Not long into his day-long trip to Waterloo Region, Toronto Mayor John Tory was asked for his thoughts on what he’d seen.
“There’s a lot going on,” he responded.
“It’s exciting in Waterloo Region.”
Tory’s trip was part of a concerted effort by local governments and businesses to promote the region as an ‘innovation corridor’ also including Canada’s largest city.
The Toronto mayor toured a number of the region’s tech hotspots, including the Tannery, the University of Waterloo and Google’s new office.
He also addressed a crowd of politicians and business leaders at an event hosted by the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, where he stressed wanting to see better transportation options between the two areas, as well as working together to compete with other international hubs.
“Toronto is not competing with Waterloo Region,” he said in an interview.
“Toronto is competing with Silicon Valley. Toronto is competing with Boston. Toronto is competing with London – and I think the same is largely true of Waterloo, so let’s get together … and put it all into a powerhouse offering.”
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said he was glad to see the involvement of the “broader business sector” in promoting the innovation corridor, and that it wasn’t only governmental agencies pushing the idea.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to capitalize on what’s happening here, in terms of the tech and innovation sectors, and grow it collectively between our two communities,” he said.
