Waterloo is getting top marks when it comes to attracting newcomers to the city.
According to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada, Waterloo is one of top five most attractive cities in Canada. It’s also a popular pick for newcomers to Canada.
When Nick Manning accepted a job at Blackberry three years ago, he moved from England to Waterloo. While he no longer works at the company, Manning and his family continue to call Waterloo their home.
“There’s a bunch of factors for us,” he says. “There’s so many great accessible activities for children. The education system here is really impressive.”
So what makes Waterloo so wonderful?
The Conference Board of Canada says Waterloo gets an ‘A’ for education, innovation and housing.
“That translates into the economy,” says Alan Arcand, a spokesperson for the Conference Board of Canada. “There’s good synergies between the university and the high tech sector in Waterloo. And other sectors too.”
The report ranked fifty cities in seven categories. Besides education, innovation and housing, they also looked at society and health.
While Waterloo came out on top, Kitchener and Cambridge fell far below in the rankings.
The Board gave Kitchener a ‘C’ ranking because, they say, there’s room for improvement in the areas of education and society.
Cambridge received a ‘D.’ The report says the city struggles in the economy and innovation categories, mainly due to the recession.
Ian McLean, the President and CEO of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, says he disagrees with the report.
“Sometimes these reports don’t reflect the nuance of the Region of Waterloo. I mean, in a lot of ways Kitchener and Waterloo are one community.”
Manning says he doesn’t see much of difference between the three cities.
“It’s really an artificial divide that I don’t think exists.”
