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Regional Municipality of Waterloo
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{{redirect|Kitchener–Waterloo|the electoral district|Kitchener—Waterloo (electoral district)}} {{use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Waterloo Region | official_name = Regional Municipality of Waterloo | settlement_type = [[List of municipalities in Ontario#Upper-tier municipalities|Upper-tier]] [[Census divisions of Ontario#Regional municipalities|regional municipality]] | nickname = | motto = "Peace, Prosperity!" | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | total_width = 250 | image_style = border:1; | perrow = 1/2/2/ | image1 = KitchenerCityHall.JPG | image2 = University of Waterloo Nano Building.jpg | image3 = WaterlooRegionHQ-Frederick.JPG | image4 = St Jacobs Aerial.jpg | image5 = Europe-like Grand River scene, Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge-on-canada-peter-j-restivo-5292017 037.jpg }} | imagesize = | image_caption = Clockwise: [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] City Hall, Waterloo Regional Headquarters, [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] scene in [[Cambridge, Ontario|Cambridge]], aerial view of [[St. Jacobs, Ontario|St. Jacobs]], [[University of Waterloo]] Nano Centre | image_flag = | image_blank_emblem = Region of Waterloo.svg | blank_emblem_size = 120x80px | image_shield = | image_map = {{Location map+ |CAN ON Waterloo|float=center|places= {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[Kitchener, Ontario|'''Kitchener''']]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets City.svg|label_size = 120|marksize = 10|position = left|lat_deg = 43.418611|lon_deg = -80.472778}} {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[Cambridge, Ontario|'''Cambridge''']]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets City.svg|label_size = 120|marksize = 10|position = top|lat_deg = 43.397222|lon_deg = -80.311389}} {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[Waterloo, Ontario|'''Waterloo''']]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets City.svg|label_size = 120|marksize = 10|position = top|lat_deg = 43.466667|lon_deg = -80.516667}} {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[Woolwich, Ontario|Woolwich]]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6|position = top|lat_deg = 43.566667|lon_deg = -80.483333}} {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[Wilmot, Ontario|Wilmot]]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6|position = bottom|lat_deg = 43.4|lon_deg = -80.65}} {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[Wellesley, Ontario|Wellesley]]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6|position = top|lat_deg = 43.55|lon_deg = -80.716667}} {{Location map~ |CAN ON Waterloo|label = [[North Dumfries]]|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6|position = right|lat_deg = 43.32|lon_deg = -80.38}} }} | image_map1 = Map of Ontario WATERLOO.svg | mapsize1 = 250px | map_caption1 = Location of Waterloo Region in Ontario | coordinates = {{coord|43|29|35|N|80|30|04|W|region:CA-ON_type:city|name=Kitchener - Cambridge – Waterloo (Regional Municipality of Waterloo)|notes=<ref name=cgndbrmw>{{Cite cgndb|FDBKD|Regional Municipality of Waterloo}}</ref>|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Ontario]] | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | seat = [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] | government_type = | leader_title = Regional Chair | leader_name = [[Karen Redman]] | leader_title1 = Governing Body | leader_name1 = [[#Government|Waterloo Regional Council]] | leader_title2 = [[House of Commons of Canada|MPs]] | leader_name2 = {{Collapsible list |title = List of MPs |title_style = |frame_style = border:none; padding: 0; |list_style = text-align:left;display:none; |1 = [[Connie Cody]] ([[Conservative Party of Canada|CPC]]) |2 = [[Kelly DeRidder]] ([[Conservative Party of Canada|CPC]]) |3 = [[Tim Louis (Ontario politician)|Tim Louis]] ([[Liberal Party of Canada|LPC]]) |4 = [[Matt Strauss]] ([[Conservative Party of Canada|CPC]]) |5 = [[Bardish Chagger]] ([[Liberal Party of Canada|LPC]]) }} | leader_title3 = [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario|MPPs]] | leader_name3 = {{Collapsible list |title = List of MPPs |title_style = |frame_style = border:none; padding: 0; |list_style = text-align:left;display:none; |1 = [[Mike Harris Jr.]] ([[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|PC]]) |2 = [[Brian Riddell]] ([[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|PC]]) |3 = [[Aislinn Clancy]] ([[Green Party of Ontario|GPO]]) |4 = [[Catherine Fife]] ([[Ontario New Democratic Party|NDP]]) |5 = [[Jess Dixon]] ([[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|PC]]) }} | established_title = | established_date = | established_title2 = | established_date2 = | established_title3 = | established_date3 = | area_footnotes = <ref name="2021census"/> | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = 1,370.07 | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = <ref name="2021census"/> | population_total = 587,165 | population_density_km2 = 428.6 | population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | demographics_type2 = GDP | demographics2_title1 = Tri-Cities {{Abbr|CMA|Census metropolitan area}} | demographics2_info1 = [[Canadian dollar|CA$]]37.1{{nbsp}}billion (2021)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0468-01 Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by census metropolitan area (CMA) (x 1,000,000)|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610046801&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2020&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2021&referencePeriods=20200101%2C20210101|website=Statistics Canada}}</ref> | timezone = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] | utc_offset = −5 | timezone_DST = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]] | utc_offset_DST = −4 | elevation_m = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = [[Area codes 519, 226 and 548|519, 226, 548]] | website = {{Official URL}} | footnotes = }} 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, Ontario|Cambridge]], [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] and [[Waterloo, Ontario|Waterloo]] ('''KWC''' or '''Tri-Cities'''), and the townships of [[North Dumfries]], [[Wellesley, Ontario|Wellesley]], [[Wilmot, Ontario|Wilmot]] and [[Woolwich, Ontario|Woolwich]]. Kitchener, the largest city, is the seat of government. The region is {{convert|1,370|sqkm|sqmi}} in area, with a population of 587,165 as of the 2021 Canada census,<ref name="2021census"/> though an end of 2023 estimate puts the population above 673,910 people.<ref name="kitchener.ctvnews.ca">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-07 |title=Waterloo Region says international students behind big population boost |url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/waterloo-region-says-international-students-behind-big-population-boost-1.6877084 |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=Kitchener |language=en}}</ref> Waterloo Region forms [[List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada|the tenth-largest metropolitan area in Canada]], with recent population growth almost entirely fuelled by [[International students in Canada|international students]].<ref name="kitchener.ctvnews.ca">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-07 |title=Waterloo Region says international students behind big population boost |url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/waterloo-region-says-international-students-behind-big-population-boost-1.6877084 |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=Kitchener |language=en}}</ref> In 2016, the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area was rated Canada's third-best area to find full-time employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3176067/best-canadian-cities-full-time-jobs/|title=Canada's best cities for full-time jobs|date=2017-01-14|website=globalnews.ca|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> The region was formerly called [[Waterloo County, Ontario|Waterloo County]], created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973. The county consisted of five townships: North Dumfries, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich. ==History== {{anchor|Kassel site}}{{anchor|Blue Dart site}}[[Early Archaic period|Early Archaic]] hunters of the Bifurcate Base tradition were present in the area around 8300 years ago. They occupied the Kassel site ([[Borden number|AiHd-71]]), a base camp, and the Blue Dart site (AiHd-89), which was likely a [[kill site]]; this followed typical [[hunter-gatherer]] occupation patterns.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lennox |first=Paul A. |date=1993 |title=The Kassel and Blue Dart Sites: Two Components of the Early Archaic, Bifurcate Base Projectile Point Tradition, Waterloo County, Ontario |journal=Ontario Archaeology |publisher=Ontario Archaeological Society |volume=56 |pages=1–31 |url=https://ontarioarchaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/oa056-01_lennox.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|1}} Up to the 17th century, the [[Neutral Nation|Attawandaron]] (Neutral) nation inhabited the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] area. European explorers admired their farming practices. In the wake of a smallpox epidemic and European incursions, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)<ref>{{Cite web|last=designthinking|title=Home|url=https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Haudenosaunee Confederacy|language=en-US}}</ref> and the Wendat (Huron) Confederacies<ref>{{Citation|last=Belshaw|first=John Douglas|title=5.6 Belief and Culture: The Wendat Experience|date=2015-04-13|url=https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/preconfedcdnhist/chapter/5-6-belief-and-culture-the-wendat-experience/|work=Canadian History: Pre-Confederation|publisher=BCcampus|language=en|access-date=2021-03-07}}</ref> waged war from 1642 to 1650. Invasion by the Haudenosaunee's Seneca and Mohawk nations ended Attawandaron independence. In 1784, in recognition of Haudenosaunee support<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/fost/learn/historyculture/the-six-nations-confederacy-during-the-american-revolution.htm|title=The Six Nations Confederacy During the American Revolution - Fort Stanwix National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)}}</ref> during the American War of Independence and the consequent loss of its land in New York state,<ref name=":0" /> the British government granted the Grand River valley to the Confederacy. The latter settled in the lower Grand River Valley, the present [[Brant County, Ontario|Brant County]], and sold land in the upper Grand, now part of Waterloo Township, to Loyalist Colonel Richard Beasley. In 1816, William Dickson,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography – DICKSON, WILLIAM – Volume VII (1836-1850) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/dickson_william_7E.html|access-date=2021-03-07|website=www.biographi.ca}}</ref> a Scottish-born land speculator, acquired {{convert|90000|acre|km2}} along the Grand River, in present North and South Dumfries Townships, and the city of Cambridge. ===North and South Dumfries Townships=== Dickson planned to divide the tract into lots to sell to Scottish settlers.<ref name="regionhistory">{{cite web|title=Regional History – History of Waterloo County|url=http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/0/254052BFAFFF5DE285256E04006E9A4B?OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603061851/http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/Region.nsf/0/254052BFAFFF5DE285256E04006E9A4B?OpenDocument|archive-date=2011-06-03|access-date=2011-03-16|publisher=Region of Waterloo}}</ref> He and American-born miller, Absalom Shade,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Absalom Shade b. 1792, Wyoming Co., Pennsylvania d. 15 Mar 1862 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo Region Generations|url=https://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/getperson.php?personID=I26792&tree=generations|access-date=2021-03-07|website=generations.regionofwaterloo.ca}}</ref> chose the confluence of Mill Creek and the Grand River to found Shade's Mills. In 1825, the growing settlement had a post office. Despite settlers' reluctance, Dickson renamed the settlement Galt in honour of John Galt, a Scottish novelist and Canada Company Commissioner. Galt's visit in 1827 brought wider acceptance to the name change. Initially serving local farmers, Galt's industrial development in the late 1830s eventually earned it the nickname "The Manchester of Canada".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mill Creek Galt {{!}} History|url=https://www.millcreekgalt.ca/pages/history.html|access-date=2021-03-07|website=www.millcreekgalt.ca}}</ref> It remained the area's main town until Berlin<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city.cambridge.on.ca/city_clerk/city_archives/historical_information_evolution_of_galt|title=City Archives Historical Information-Evolution of Galt}}</ref> overtook it at the beginning of the 20th century. ===Kitchener-Waterloo=== ====Pre-modern era==== According to the City of Waterloo, indigenous people lived in the area, including the [[Haudenosaunee]], [[Anishinaabe]] and the [[Neutral Nation]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Waterloo's history|date=8 March 2021|url=https://www.waterloo.ca/en/things-to-do/waterloo_s-history.aspx|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> One report states that at least two "aboriginal settlements from the 1500s can now be identified near Schneider and Strasburg Creeks" in Kitchener.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theworkingcentre.org/ideas-and-influences/2696-remembering-our-underlying-aboriginal-heritage|title=Remembering Our Underlying Aboriginal Heritage |access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> The finds include the remains of a First Nations village, estimated to be 500 years old, discovered in 2010 in the Strasburg Creek area with "artifacts going back as far as 9,000 years".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/major-archaeological-find-unearthed-in-kitchener-1.566066|title=Archeological Find Unearthed in Kitchener|date=22 October 2010|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> In 2020, a site at Fischer-Hallman Road was found to include artifacts from a "Late Woodland [[Iroquois]] village" that was inhabited circa 1300 to 1600. Archeologists found some 35,000 objects including stone tools and a 4,000 year old arrowhead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/remnants-iroquois-woodland-village-discovered-ontario-180976099/|title=Remnants of Woodland Iroquois Village Discovered in Ontario|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> ====1800 to 1820==== [[File:Conestoga Wagon 1883.jpg|thumb|left|Many of the Mennonite Germans from Pennsylvania arrived in [[Conestoga wagon]]s.]] Settlement of the later Waterloo Township started in 1800 (in an area that is now Kitchener) by Joseph Schoerg (later called Sherk) and Samuel Betzner Jr.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/exhibits/past-and-present-inductees.aspx#|title=Joseph (Schoerg) Sherk and Samuel D. Betzner|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> (brothers-in-law), [[Mennonites]], from [[Franklin County, Pennsylvania]]. Joseph Schoerg and his wife settled on Lot No.11, B.F. Beasley Block, S.R., on the bank of the Grand River opposite Doon, and Betzner and his wife settled on the west bank of the Grand River, on a farm near an area that is now the village of Blair.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kitchener.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Documents/DSD_PLAN-Schoerg-Barn.pdf|title=Schoerg farmstead: first permanent European settlement Two families from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, bought land along the Grand River from ]Beasley, establishing the first permanent European settlement in inland Upper Canada, which later became Waterloo County|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> As of March 2021, the homes built by these families' next generation still stand on Pioneer Tower Road, Kitchener. Built circa 1830, they are listed as historically important: the John Betzner homestead (restored)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2021/03/28/kitchener-council-allows-heritage-homeowner-to-build-a-detached-garage.html|title=Kitchener council allows heritage homeowner to build a detached garage|date=28 March 2021|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> and the David Schoerg farmstead (not yet restored).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2021/03/30/empty-for-years-home-to-one-of-waterloo-regions-earliest-mennonite-settlers-gets-makeover.html|title=Empty for years, home to one of Waterloo Region's earliest Mennonite settlers gets makeover|date=30 March 2021|access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9069|title=Betzner Farmstead 437, Pioneer Tower Road, City of Kitchener, Ontario, N2P, Canada|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9898|title=Schoerg Homestead 381, Pioneer Tower Road, City of Kitchener, Ontario, N2P, Canada|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> [[File:Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower, crop 2.jpg|thumb|upright|The Pioneer Memorial Tower, dedicated the Pennsylvania-German pioneers who arrived between 1800 and 1803]] Other settlers followed, mostly from Pennsylvania, and also purchased land in Block Number 2, [[German Company]] Tract<ref>{{cite web|url=https://images.ourontario.ca/waterloo/details.asp?ID=2407399|title=Map of Block Number 2, German Company Tract, Waterloo Township, Ontario, 1805|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> from Richard Beasley who had acquired a massive territory previously owned by the Six Nations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kitchener.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Documents/DSD_PLAN-Schoerg-Barn.pdf|title=Schoerg farmstead: first permanent European settlement Two families from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, bought land along the Grand River from m Beasley, establishing the first permanent European settlement in inland Upper Canada|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> The first school opened in 1802 near the village of Blair, then known as Shinglebridge; it became part of [[Preston, Ontario]] and then part of [[Cambridge, Ontario]]. The first teacher's name was Mr. Rittenhaus.<ref>{{cite book |date=1895 |title=A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and Other Townships of the County |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htMOAAAAYAAJ&dq=1802+Blair+Waterloo+school+Rittenhaus++teacher&pg=PA25 |page=25 |publisher= éditeur non identifié}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitcambridgeontario.com/About-Cambridge-Blair.htm|title=The History of Blair, originally known as Shinglebridge|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> After 1803, many Pennsylvania pioneers bought lots from the German Company, established by [[Mennonites]] from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The 60,000-acre section included most of Block 2 of the former Grand River Indian Lands acquired by Beasley and previously owned by the [[Iroquois Confederacy|Six Nations Indians]]. Many farms were 400 or more acres in size.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://www.whs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1930.pdf |title=History |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1930 |website=Waterloo Historical Society 1930 Annual Meeting |publisher=Waterloo Historical Society |access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="foundlocally.com">{{cite web|url=http://kitchener.foundlocally.com/Local/Info-CityHistoryToConfederation.htm|title=Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario History – To Confederation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/waterloo-township/ |title=Waterloo Township |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2013 |website=Waterloo Region Museum Research |publisher=Region of Waterloo |access-date=13 March 2017 |quote=To correct the situation, a formal agreement was arranged between Brant and Beasley. This arrangement allowed Beasley to sell the bulk of Block Two in order to cover his mortgage obligations completely, while giving the Mennonite buyers legal title to land they had previously purchased. Beasley sold a 60,000 acre tract of land to the German Company of Pennsylvania represented by Daniel Erb and Samuel Bricker in November 1803. Beasley's sale to the German Company not only cleared him of a mortgage debt, but left him with 10,000 acres of Block Two land which he continued to sell into the 1830s.}}</ref> Most settlers before 1830 were Pennsylvania Mennonites, often called [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] (an anglicization of ''Deutsch'') because of the German dialect they spoke from their origins in Germany and Switzerland.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/waterloo-township/ |title=Waterloo Township |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2013 |website=Waterloo Region Museum Research |publisher=Region of Waterloo |access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref> By the early 1800s, a [[corduroy road]] had been built along what is now King Street in Waterloo; its remains were unearthed in 2016. The road was probably built by Mennonites using technology acquired in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, between the late 1790s and 1816. The log road was buried in about 1840 and a new road built on top of it.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8926047-university-of-waterloo-researchers-hoping-to-borrow-corduroy-road-samples/ |title=University of Waterloo researchers hoping to borrow corduroy road samples |first=James|last=Jackson |newspaper=Waterloo Region Record |date=September 26, 2018 |access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8599125-corduroy-road-gives-a-glimpse-into-waterloo-s-past/ |title=Corduroy road gives a glimpse into Waterloo's past |first=James|last=Jackson |newspaper=Waterloo Region Record |date=May 10, 2018 |access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/it-looked-like-a-giant-rib-cage-in-the-ground-the-centuries-old-origins-of-silicon-valley-north-laid-bare-by-lrt-build |title='It looked like a giant rib cage in the ground': The centuries-old origins of Silicon Valley north laid bare by LRT build |work=Canada's Historic Places|date=20 May 2016 |access-date=29 March 2021 |last1=Csanady |first1=Ashley }}</ref> In 1806, Abraham Erb, from Franklin County, bought 900 acres (360 ha) from the German Company in what would be later part of the City of Waterloo.<ref>{{cite book |date=1895 |title=A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and Other Townships of the County |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htMOAAAAYAAJ&dq=1802+Blair+Waterloo+school+Rittenhaus++teacher&pg=PA86 |page=86 |publisher=éditeur non identifié}}</ref> The putative founder of the city, Erb built a sawmill in 1808 and a gristmill in 1816; the latter operated for 111 years and still stands in Waterloo Park.<ref name="waynecook.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html|title=Historical Plaques of Waterloo County|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312051921/http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html|archive-date=2017-03-12}}</ref> Benjamin Eby arrived from Lancaster County in 1806. The putative founder of Kitchener, he purchased a large tract in that area. The settlement, Ebytown, was on the south-east side of present-day Queen Street. Ordained a Mennonite pastor in 1809, and later a bishop, Eby oversaw the building of the first church in 1813 and the confession's subsequent growth. Many Mennonite meeting houses, or places of worship, were basic frame buildings, a structure still common among [[Old Order Mennonite]]s in rural Waterloo Region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mennonites – An Insider's Guide to Waterloo Region – Page 2|url=https://waterlooinsider.wordpress.com/tag/mennonites/page/2/}}</ref> Settlers often held a "bee" to help newcomers erect large buildings, a custom that persists today among traditional Mennonite communities.<ref name="auto1" /> [[File:Joseph Schneider Haus NHS.jpg|thumb|The restored Joseph Schneider Haus, circa 1816, was built by one of the early settlers in Berlin]] In 1806, Joseph Schneider,<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography – SCHNEIDER, JOSEPH – Volume VII (1836–1850) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/schneider_joseph_7E.html}}</ref> of south German stock, arrived from Lancaster County. He bought lot 17 of the German Company Tract of block 2. A farmer, he helped build what became "Schneider's Road". By 1816, he had built a sawmill. In 1807, Pennsylvanians John and Jacob Erb, among others, purchased 45,195 acres (182.9 km<sup>2</sup>) of Block 3 (Woolwich township). The War of 1812 interrupted immigration from the United States. The pacifist Mennonite settlers were employed in camps, hospitals and transportation. Samuel and Elia Schneider arrived in 1816. A network of small settlements emerged. Abram Weber settled on the corner of later King and Wilmot Streets, and David Weber by the later Grand Trunk Railway station.<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="waynecook.com" /> Benjamin Eby encouraged manufacturers to move to Ebytown. Jacob Hoffman arrived around 1830 to start the regions's first furniture factory. ====1820 to 1852==== [[File:Martins Old Order Mennonite Church (5390735434).jpg|thumb|left|Martins Old Order Mennonite Church]] Immigration continued strongly in the 1820s, driven by a severe agricultural depression in Lancaster County.<ref name="auto2"/> John Eby, druggist and chemist, arrived from Pennsylvania about 1820 and opened a shop west of present-day Eby Street. In the same year, after clearing a farm and creating a rough road, Joseph Schneider built a frame house on the south side of the future Queen Street; the renovated home still stands. The settlement around "Schneider's Road" became the nucleus of Berlin.<ref name="waynecook.com"/> In 1830, Phineas Varnum established the centre of later Berlin (Kitchener). Leasing land from Joseph Schneider, he opened a blacksmith shop on the site of the later Walper House (now the Walper Hotel<ref>{{Cite web |url-status=live |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507052705/https://www.walper.com/ |title=Walper Hotel |website=www.walper.com |language=en |access-date=22 August 2023 |url=https://www.walper.com/}}</ref>). A tavern and store opened there at the same time.<ref name="auto1"/> Still considered a hamlet,<ref name="foundlocally.com"/> Ebytown became Berlin in 1833.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Berlin, Ontario until 1916|url=http://ryeandginger.ca/berlin-ontario-until-1916/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Rye & Ginger|language=en-GB}}</ref> By 1830, the village of [[Preston, Ontario|Preston]] was a thriving business centre under the impulse of [[Jacob Hespeler]], a native of [[Württemberg]]. He later moved to the village of New Hope, renamed [[Cambridge, Ontario|Hespeler]] in 1857 in recognition of his enterprise and public service. Jacob Beck, from the Grand Duchy of Baden, founded the village of Baden in Wilmot Township and started a foundry and machine shop. Jacob Beck was the father of Sir [[Adam Beck]], founder of the [[Ontario Hydro|Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.]] By 1835, many immigrants were coming to Waterloo County from Germany and the British Isles. The Germans settled in areas like New Germany in the Lower Block of Block Two. In 1835, some 70% of the population was Mennonite; by 1851, that number had declined to 26% of a much larger population.<ref name="auto2" /> The county's first newspaper, ''Canada Museum und Allgemeine Zeitung,'' came off the press on August 27, 1835. Written mostly in German with some English articles, it was published for five years.<ref name="Breithaupt">{{cite book|last1=Breithaupt|first1=William Henry|editor1-last=Middleton|editor1-first=Jesse Edgar|editor2-last=Landon|editor2-first=Fred|title=Province of Ontario – A History 1615 to 1927|date=1927|publisher=Dominion Publishing Company|location=Toronto|page=991|chapter=History of Waterloo County}}</ref> By the 1840s, the growing German-speaking population had made the area a popular choice for German immigrants.<ref name=regionhistory2>{{cite web |url=http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/c56e308f49bfeb7885256abc0071ec9a/98e7aecceabbb50f85256e050064f9ec!OpenDocument |title=Historic Place Names of Waterloo County – Waterloo Township |publisher=Region of Waterloo |access-date=2011-03-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120034500/http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/c56e308f49bfeb7885256abc0071ec9a/98e7aecceabbb50f85256e050064f9ec%21OpenDocument |archive-date=2011-01-20 }}</ref> They founded communities in the south of the Mennonite area. The largest was Berlin (now Kitchener). In 1841, the population count was 4,424. ''Smith's Canadian Gazetteer'' of 1846 states that the population of Waterloo Township, within Waterloo County, consisted primarily of Pennsylvania Mennonites and German immigrants who had brought money with them. Many spoke no English. There were now eight grist and twenty saw mills in the township. In 1846 the village of Waterloo had a population of 200, "mostly Germans". It had a grist mill, a sawmill and some tradesmen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Wm. H. |date=1846 |title=SMITH'S CANADIAN GAZETTEER – STATISTICAL AND GENERAL INFORMATION RESPECTING ALL PARTS OF THE UPPER PROVINCE, OR CANADA WEST|url=https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |location=Toronto |publisher=H. & W. ROWSELL |pages=[https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/205 205]–206}}</ref> Berlin (Kitchener) had a population of about 400, also "mostly German", and more tradesmen than the village of Waterloo.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Wm. H. |date=1846 |title=SMITH'S CANADIAN GAZETTEER – STATISTICAL AND GENERAL INFORMATION RESPECTING ALL PARTS OF THE UPPER PROVINCE, OR CANADA WEST|url=https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |location=Toronto |publisher=H. & W. ROWSELL |page=[https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/15 15]}}</ref> ====After 1852==== [[File:Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House.jpg|thumb|Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House, Kitchener, built 1852]] [[File:Map of Waterloo County, Ontario, 1883.png|thumb|right|upright|Map of Waterloo County, 1883]] Previously part of the United County of Waterloo, Wellington and Grey, Waterloo became a separate entity in 1853, with five townships. Galt and Berlin contended to be the [[county seat]]; one requirement was the construction of a [[courthouse]] and jail. When local merchant Joseph Gaukel donated a small portion of his land for that purpose at the corner of present current Queen and [[Weber Street|Weber street]]s, Berlin was selected. A courthouse and [[Waterloo County Gaol|gaol]] were built within a few months. The first county council meeting was held in the new facility on 24 January 1853.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.therecord.com/living-story/7420397-seven-meetings-that-decided-waterloo-county/|title=Flash from the Past: Seven meetings that decided Waterloo County|first=rych|last=mills|date=14 July 2017|website=therecord.com|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9216 |title= Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= Canada's Historic Places |access-date= July 1, 2015 }}</ref> Both buildings figure in the [[Canadian Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9216 |title=Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Historic Places |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/discoveringTheRegion/resources/Kitchener.pdf |title=Discovering the Region |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Doors Open, Region of Waterloo |publisher=Region of Waterloo |access-date=23 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829164706/http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/discoveringTheRegion/resources/Kitchener.pdf |archive-date=29 August 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The council included 12 members from the five townships and two villages; Dr. John Scott was appointed as the first warden (reeve). In the following years, the region's physical and social infrastructure developed to include roads, bridges, agricultural societies, markets, and schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html |title=Waterloo County, Plaque 36 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Historical Plaques of Waterloo County |publisher=Wayne Cook |access-date=23 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312051921/http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 }}</ref> [[File:Kids fishing in Hespeler, Ontario, next to a streetcar stop.jpg|thumb|The electric railway connected all of the towns and cities of Waterloo County by 1911]] The Grand Trunk railway reached Berlin in 1856, accelerating industrial growth. Over the next decade, comfortable homes replaced the early settlers' log cabins.<ref name="foundlocally.com"/> ====House of Industry and Refuge==== In 1869, the county built a large "[[Poorhouse]]" with an attached farm, the House of Industry and Refuge. It accommodated some 3,200 people before being closed down in 1951 and later demolished. Located on Frederick St. in Kitchener, behind the now Frederick Street Mall, it sought to help indigents and convicts before social welfare programmes became available. A 2009 report by the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' stated that "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work".<ref>{{cite news |last=Tyler |first=Tracey |date=January 3, 2009 |title=When 'poorhouse' wasn't only an expression |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2009/01/03/when_poorhouse_wasnt_only_an_expression.html | work=Toronto Star |location=Toronto |access-date=March 13, 2017}}</ref> ====Electric streetcar==== A new streetcar system, the [[Galt, Preston and Hespeler electric railway]] (later called the [[Grand River Railway]]) began operation in 1894, connecting Preston and Galt. In 1911, the line reached Hespeler, Berlin (Kitchener) and Waterloo; by 1916 it had been extended to Brantford/Port Dover.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.explorewaterlooregion.com/2017/01/railway-history/ |title=CAMBRIDGE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON WATERLOO REGION'S LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=19 January 2017 |website=Waterloo Region |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Rych |date=10 January 2017 |title=Flash From the Past: Preston Car and Coach goes up in smoke |url=https://www.therecord.com/living-story/7058983-flash-from-the-past-preston-car-and-coach-goes-up-in-smoke/| work=Record |location=Kitchener |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref> The electric rail system ended passenger services in April, 1955. ====German heritage==== Some sources estimate that roughly 50,000 European Germans arrived in the Waterloo area from 1830 to 1860.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/german-canadians/ |title=German Canadians |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref> Unlike the largely German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania, the later arrivals – from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and present day and Poland, France and Russia, were of other denominations. The first groups were predominantly Roman Catholic; those who arrive later were primarily Lutheran.<ref name="archive.org">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/waterloocountyto00bloo/waterloocountyto00bloo_djvu.txt| title=Full text of ''Waterloo County to 1972 : an annotated bibliography of regional history''| date=1993| isbn=978-0-9696936-0-4| last1=Bloomfield| first1=Elizabeth| last2=Foster| first2=Linda| last3=Forgay| first3=Jane| publisher=Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation}}</ref> In 1862, German-speaking groups held a ''Sängerfest'' ("Singer Festival") that attracted an estimated 10,000 people. The festival continued for several years.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/tag/1911/ |title=Waterloo Region 1911 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Waterloo Region WWI |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> By 1863, Berlin's German population exceeded 2,000. the community started the ''Friedenfest'' to celebrate the German victory in the Franco-Prussian war. The event continued annual until the start of World War I.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/1871/01/friedensfest-1871/ |title=Friedensfest (1871) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Waterloo Region WWI |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> By 1871, nearly 55 percent of the population had German origins, including the Pennsylvania Mennonites and European Germans. This group greatly outnumbered the Scots (18 per cent), the English (12.6 per cent) and the Irish (8 per cent).<ref name="archive.org"/> Berlin, Ontario was a bilingual town, with German being the dominant language spoken. More than one visitor commented on the necessity of speaking German in Berlin. In 1897, the Canadians with origins in Germany raised funds to erect a large monument, with a bronze bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I, in Victoria Park. The monument would be destroyed by townspeople just after the start of World War I.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html |title=Waterloo County, Plaque 24 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Historical Plaques of Waterloo County |publisher=Wayne Cook |access-date=23 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312051921/http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 }}</ref> By the early 1900s, northern Waterloo County – the Kitchener, Waterloo, Elmira area – exhibited a strong German culture and those of German origin made up a third of the population in 1911. Lutherans were the primary religious group. There were nearly three times as many Lutherans as Mennonites at that time. The latter primarily resided in the rural areas and small communities.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/category/pre-1914/ |title=Waterloo Region Pre-1914 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Waterloo Region WWI |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> Before and during World War I, there was some [[anti-German sentiment]] in Canada and some cultural sanctions on the community, particularly in Berlin, Ontario. However, by 1919 most of the population of what would become Kitchener-Waterloo and Elmira were Canadian by birth; over 95 percent had been born in Ontario.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/tag/1911/ |title=Waterloo Region 1911 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date =2015 |website=Waterloo Region WWI |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> Those of the Mennonite religion were pacifist, so they could not enlist, while others who were not born in Canada refused to fight against the country of their birth.<ref name="wartimecanada.ca">{{cite web|url=https://wartimecanada.ca/document/world-war-i/conscription/mennonites-and-conscription|title=Mennonites and conscription – Wartime Canada}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite news |last=D'Amato |first=Louisa |date=28 June 2014 |title=First World War ripped away Canada's 'age of innocence' |url=https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/4605027-first-world-war-ripped-away-canada-s-age-of-innocence-/ | work=Kitchener Post, Waterloo Region Record |location=Kitchener |access-date=14 March 2017}}</ref> Anti-German sentiment during World War I was the primary reason for renaming [[Berlin to Kitchener name change|Berlin Kitchener]] in 1916<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-ontario-berlin-name-change-100-years-tom-reitz-berry-vrbanovic-1.3744212|title=Kitchener mayor notes 100th year of name change}}</ref> to honour British Field Marshal [[Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]], who had died that year when his cruiser was sunk by a German submarine. The [[Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower]] built in 1926 commemorates the settlement by the [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] (''Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch'' or Pennsylvania German) of the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] area in what later became Waterloo County.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3297|title=HistoricPlaces.ca – HistoricPlaces.ca}}</ref> The region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://canadaalive.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/old-order-mennonites/|title=Old Order Mennonites|date=31 March 2014|website=wordpress.com|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> [[File:Waterloo oktoberfest.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Oktoberfest Timeteller in Waterloo]] Over time, after WW II, the anti-German sentiment faded. The [[Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest]] event, with beer halls and German entertainment, and a large parade, was established in 1969 to honour the Region's German heritage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oktoberfest.ca/About_Oktoberfest |title=Oktoberfest - Welcome |website=oktoberfest.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405174643/http://www.oktoberfest.ca/About_Oktoberfest |archive-date=2014-04-05}}</ref> The events typically attract an average of 700,000 people to the county. During the 2016 Oktoberfest parade, an estimated 150,000 people lined the streets along the route.<ref name="ctvnews.ca">{{cite web|url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/oktoberfest-2016-comes-to-a-close-1.3117493|title=Oktoberfest 2016 comes to a close|first=Jennifer K.|last=Baker|date=16 October 2016|website=ctvnews.ca|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> In the year 2000, the Government of Ontario declared an annual German Pioneers Day to recognize the achievements of settlers from Germany. Each year since then, the Waterloo Region area honours the current families of several such pioneers who had settled in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oktoberfest.ca/Events/German_Pioneers_Day |title=Oktoberfest - Events |website=www.oktoberfest.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015122625/http://www.oktoberfest.ca/Events/German_Pioneers_Day |archive-date=2015-10-15}}</ref> The Waterloo region remained predominantly German-speaking until the early 20th century, and its German heritage is reflected in the region's large [[Lutheran]] community and the annual [[Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest]]. There are still traditional Mennonite communities located north of Kitchener-Waterloo. While the best known is [[St. Jacobs, Ontario|St. Jacobs]], with its very popular thrice-weekly outdoor market, the community of [[Linwood, Ontario|Linwood]] has attracted increased tourist volume in recent years due to its highly authentic Mennonite lifestyle. ===Restructuring=== In 1973, the regional municipality style of government was imposed on the county by the provincial government. The cities of Galt, Kitchener, and Waterloo were previously independent single tier municipalities prior to joining the newly formed regional municipality. In that major reorganization, the fifteen towns and townships of the county were reduced to just seven in the new Region of Waterloo. The new city of [[Cambridge, Ontario|Cambridge]] was created through the amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, the Village of Blair, and various parcels of township land. One township vanished when the former Waterloo Township was divided among Woolwich Township and the three cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. The settlement of Bridgeport was annexed to the city of Kitchener. The settlement of Erbsville was annexed to the city of Waterloo. The former county government was given broader powers as a [[regional municipality]]. Regardless of the resistance, the amalgamation proceeded and became effective 1 January 1973, creating the Region of Waterloo, with Jack A. Young appointed by the provincial government as the first Regional Chair. The region took over many services, including police, waste management, recreation, planning, roads and social services.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/newslist/index.aspx?corpId=58cynQlfgqiAYQyTLmpurQeQuAleQuAl&newsId=QXgUIE1G6huJ6eu741OyPlUsgeQuAleQuAl |title=Get to Know Us During Local Government Week |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=10 October 2012 |website=Waterloo Region |access-date=23 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322030411/http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/newslist/index.aspx?corpId=58cynQlfgqiAYQyTLmpurQeQuAleQuAl&newsId=QXgUIE1G6huJ6eu741OyPlUsgeQuAleQuAl |archive-date=22 March 2013 }}</ref> Further municipal amalgamation began discussions in the 1990s, with little progress. In late 2005, Kitchener's city council voted to visit the subject again, with the possibility of reducing the seven constituent municipalities into one or more cities. A new proposal in 2010 would study only the merger of Kitchener and Waterloo, with a public referendum on whether the idea should be looked into. Kitchener residents voted 2–1 in favour of studying the merger while Waterloo residents voted 2–1 against. Waterloo city council voted against the study.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/kitchener-meets-its-waterloo/|title=Kitchener meets its Waterloo|date=28 July 2011}}</ref> ==Government== [[File:WaterlooRegionHQ-Frederick.JPG|thumb|Region of Waterloo Headquarters in Kitchener]] The region's governing body is the 16 member Waterloo Regional Council. The council consists of the Regional Chair, the mayors of the seven cities and townships, and eight additional councillors – four from Kitchener and two each from Cambridge and Waterloo. Beginning in 1978, the Regional Chair was appointed for a 2-year term by the councillors, who were elected by the citizens of Waterloo Region. James E. (Jim) Gray was appointed in 1978. In 1982, the Chair's term was extended to 3 years and Jim Gray was appointed for his third term. He retired in 1985. Ken Seiling held the position of Regional Chair from 1985<ref>{{cite web|title=Meet Ken Seiling|url=http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/regionalchairandsupportstaff.asp|publisher=Region of Waterloo|access-date=29 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808105737/http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/regionalchairandsupportstaff.asp|archive-date=8 August 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> to 2018, when he declined to run again for the seat. His successor is [[Karen Redman]]. Beginning with the 1997 election, the citizens of Waterloo Region have directly elected the chair. Of the nine regional municipalities in Ontario, Waterloo Region and the [[Regional Municipality of Halton]] are the only ones that allow for direct election of the chair. ==Communities== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Census Subdivision ! Population (2021 census)<ref>{{cite web |title=Table 98-10-0002-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities) |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000201 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=15 November 2024 |date=9 February 2022}}</ref> |- | City of [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] | 256,885 |- | City of [[Cambridge, Ontario|Cambridge]] | 138,479 |- | City of [[Waterloo, Ontario|Waterloo]] | 121,436 |- | Township of [[Woolwich, Ontario|Woolwich]] | 26,999 |- | Township of [[Wilmot, Ontario|Wilmot]] | 21,429 |- | Township of [[Wellesley, Ontario|Wellesley]] | 11,318 |- | Township of [[North Dumfries, Ontario|North Dumfries]] | 10,619 |} Within the townships are many communities. Some were once independent and had their own reeves and councils but lost this status in amalgamation. These communities include: [[Ayr, Ontario|Ayr]], [[Baden, Ontario|Baden]], Bloomingdale, [[Breslau, Ontario|Breslau]], [[Conestogo, Ontario|Conestogo]], [[Doon, Ontario|Doon]], [[Elmira, Ontario|Elmira]], Freeport, Heidelberg, Mannheim, [[Maryhill, Ontario|Maryhill]], [[New Dundee, Ontario|New Dundee]], [[New Hamburg, Ontario|New Hamburg]], [[Petersberg, Ontario|Petersberg]], [[Roseville, Ontario|Roseville]], St. Agatha, St. Clements, [[St. Jacobs, Ontario|St. Jacobs]], [[Wellesley, Ontario (community)|Wellesley]], [[West Montrose, Ontario|West Montrose]], and [[Winterbourne, Ontario|Winterbourne]]. ==Demographics== As a [[Census divisions of Canada|census division]] in the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Census of Population]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], the Regional Municipality of Waterloo had a population of {{val|587165|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|222426|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|233253|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:587165-535154}}|535154|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|535154|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|1370.07|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|587165|1370.07|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name="2021census"/> {{Canada census |location= |2021_population=587,165 | 2021_pop_delta=+9.7 | 2021_land_area=1370.07 | 2021_pop_density=428.6 |2021_median_age=38.0 | 2021_median_age_m=36.4 | 2021_median_age_f=39.2 |2021_total_pvt_dwell=233,253 |2021_occ_pvt_dwell=222,426 | 2021_mean_hh_income=92,000 |2021_geocode=2021A00033530 | 2021_access_date=2021-06-21 |2016_population=535,154 | 2016_pop_delta=5.5 | 2016_land_area=1368.92 | 2016_pop_density=390.9 |2016_median_age=38.5 | 2016_median_age_m=37.4 | 2016_median_age_f=39.6 |2016_total_pvt_dwell=203,830 | 2016_mean_hh_income=77,530 | 2016_access_date=2021-06-21 |2011_population=507,096 | 2011_pop_delta=6.1 | 2011_land_area=1368.94 | 2011_pop_density=370.4 |2011_median_age=37.7 | 2011_median_age_m=36.6 | 2011_median_age_f=38.7 |2011_total_pvt_dwell=202,121 | 2011_mean_hh_income= | 2011_access_date=2012-03-26 }} {{Historical populations |title = {{Nowrap|Historical census populations –}} Regional Municipality of Waterloo |align = none |cols = 2 |percentages = |footnote = |source = Statistics Canada<ref name="2021census"/><ref name="2016census"/> | 1976 |289,129 | 1981 |305,496 | 1986 |329,404 | 1991 |377,762 | 1996 |405,435 | 2001 |438,515 | 2006 |478,121 | 2011 |507,096 | 2016 |535,154 | 2021 |587,165 }} Immigrants accounted for 22.6% of the region's total population according to the [[2016 Canadian Census]], while visible minorities accounted for 19.0% of the region's total population.<ref name="2016census"/> === Language === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Waterloo Region's top 15 languages spoken most often at home (2021)<ref name="2021census"/> |- ! Mother Tongue Languages !! Population !! Percentage |- | English || 467,460 || 80.29% |- | Punjabi || 8,130 || 1.40% |- | Mandarin || 7,635 || 1.31% |- | Arabic || 6,290 || 1.08% |- | Spanish || 5,835 || 1.0% |- | High German || 5,010 || 0.86% |- | Portuguese || 4,645 || 0.80% |- | Serbo-Croatian || 4,550 || 0.78% |- | Urdu || 3,760 || 0.65% |- | Gujarati || 3,755 || 0.64% |- | Persian || 3,020 || 0.52% |- | Hindi || 2,620 || 0.45% |- | Vietnamese || 2,570 || 0.44% |- | Romanian || 2,400 || 0.41% |- | Polish || 2,120 || 0.36% |} === Ethnicity === {| class="wikitable collapsible sortable" |+ [[Panethnicity|Panethnic]] groups in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (2001−2021) ! rowspan="2" |[[Panethnicity|Panethnic]]<br/>group ! colspan="2" |2021<ref name="2021census"/> ! colspan="2" |2016<ref name="2016census"/> ! colspan="2" |2011<ref name="2011census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2015-11-27 |title= NHS Profile |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=3530&Data=Count&SearchText=Waterloo&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1 |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> ! colspan="2" |2006<ref name="2006census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-08-20 |title= 2006 Community Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=3530&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=Waterloo&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> ! colspan="2" |2001<ref name="2001census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-07-02 |title= 2001 Community Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/Profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=3530&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=Waterloo&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> |- ![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]] !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !{{abbr|Pop.|Population}} !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !{{abbr|Pop.|Population}} !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !{{abbr|Pop.|Population}} !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !{{abbr|Pop.|Population}} !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} |- | [[European Canadians|European]]{{efn|Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.|name=euro}} | 410,365 | {{Percentage | 410365 | 579380 | 2 }} | 418,335 | {{Percentage | 418335 | 527340 | 2 }} | 415,700 | {{Percentage | 415700 | 499615 | 2 }} | 406,470 | {{Percentage | 406470 | 473260 | 2 }} | 386,355 | {{Percentage | 386355 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[South Asian Canadians|South Asian]] | 55,380 | {{Percentage | 55380 | 579380 | 2 }} | 26,720 | {{Percentage | 26720 | 527340 | 2 }} | 21,170 | {{Percentage | 21170 | 499615 | 2 }} | 16,415 | {{Percentage | 16415 | 473260 | 2 }} | 11,355 | {{Percentage | 11355 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[African-Canadian|African]] | 26,590 | {{Percentage | 26590 | 579380 | 2 }} | 15,135 | {{Percentage | 15135 | 527340 | 2 }} | 10,535 | {{Percentage | 10535 | 499615 | 2 }} | 9,510 | {{Percentage | 9510 | 473260 | 2 }} | 7,390 | {{Percentage | 7390 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[East Asian Canadians|East Asian]]{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.|name=EastAsian}} | 21,635 | {{Percentage | 21635 | 579380 | 2 }} | 19,195 | {{Percentage | 19195 | 527340 | 2 }} | 14,255 | {{Percentage | 14255 | 499615 | 2 }} | 11,575 | {{Percentage | 11575 | 473260 | 2 }} | 7,565 | {{Percentage | 7565 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[Middle Eastern Canadians|Middle Eastern]]{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.|name=MiddleEastern}} | 17,000 | {{Percentage | 17000 | 579380 | 2 }} | 11,450 | {{Percentage | 11450 | 527340 | 2 }} | 8,815 | {{Percentage | 8815 | 499615 | 2 }} | 5,900 | {{Percentage | 5900 | 473260 | 2 }} | 3,565 | {{Percentage | 3565 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[Southeast Asia]]n{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.|name=SoutheastAsian}} | 16,525 | {{Percentage | 16525 | 579380 | 2 }} | 11,815 | {{Percentage | 11815 | 527340 | 2 }} | 10,285 | {{Percentage | 10285 | 499615 | 2 }} | 8,080 | {{Percentage | 8080 | 473260 | 2 }} | 6,585 | {{Percentage | 6585 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[Latin American Canadians|Latin American]] | 12,810 | {{Percentage | 12810 | 579380 | 2 }} | 9,145 | {{Percentage | 9145 | 527340 | 2 }} | 8,200 | {{Percentage | 8200 | 499615 | 2 }} | 6,910 | {{Percentage | 6910 | 473260 | 2 }} | 4,870 | {{Percentage | 4870 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous]] | 9,960 | {{Percentage | 9960 | 579380 | 2 }} | 8,985 | {{Percentage | 8985 | 527340 | 2 }} | 6,825 | {{Percentage | 6825 | 499615 | 2 }} | 4,810 | {{Percentage | 4810 | 473260 | 2 }} | 3,340 | {{Percentage | 3340 | 433875 | 2 }} |- | Other{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, {{abbr|n.i.e.|not included elsewhere}}" and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.|name=Other}} | 9,135 | {{Percentage | 9135 | 579380 | 2 }} | 6,575 | {{Percentage | 6575 | 527340 | 2 }} | 3,820 | {{Percentage | 3820 | 499615 | 2 }} | 3,595 | {{Percentage | 3595 | 473260 | 2 }} | 2,860 | {{Percentage | 2860 | 433875 | 2 }} |- ! Total responses ! 579,380 ! {{Percentage | 579380 | 587165 | 2 }} ! 527,340 ! {{Percentage | 527340 | 535154 | 2 }} ! 499,615 ! {{Percentage | 499615 | 507096 | 2 }} ! 473,260 ! {{Percentage | 473260 | 478121 | 2 }} ! 433,875 ! {{Percentage | 433875 | 438515 | 2 }} |- ! Total population ! 587,165 ! {{Percentage | 587165 | 587165 | 2 }} ! 535,154 ! {{Percentage | 535154 | 535154 | 2 }} ! 507,096 ! {{Percentage | 507096 | 507096 | 2 }} ! 478,121 ! {{Percentage | 478121 | 478121 | 2 }} ! 438,515 ! {{Percentage | 438515 | 438515 | 2 }} |- class="sortbottom" | colspan="15" | {{small|Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses}} |} ==Economy== [[File:Waterloo ontario campus 1.jpg|thumb|University of Waterloo is noted for its cooperative education programs, which allow the students to integrate their education with applicable work experiences.]] Waterloo Region is also experiencing significant commercial growth. The presence of two universities, the [[University of Waterloo]] and [[Wilfrid Laurier University]], acts as a catalyst for high-tech growth and innovation. The region is known for its [[Canada's Technology Triangle|high concentration of tech companies]], such as [[BlackBerry]] (formerly Research In Motion), [[OpenText]], [[Kik Messenger|Kik]], and [[Waterloo Maple|Maplesoft]]. As such, it has often been referred to as "Canada's Silicon Valley".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://baystbull.com/blog/2015/07/5-canadas-silicon-valley/|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208060151/http://baystbull.com/blog/2015/07/5-canadas-silicon-valley/|archive-date=2015-12-08|title=Canada's Silicon Valley|website=Bay Street Bull}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/waterloo-startup-hot-spot.html|title=Why Waterloo, Ontario, Is the Silicon Valley of Canada|last=Henry |first=Zoë |date=2 November 2015|magazine=[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]] }}</ref> Canada's top three fastest growing tech companies are located in the Region: Kitchener's [[Applyboard|ApplyBoard]], Intellijoint Surgical, and Waterloo's Auvik Networks. The list also includes Kitchener's Smile.io, and [[Vidyard]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/9680430-waterloo-region-firms-top-list-of-fastest-growing-tech-companies/ |title=Waterloo Region firms top list of fastest-growing tech companies |date=7 November 2019 |publisher=Kitchener Post |access-date=8 November 2019 }}</ref> ===Major employers in the region=== * [[Waterloo Region District School Board]] (5,000 employees)<ref>{{Cite news | title = Profitworks.ca Blog Post – Largest Employers in Waterloo and Kitchener | url = https://www.profitworks.ca/blog/902-blog/82-largest-employers-in-waterloo-and-kitchener | quote = A list of the top 20 employers in Waterloo Region. Ranking and figures are for the number of employment positions each company has located in Waterloo Region, not global employment numbers }}</ref> * [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada]] (6,500 employees) * [[Manulife Financial]] (3,800 employees) * [[University of Waterloo]] (3,500 employees) * [[Sun Life Financial]] (3,300 employees) * [[BlackBerry Ltd]] (3,000 employees<ref>{{Cite news | title = 25,500 in region are out of work; Downturn feels familiar | url = http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/503311 | quote = Research In Motion's local workforce has grown to more than 8,000 from 450 in early 2000 }}</ref>) * [[Grand River Hospital]] (2,200 employees) * [[ATS Automation Tooling Systems]] (1,800 employees) * [[City of Kitchener]] (1,700 employees) ==Real estate== As of October 2023, the average (mean) selling price of a detached home sold on the Multiple Listing System of Waterloo Region was $890,591 (in Canadian dollars), an increase of 1.1 per cent compared to October 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=WRAR |date=2023-11-03 |title=Home Sales Picked up in October but Still Subdued |url=https://wrar.ca/home-sales-picked-up-in-october-but-still-subdued/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119223412/https://wrar.ca/home-sales-picked-up-in-october-but-still-subdued/ |archive-date=2023-11-19 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=Waterloo Region Association of REALTORS® |language=en-US}}</ref> The average selling price for an apartment style condominium was $476,166, an decrease of 2.6 per cent from October 2022. These prices are significantly less than prices in Toronto, where the average selling price for a detached home in the 416 area code was $1,718,440 in October 2023, and the average selling price for an apartment style condominium was $729,160.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TRREB - Market Watch |url=https://trreb.ca/index.php/market-news/market-watch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119223629/https://trreb.ca/index.php/market-news/market-watch |archive-date=2023-11-19 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=trreb.ca}}</ref> ==Crime rate== The national average for the crime severity index was 78.10 per 100,000 people in 2022, while the rate was slightly higher for Waterloo Region at 79.12 per 100,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2021-04-13 |title=Table 35-10-0026-01 Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, Canada, provinces, territories and Census Metropolitan Areas |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3510002601 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119222125/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3510002601 |archive-date=2023-11-19 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> By comparison, the rate for Ontario was 58.47 per 100,000 people, and nearby cities Guelph and London were 60.56 and 73.98 respectively. By comparison, "Canada's most dangerous place", [[North Battleford]], [[Saskatchewan]], had an index of 353 in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-most-dangerous-places/|title=Canada's Most Dangerous Places 2018: Explore the data|website=macleans.ca|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> An updated report by Maclean's in 2019 ranked the Region as the 49th most dangerous community in Canada, with robbery approximately as prevalent as the Canadian average of 60 incidents per 100,000 people. The region has a homicide rate of 0.89 per 100,000, below the Canadian average of 1.68 per 100,000.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Canada's Most Dangerous Places 2019|url=https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-most-dangerous-places-2019/|access-date=2021-06-27|website=Macleans.ca|language=en}}</ref> ==Services== Over time, many services have come to be delegated to the jurisdiction of the municipal government. These include police, emergency medical services, waste management, licensing enforcement, recycling, [[The Food Bank of Waterloo Region|a food bank]], and the [[Grand River Transit|public transit]] system. The main administration of these services is run from Kitchener, however many service offices may be found in different parts of the Region. For example, from a geographically central location in north Cambridge, maintenance operations and the police headquarters are able to manage operations and provide services to the entire service area. ===Health care=== [[File:St. Mary's General Hospital Kitchener Ontario 2015.jpg|thumb|St. Mary's General Hospital]] Hospital services in the region are provided by [[Grand River Hospital]] which includes a Freeport Campus and [[St. Mary's General Hospital]], both located in Kitchener, as well as Cambridge Memorial Hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/living-here/hospitals.aspx|title=Hospitals |publisher=Region of Waterloo|date=2011-02-15 |access-date=2018-12-30}}</ref> All three were highly ranked for safety in a national comparison study in 2017–2018, particularly the two located in Kitchener, but all would benefit from reduced wait times.<ref>{{cite news |title=Waterloo Region hospitals rank well on readmissions, but wait times need work|date=29 November 2018|url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/9058746-waterloo-region-hospitals-rank-well-on-readmissions-but-wait-times-need-work/|work=Waterloo Region Record|access-date=30 December 2018|quote=Area hospitals ranked well in patient readmissions, but wait times need improving.}}</ref> Long-term care beds are provided at numerous facilities,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wwhealthline.ca/listServices.aspx?id=10665®ion=KitchenerWaterlooWellesleyWilmotWoolwich |title=Long-Term Care Homes - Kitchener–Waterloo–Wellesley–Wilmot–Woolwich |publisher=Health Line|date=January 3, 2018 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> including the Village of Winston Park in Kitchener and Saint Luke's Place in Cambridge which were promised additional funding by the province in 2018 for expansion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kitchener, Cambridge get extra 148 long-term care beds|date=5 October 2018|url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8946545-kitchener-cambridge-get-extra-148-long-term-care-beds/|work=Waterloo Region Record|access-date=December 30, 2018|quote=The Village of Winston Park in Kitchener will get 97 beds, and Saint Luke's Place in Cambridge will get 51.}}</ref> Grand River Hospital has a capacity of 574-beds; the Freeport location was merged into it in April 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grhosp.on.ca/about|title=About GRH |publisher=GRH|date=2017-11-15 |access-date=2018-12-30}}</ref> That secondary campus provides complex continuing care, rehabilitation, longer-term specialized mental health and other services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grhosp.on.ca/care/locations/freeportcampus|title=Freeport Campus: 3570 King Street East, Kitchener |publisher=GRH |date=November 15, 2017 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The King St. location is also the home of the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre which opened in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grhosp.on.ca/care/locations/freeportcampus|title=Grand River Regional Cancer Centre celebrates 15 years of advanced cancer care this fall |publisher=GRH|date=August 30, 2018 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smgh.ca/patient-care-programs/regional-cardiac-care-centre/|title=Regional Cardiac Care Centre |publisher=SMGH|date=2018-09-15 |access-date=2018-12-30}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smgh.ca/about-us/who-we-are/st-marys-statistics-facts-faqs/|title=About Us |publisher=SMGH|date=2018-09-15 |access-date=2018-12-30}}</ref> As of late 2018, Cambridge Memorial had 143 beds but was in the midst of a major expansion. The general contractor went into receivership in late 2018 and that stalled the process; the new section was not expected to be completed until approximately 2021. The expansion will eventually add 54 new beds and double the size of the Emergency department.<ref>{{cite news |title=Banks take control of Cambridge hospital project|date=29 December 2018|url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/9080473-banks-take-control-of-cambridge-hospital-project/|work=Waterloo Region Record|access-date=30 December 2018|quote=BMO, as a lender and funder, called a performance bond to ensure there is funding to get the work done. Zurich Insurance is Bondfield's insurer.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Doctor recruitment an ongoing issue in Waterloo Region |date=September 18, 2018|url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8910318-doctor-recruitment-an-ongoing-issue-in-waterloo-region/ |work=Waterloo Region Record|access-date=December 30, 2018|quote=Although recruitment efforts over the past 15 years or so have brought many new physicians to the area, many residents are without a family doctor.}}</ref> Announced January 2006, as a new School of Medicine, the Waterloo Regional Campus of [[McMaster University]] was completed in 2009. In 2018, the campus included "a complete on-site clinical skills laboratory with 4 skills rooms and 2 observation rooms, classrooms with video-conferencing capabilities and a state-of-the-art anatomy lab that was built in 2013 with a high definition video system", according to the university. Its Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine building includes the Centre for Family Medicine and the [[University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mdprogram.mcmaster.ca/campus/waterloo-regional-campus|title=Waterloo Regional Campus |publisher=McMaster|date=March 15, 2018 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> ==Transportation== [[File:Ion Flexity Freedom 514 service livery.jpg|thumb|left|Ion light rail vehicle in service]] Public transportation is provided by [[Grand River Transit]], which is an amalgamation of the former Cambridge Transit and Kitchener Transit systems, the latter of which had also served the City of Waterloo for many decades. In June 2011, regional council approved the plan for a [[light rail]] transit (LRT) line from Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo to Fairview Park Mall in south Kitchener, with rapid buses through to Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/548497--rail-plan-passes |title=Rail plan passes |publisher=TheRecord |date=2011-06-15 |access-date=2012-02-20}}</ref> In Stage 1, the [[Ion rapid transit]] system runs between Waterloo and Kitchener, passing through the downtown/uptown areas. This phase opened in 2019. Until light rail transit is extended to the downtown Galt area of Cambridge from Kitchener in Stage 2, the rapid transit link will use specially branded buses between Fairview Park Mall and the Ainslie Street Transit Terminal. Other stops for this Ion bus are at Hespeler Road at the Delta, Can-Amera, Cambridge Centre, Pinebush, and Sportsworld. The rapid transit bus uses bus-only priority traffic signals at Pinebush, Sportsworld, and other places to minimize slowdowns at times of heavy traffic. Construction on the light rail system began in August 2014, and the Stage 1 service was expected to begin in late 2017.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.metro-magazine.com/news/story/2014/10/waterloo-region-s-rapid-transit-system-to-shape-growth-development.aspx |title=Waterloo Region's Rapid Transit System to Shape Growth, Development |journal=Metro Magazine |date=October 13, 2014 |access-date=2014-10-25}}</ref> In 2016, however, the start date was changed to early 2018 because of delays in the manufacture and delivery of the vehicles by [[Bombardier Transportation]]. By March 2017 a single sample-only train car had arrived.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/bombardier-100-committed-to-delivering-ion-vehicles-by-end-of-2017-1.3299914 |title=Bombardier '100% committed' to delivering Ion vehicles by end of 2017 |last=Flanagan |first=Ryan |date=24 February 2017 |website=CTV News |publisher=Bell Media |access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref> All trams were eventually delivered by December 2018 and the service started operating on June 21, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2020/08/21/region-settling-with-bombardier-for-22m-free-ion-train.html | title=Region settling with Bombardier for $2.2M, free Ion train| date=21 August 2020}}</ref> By late February 2017, plans for the Stage 2 (Cambridge section) of the Ion rail service were in the very early stage with public consultations just getting started.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/lrt-ion-cambridge-region-waterloo-1.3970421 |title=There's still wiggle room in the Region of Waterloo's LRT plans for Cambridge |last=Sharkey |first=Jackie |date=8 February 2017 |website=CBC |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://rapidtransit.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/FINAL_Stage-2-ION-PCC-No.-2-Display-Boards_reduced2.pdf |title=Stage 2 ION: Light Rail Transit (LRT) |last=Sharkey |first=Jackie |date=February 2017 |website=Region of Waterloo |access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref> (At least one journalist has pointed out the similarity between this plan and the electric [[Grand River Railway]] of the early 1900s.)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.explorewaterlooregion.com/2017/01/railway-history/ |title=Cambridge and its Influence on Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=19 January 2017 |website=Waterloo Region |access-date=10 March 2017 |quote=the first electric line running up Water and King Streets from Galt to the Mineral Springs Hotel across the Speed River in Preston ... Next, the train line extended north of Kitchener and a spur line ran into Hespeler.}}</ref> As the original plan to share the CP Rail line had become unworkable since the original route had been planned, a new route between Kitchener and Preston was proposed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-ont-lrt-ion-phase-2-proposed-route-announced-1.3976320 |title=LRT Cambridge proposed route announced}}</ref> Multiple options for the new Stage 2 route were researched and presented to the public, with Regional Council approving the final route and preliminary design on April 22, 2020,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news/council-approves-preliminary-design-for-stage-2-ion-2276736 |title=Council approves preliminary design for Stage 2 ION |date=23 April 2020 }}</ref> and starting the required environmental assessment later in December.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2020/12/10/region-begins-environmental-assessment-for-cambridge-lrt.html |title=Region begins environmental assessment for Cambridge LRT |date=10 December 2020 }}</ref> Waterloo Region was the home of the first carsharing organization in Ontario in 1998. [[Community CarShare|Community CarShare Cooperative]] (previously known as Grand River CarShare) provides access to vehicles on a self-serve, pay-per-use basis. Cars are located in many neighbourhoods around the Region. It is meant to complement other sustainable modes of transportation such as public transit, biking, and carpooling, or act as a transition out of owning a vehicle. Community CarShare has 27 vehicles stationed in the Region of Waterloo. The region also owns and operates the [[Region of Waterloo International Airport]], near [[Breslau, Ontario|Breslau]]. The airport is the 20th busiest in Canada as of December 2010<ref name="airportmovements">{{cite web |url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/51-007-x/2010012/t001-eng.htm |title=Total aircraft movements by class of operation |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=2011-02-17}}</ref> and underwent a major expansion in 2003. [[GO Transit]] and [[Via Rail]] provide rail services to the region on the [[Kitchener line]]. ==Education== {{See also|List of Waterloo Region, Ontario schools|List of secondary schools in Ontario#Regional Municipality of Waterloo}} [[File:WLU 2014 Sign.jpg|thumb|Wilfrid Laurier University is the smaller of the two universities in Waterloo]] Waterloo Region is home to the [[University of Waterloo]], [[Wilfrid Laurier University]], and [[Conestoga College]]. For a list of all elementary and secondary schools in the area, see the [[List of Waterloo Region, Ontario schools]]. ==Media== {{Main|Media in Waterloo Region}} ==Notable people== *[[David Bauer (ice hockey)|David Bauer]], Canadian ice hockey player and coach, educator and Catholic priest, inductee into multiple sports halls of fame<ref name="sportshall">{{cite web|url=http://www.sportshall.ca/stories.html?proID=112&catID=all&lang=FR%ED%83%95|title=Honoured Member: Father David Bauer|website=Canada's Sports Hall of Fame|access-date=April 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Clowes">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/m/article/father-david-william-bauer/|title=Father David William Bauer|last=Clowes|first=G.G.|date=August 5, 2008|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=April 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="ROW-gen">{{cite web|url=http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/getperson.php?personID=I119500&tree=generations|title=Rev William David Bauer|publisher=Region of Waterloo|access-date=January 19, 2019}}</ref> *[[Rich Beddoe]] is the drummer for the Canadian rock band [[Finger Eleven]]. He is from [[Cambridge, Ontario]]. *Hockey player [[Todd Bertuzzi]] of the [[Detroit Red Wings]] makes his offseason home in Kitchener. *[[Tim Brent]] is a hockey player from [[Cambridge, Ontario]]. *[[Khashayar Farzam]], Powerlifter and physician *[[Amanda Burk]], artist who grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo. *[[David Chilton (businessman)|David Chilton]], author of the financial planning guide ''[[The Wealthy Barber]]'' was born in [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] and lives in the region. *[[David Eby]], [[Premier of British Columbia]], was born and raised in [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]]. *Author and journalist [[Malcolm Gladwell]] grew up in [[Elmira, Ontario]]. *[[Mike Hoffman (ice hockey, born 1989)|Mike Hoffman]], hockey player from Kitchener *[[David Johnston (governor general)|David Johnston]], former president of the [[University of Waterloo]] and [[Governor General of Canada]] lives in [[Wellesley, Ontario|Wellesley Township]]. *[[Lisa LaFlamme]], journalist, from Kitchener. *[[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], Canada's longest serving prime minister, was born in Kitchener's predecessor Berlin, Ontario. His boyhood home is now [[Woodside National Historic Site]]. *[[Mike Lazaridis]], founder of [[Research In Motion]], came as a student to attend the [[University of Waterloo]]. *Boxer [[Lennox Lewis]] lived in Kitchener from the age of 12 and began his boxing career there. He maintains a home in Kitchener. *[[Lois Maxwell]], Golden Globe winning actress and the original [[Miss Moneypenny]] in the [[James Bond]] movies, was born in Kitchener. *[[Jamal Murray]], professional basketball player from Kitchener *[[Helmut Oberlander]], Ukrainian former Canadian who was a member of the Einsatzgruppen death squads of Nazi Germany in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II *[[Joseph E. Seagram]] was a partner in 1869, and sole owner in 1883, in the company later known as [[Seagram]]. *[[Donald Shaver]] created a world leading poultry breeding business. *[[Dave Sim]], creator of the comic book ''[[Cerebus the Aardvark]]'', has lived in Kitchener since he was two years old. *[[Edna Staebler]], author and literary journalist, best known for her series of cookbooks, particularly ''Food That Really Schmecks'' *Former [[Ice hockey|hockey]] all-star [[Scott Stevens]] of the [[New Jersey Devils]] was born in Kitchener and played for the [[Kitchener Rangers]]. He also maintains a home there. *Landscape artist [[Homer Watson]] was born in the village of Doon (now part of Kitchener). ==See also== {{Portal|Ontario}} * [[List of municipalities in Ontario]] * [[List of townships in Ontario]] * [[Quebec City–Windsor Corridor]] ==References== {{reflist|refs= <ref name="2021census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-10-26 |title= Waterloo, Regional municipality (RM) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Waterloo&DGUIDlist=2021A00033530&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> <ref name="2016census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2021-10-27 |title= Waterloo, RM Ontario, Census Profile, 2016 Census |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=3530&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&SearchText=Waterloo&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> }} *{{cite web|url=http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/DocID/808C2C0AB9A9E57685256AE800716CD3?Opendocument|title=Economic Profile|work=Doing Business in the Region of Waterloo|publisher=Regional Municipality of Waterloo|access-date=2006-04-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820185509/http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/DocID/808C2C0AB9A9E57685256AE800716CD3?Opendocument|archive-date=2006-08-20}} ===Notes=== {{notelist}} ==External links== {{Wikivoyage|Region of Waterloo (Ontario)}} {{commons category}} *{{official website|http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca}} {{Geographic location | Centre = Waterloo Regional Municipality | North = [[Wellington County, Ontario|Wellington County]] | East = [[Wellington County, Ontario|Wellington County]] | Southeast = [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] (single-tier city) | South = [[County of Brant]] (single-tier city) | Southwest = [[Oxford County, Ontario|Oxford County]] | West = [[Perth County, Ontario|Perth County]] }} {{WaterlooRegion}} {{Subdivisions of Ontario}} {{Census metropolitan areas by size}} {{Great Lakes Megalopolis}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Municipality Of Waterloo}} [[Category:Regional municipalities in Ontario|Waterloo]] [[Category:Southwestern Ontario]] [[Category:Regional Municipality of Waterloo| ]]
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