Greater Toronto Area Locations: Kitchener-Waterloo

Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services operates in the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. Although Global Alliance provides services around the world through our network of affiliates, the core of our services are performed in Toronto and its surrounding region. In this continuing feature, we will detail notable locations and communities in the Greater Toronto Area (or GTA) where we often provide limousine service. Today we visit two of the Tri-Cities, the adjacent communities of Kitchener and Waterloo.

The Tri-Cities metropolitan area comprises the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, located about 100 kilometres southwest of Toronto with a combined population of nearly half a million residents. It is the fourth largest metro region in Ontario and the tenth largest in Canada.

Kitchener is the largest of the Tri-Cities with a population of over 216,000, while Waterloo is the smallest, its population just shy of 100,000. The area was settled predominantly by German Mennonites beginning at the end of the 18th Century. Kitchener was initially called Berlin until it was renamed in during World War I in 1916, after the late British Field Marshal, Lord Kitchener. Waterloo was established in 1816, named after the major Napoleonic Wars-ending battle of the year before. Kitchener was made the seat of the County of Waterloo and remains so today. King Street is the main commercial strip for both cities, and completed a handsome refurbishment within the last decade.

The region’s German heritage is among its main tourist draws. The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, the largest such festival outside of Germany, is a nine-day festival of beer, food, and culture every fall, and includes a nationally-televised parade. Kitchener-Waterloo is also home to numerous music festivals and cultural and performing arts institutions. Victoria Park in downtown Kitchener is the favoured green space of locals and visitors alike.

The Tri-Cities region, and Kitchener-Waterloo in particular, is sometimes known as Canada’s Silicon Valley, due to the concentration of tech companies in the area, most prominently BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion or RIM, designers and makers of the popular smartphones), OpenText, and Kik. Industrial and manufacturing industries were also historically strong components of the area’s economy and remain so currently. The University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University are the two major post-secondary educational institutions in the Tri-Cities, as well as being among the region’s major employers.

The Region of Waterloo International Airport is the largest general aviation facility in the region, although the Tri-Cities are also not much more than an hour away from Hamilton and Toronto’s international airports.

Please feel free to contact Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services for all of your transportation needs in Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario.

 

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