International Governance Innovation
The Centre for International Governance Innovation is an independent, non-partisan think tank on global governance. Led by experienced practitioners and academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements...
, while others were converted into condominiums.
Roads
The Conestoga ParkwayConestoga Parkway
The Conestoga Parkway is a freeway in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in the Canadian province of Ontario. It runs northeast/southwest through the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, and is connected to Highway 401 via the Highway 8 Freeport Diversion and King Street East.- Route...
and Highway 8
Highway 8 (Ontario)
Provincial Highway 8 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km, though it was once much longer, running farther east from Hamilton to Niagara Falls, before the Queen Elizabeth Way replaced its role.- History :Highway 8 is one of the...
connect Waterloo with Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
, Highway 7/8
Highway 7 (Ontario)
King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario...
, and Highway 401
Highway 401 (Ontario)
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
.
Waterloo shares several of its north-south arterial road
Arterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
s with neighbouring Kitchener. They include (from east to west) Bridge Street, Weber Street, King Street, Westmount Road, and Fischer-Hallman Road. Regina Street (located between Weber and King Streets) and Albert Street (located between King Street and Westmount Road) are north-south roads located entirely within Waterloo.
The city's east-west thoroughfares are almost entirely located within city limits, with the exception of Union Street, which has a small section in Kitchener, and Bridgeport Road which has its eastern end in the Bridgeport area of Kitchener. Waterloo's major east-west arterial roads are (from south to north) Union Street, Erb Street, Bridgeport Road, University Avenue, Columbia Street, and Northfield Drive.
Public transport
Public transport throughout Waterloo RegionRegional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
is provided by Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit, or GRT, is the public transport operator for the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge....
, created by a merger of Kitchener Transit (which served Waterloo) and Cambridge Transit in January 2000. GRT operates a number of bus routes in Waterloo, with many running into Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
. In September 2005 an express bus
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
route called iXpress was added that runs from downtown Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
through Kitchener to Conestoga Mall
Conestoga Mall
Conestoga Mall is a major shopping mall situated at 550 King Street North in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Located at King Street's interchange with Highway 85 , it is the largest shopping centre in Waterloo, and third-largest in Waterloo Region...
in North Waterloo. Regional council has supported the construction of a light rail system to connect Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge. In June 2011, regional council approved the plan for a light rail line from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Mall in Kitchener, with rapid buses through Cambridge.
Railways
Waterloo is not served by any regularly scheduled passenger rail service. Via RailVIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
trains between Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
stop at the nearby Kitchener railway station
Kitchener, Ontario railway station
Kitchener station is a railway station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It is located slightly to the northeast of downtown Kitchener, at 126 Weber Street West, near the corner of Victoria Street. It is essentially a waiting room and ticket stand built beside a set of tracks also used as a freight...
southeast of uptown Waterloo at the corner of Victoria Street and Weber Street. The station is accessible by local buses via Kitchener's downtown Charles Street transit terminal.
The nearest GO Transit
GO Transit
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...
railway station is Milton GO Station. City councillors and public petitions have called for the extension of GO trains to the Region of Waterloo, and an environmental assessment for GO trains to downtown Kitchener by extending the Milton line has been completed. Meanwhile, Waterloo is served by GO buses which stop at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
and Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
, with destinations of Square One City Centre Terminal and Milton GO Station.
In May 2007, city council gave approval for a non-profit tourist train to run between Waterloo station and St. Jacobs
St. Jacobs, Ontario
The community of St. Jacobs is located in southwest Ontario, just north of Waterloo in Woolwich Township, Waterloo Region. It is a popular location for tourism, due to its Mennonite heritage and retail focus. The Conestogo River, which powered the village's original gristmill, runs through the...
, reviving the route of the Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway
Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway
The Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway was a heritage railway west of Toronto that ran between Waterloo and St. Jacobs, Ontario from 1997 to 1999....
from the late 1990s. The Waterloo Central Railway
Waterloo Central Railway
The Waterloo Central Railway is a non-profit organization that is owned and operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society . In May 2007, SOLRS received approval from the City of Waterloo to run trains from Waterloo to St Jacobs...
are run on trains at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm from April to November.
Air
The closest airport to Waterloo is the Region of Waterloo International AirportRegion of Waterloo International Airport
Region of Waterloo International Airport or Kitchener/Waterloo Airport is situated near Breslau, in Woolwich Township, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada....
in nearby Breslau, but while it is a thriving general-aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
field, it is not heavily served by scheduled airlines. Most air travellers use Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport or John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. WestJet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
has scheduled daily non-stop service to Calgary from Waterloo International Airport using Boeing 737-700 aircraft. They started service out of Waterloo International Airport on May 14, 2007, for the summer season and then decided to fly year-round due to strong passenger demand. As of June 27, 2010, Westjet also flies non-stop daily from Waterloo International Airport to Vancouver for the summer season. Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Lake Air Services Ltd., trading as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. It operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba...
started offering service in the fall of 2007 with three flights daily between Kitchener and Ottawa using a Fairchild Turboprop aircraft. Strong demand has resulted in Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Lake Air Services Ltd., trading as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. It operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba...
adding a fourth flight on Fridays. During the winter months Sunwing Airlines offers service to Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. Recent upgrades to the runways, approach lighting and terminal building have permitted larger aircraft to use this airport. Past airlines that no longer service the airport include Trillium (to Ottawa), Mesaba (Northwest Airlines feeder to Detroit) and Sky Service (sun destinations).
Demographics
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 200 |
| 1871 | 1,594 |
| 1881 | 2,066 |
| 1891 | 2,941 |
| 1901 | 3,537 |
| 1911 | 4,359 |
| 1921 | 5,883 |
| 1931 | 8,095 |
| 1941 | 8,968 |
| 1951 | 11,991 |
| 1961 | 21,366 |
| 1971 | 36,677 |
| 1981 | 49,428 |
| 1991 | 71,181 |
| 2001 | 86,543 |
| 2006 | 97,475 |
Many locals are of ethnic German
Ethnic German
Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...
descent. There is also a strong Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
presence. The universities and colleges attract a large number of individuals from elsewhere in Canada and the world. The ethnic makeup of Waterloo is 82.3% White, 12.3% Asian, 1.2% Black and 0.9% Hispanic.
Ethnic groups
From the 2006 census data, excluding post-secondary students temporarily residing in Waterloo:- White: 79,620 or 82.3%
- ChineseOverseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
: 5,170 or 5.3% - South AsianEthnic groups of South AsiaThe ethno-linguistic composition of the population of South Asia, that is the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka is highly diverse. The majority of the population fall within two large Linguistic groups, Indo-Aryan and Dravidian.These groups are further...
: 4,495 or 4.6% - Black: 1,145 or 1.2%
- Southeast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n: 975 or 1.0% - Hispanics: 860 or 0.9%
- Other: 3,415 or 3.5%
Religion
From the 2001 census data, excluding post-secondary students temporarily residing in Waterloo:- ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
: 37,090 or 43.1% - CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
: 23,975 or 27.8% - No Affiliation: 15,100 or 17.5%
- Other ChristianChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
: 3,875 or 4.5% - MuslimIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
: 2,425 or 2.8% - HinduHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
: 1,385 or 1.6% - SikhSikhismSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
: 785 or 0.9% - BuddhistBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
: 595 or 0.7% - JewishJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
: 410 or 0.5% - Other: 435 or 0.5%
Tourism
Waterloo is home to several notable tourist attractions and areas of interest. These include:- Canadian Clay and Glass GalleryCanadian Clay and Glass GalleryThe Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery is a public art gallery located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The CCGG is a national gallery exhibiting Canadian silica artwork, including ceramic, glass and enamel work...
- Centre for International Governance InnovationCentre for International Governance InnovationThe Centre for International Governance Innovation is an independent, non-partisan think tank on global governance. Led by experienced practitioners and academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements...
- Conestoga MallConestoga MallConestoga Mall is a major shopping mall situated at 550 King Street North in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Located at King Street's interchange with Highway 85 , it is the largest shopping centre in Waterloo, and third-largest in Waterloo Region...
- Elliott Avedon Museum and Archive of Games
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsPerimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, resident-based research institute devoted to foundational issues in theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Perimeter Institute was founded in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis...
- RIM ParkRIM ParkRIM Park is a 500-acre city park facility on the northeast side of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, close to the neighbourhood of Eastbridge. Key facilities and features include the Manulife Financial Sportsplex and Healthy Living Centre, the heritage Mennonite Martin farm, and the Grey Silo...
- Waterloo Memorial Recreation ComplexWaterloo Memorial Recreation ComplexThe Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex is a recreation facility in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Father David Bauer Drive, west of Uptown...
- Waterloo-St. Jacobs RailwayWaterloo-St. Jacobs RailwayThe Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway was a heritage railway west of Toronto that ran between Waterloo and St. Jacobs, Ontario from 1997 to 1999....
Other nearby attractions include:
- African Lion SafariAfrican Lion SafariAfrican Lion Safari is a family-owned safari park situated in Flamborough, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, about west of Toronto. The mailing address is in Cambridge, Ontario. It includes more than 1,000 animals, representing over 100 species of mammals and birds from across the globe...
(in FlamboroughFlamborough, OntarioFlamborough is a former town near, and a current community in, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada....
) - Centre in the SquareCentre In The SquareCentre In The Square is a live theatre and performing arts centre located on Queen Street in downtown Kitchener, Ontario.The Centre is home to the Raffi Armenian Theatre. This 2,047 seat hall is the largest in Waterloo Region as well as the main venue for Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony performances....
(in KitchenerKitchener, OntarioThe City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
) - Doon Heritage CrossroadsDoon Heritage CrossroadsDoon Heritage Village is a living history museum located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada which recreates life in rural Waterloo County during the year 1914. It has more than 25 buildings on more than 24 hectares , next to Homer Watson Park. The museum is owned and operated by the Region of...
(in South Kitchener) - St. JacobsSt. Jacobs, OntarioThe community of St. Jacobs is located in southwest Ontario, just north of Waterloo in Woolwich Township, Waterloo Region. It is a popular location for tourism, due to its Mennonite heritage and retail focus. The Conestogo River, which powered the village's original gristmill, runs through the...
- Joseph Schneider Haus (in Kitchener)
- Stratford Festival of CanadaStratford Festival of CanadaThe Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an internationally recognized annual celebration of theatre running from April to November in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario...
(in StratfordStratford, OntarioStratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
) - Waterloo Regional Children's MuseumWaterloo Regional Children's MuseumTHEMUSEUM in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada opened to the public in September 2003 following eight years of planning and fundraising...
(in downtown Kitchener) - Woodside National Historic Site (in Kitchener)
Sports
- There are two lawn bowling clubs serving Waterloo: Heritage Greens LBC and Kitchener LBC, which both function as part of District 7 of the Ontario Lawn Bowling Association. Both clubs offer programs for all ages.
Events & festivals
- Ice Dogs Festival - February
- GO! Music Festival - March
- Waterloo County & Area Quilt Festival - May
- Uptown Country Festival - June
- Canada Day Fireworks, Columbia Lake Fields - July 1
- Waterloo Jazz Festival - July
- Afro Festival- July
- Waterloo Busker Carnival - August
- Serbian Days - St.George and Holy Trinity Orthodox Church of KW
- CAFKA: International Biennale of Contemporary Art - September
- Royal Medieval Faire - September
- Expressions of Social Justice FestivalExpressions of Social Justice FestivalThe Expressions of Social Justice Festival began in March 2007 with film screenings occurring in Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, and was originally named "Expressions of Social Justice Film Festival"...
- September - Oktoberfest Parade - October
- Kitchener-Waterloo OktoberfestKitchener-Waterloo OktoberfestKitchener-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...
: the largest OktoberfestOktoberfestOktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...
celebration outside of Germany - October - Santa Claus Parade - November
- World Religions ConferenceWorld Religions ConferenceThe World Religions Conference is a multi-faith conference typically held annually throughout many countries of the world.The conference was originally envisioned by the Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1889...
: the largest multi-faith event of its kind in Canada featuring the world's major religions - October–November - Waterloo Festival for Animated CinemaWaterloo Festival for Animated CinemaThe Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema is an annual international film festival for animated feature films, held in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
- November - Wonders of Winter (festival of lights) - December
- Cinematheque Waterloo - Year round
- International Olympiad in InformaticsInternational Olympiad in InformaticsThe International Olympiad in Informatics is an annual computer science competition for secondary school students. The first IOI was held in 1989 in Pravetz, Bulgaria....
(IOI)
Education
The Intelligent Community ForumIntelligent Community Forum
The Intelligent Community Forum , a nonprofit policy research organization, focuses on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy...
named Waterloo the Top Intelligent Community of 2007.
Secondary
Until the 1960s, with a few minor exceptions, Waterloo students would attend high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Berlin/Kitchener. In 1914, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada affiliated with the nondenominational Wilfrid Laurier University, located in Waterloo, Ontario.-History:...
added a high school department, named the College School, primarily to provide secondary education for prospective seminary students. The College School was discontinued in 1929. Between 1940 and 1950, due to overcrowding in Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School
Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School
Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, sometimes shortened to Kitchener Collegiate Institute and often abbreviated as KCI, is a public secondary school in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It is a member of the Waterloo Region District School Board. The school dates from 1855, making it...
, some grade nine classes were housed in Elizabeth Ziegler Public School
Elizabeth Ziegler Public School
Elizabeth Ziegler Public School is an elementary school located in Waterloo, Ontario, at 90 Moore Avenue South, roughly one kilometre east of Waterloo's city centre. , the school serves junior kindergarten through grade 6. Its principal is currently Ms. Kelly Wilkinson. The school also currently...
. In a recent online poll Lackner Woods Public School was voted the best school in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.
Starting in the 1960s, several high schools opened in Waterloo. In 1958 it was announced that Waterloo would have its own secondary school. A $1,247,268 school was built on a 20 acre (81,000 m2) site on Hazel Street. Waterloo Collegiate Institute
Waterloo Collegiate Institute
Waterloo Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.-General:Waterloo Collegiate Institute is a secondary school in Waterloo, Ontario. It normally has between 1200 and 1400 students, with an average class size of around 30. It has magnet programs including E.S.L.,...
opened on September 6, 1960. In 1968, Laurel Vocational School (later University Heights Secondary School) opened, and in 1972 Waterloo's third public high school, Bluevale Collegiate Institute
Bluevale Collegiate Institute
Bluevale Collegiate Institute is a high school in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Run by the Waterloo Region District School Board, Bluevale is one of the largest high schools in Waterloo Region with approximately 1,450 students and teaches academic, applied and open level courses for grades 9-12.The...
, opened. In 1965, St. David Senior School, which served grades 7-10, opened in the north of the city. St. David was turned into a high school in 1985 and was renamed St. David Catholic Secondary School
St. David Catholic Secondary School
St. David Catholic Secondary School, established in 1965, is a Roman Catholic high school instructing students from grades 9 to 12. St. David CSS is located in Waterloo, Ontario and is a member of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. Its building is the oldest secondary school building in...
. University Heights Secondary School closed in 2004 and Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School
Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School (Waterloo)
-History:Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School is a high school operated by the Waterloo Region District School Board in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
opened that same year.
As of 2007, there are four high schools based in Waterloo. Three are operated by the Waterloo Region District School Board
Waterloo Region District School Board
Waterloo Region District School Board is the public school board for the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It operates 103 elementary schools, 16 secondary schools, and other facilities, serving 60,000 students in the Region of Waterloo. It has approximately 5500 staff and a budget of $675...
: Bluevale Collegiate Institute (east), Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School (west), and Waterloo Collegiate Institute (central). One is operated by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board
Waterloo Catholic District School Board
Waterloo Catholic District School Board is a school board serving the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Kitchener. It is the eighth largest Catholic school system in Ontario...
: St. David Catholic Secondary School.
Post-secondary
The main campuses of the University of WaterlooUniversity of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
and Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
are located in Waterloo. This includes the many associated universities and colleges, including St. Jerome's University
St. Jerome's University
Saint Jerome's University 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 and a residence. Students may both reside at and take classes through St...
, St. Paul's University College, Conrad Grebel University College
Conrad Grebel University College
Conrad Grebel University College is 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...
, Renison University College and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Kitchener-based Conestoga College
Conestoga College
The Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college based in Kitchener, Ontario in Canada.-History:The College was founded in 1967 as the Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology, one of many such institutions established in that time by the Ontario...
also has a Waterloo campus, located at the former University Heights Secondary School on University Avenue near Weber Street. Conestoga purchased the building in January 2006 for nearly $6 million from the Waterloo Region District School Board. It is double the size of its previous Waterloo campus on King Street, which was sold after the University Heights building was acquired.
Health care
The hospitals serving Waterloo are all located in Kitchener. There is Grand River HospitalGrand River Hospital
Grand River Hospital is a 495-bed hospital serving Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada and surrounding communities, primarily through the K-W Health Centre and the Freeport Health Centre, both located in Kitchener...
, which includes the K-W and Freeport health centres (formerly independent hospitals that amalgamated in April 1995), and St. Mary's General Hospital
St. Mary's General Hospital
St. Mary's General Hospital is a 191-bed adult acute-care facility in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada serving Waterloo Region and surrounding area. It is the site of the Regional Cardiac Care Centre, which opened in 2003. The emergency department was extensively renovated in 2004.-History:St. Mary's...
.