Diverse resilient economy

Waterloo Region has a vibrant and diverse economy, with significant manufacturing, food and beverage, automotive, aerospace, finance and insurance, and technology sectors. fDi Intelligence[1] ranks Cambridge sixth and Waterloo ninth for business friendliness in the 2017/2018 American Cities of the Future report. Waterloo is also ranked seventh best for economic potential. The 2017 Global Startup Ecosystem report ranked the Toronto-Waterloo Region corridor as the world's 16th best start-up ecosystem.

The region's manufacturing sector is the fourth largest in Canada, employing 57,000 people (2020) across 1,850 companies with annual revenues exceeding $6 billion. Manufacturing is the region's largest sector, employing 18.6 per cent of the labour force. Eleven local manufacturing companies employ more than 500 people, including:

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
• Frito-Lay Canada
• Mitchell Plastics
• ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc.
• Christie Digital Systems Canada, Inc.
• Kuntz Electroplating Inc.

According to the most recently released Statistics Canada Business Counts data, there are 1,570 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies with more than 11,160 employees in Waterloo Region. With approximately 1,100 start-ups for a population of 623,930 people (2020), the Waterloo Region has the second highest start-up density in the world after Silicon Valley.

See Information Technology and Analytical Instruments Location Quotient by CMA, 2016
View full screen accessible report.

The region's aerospace industry is the fourth largest in Canada in terms of total companies (100+ companies) and the third largest in terms of employment (3,000 employed). The region's aerospace industry is supported by some of Canada's premier engineering and aviation programs.

See Aerospace Vehicles and Defense Location Quotient by CMAs in Ontario, 2016
View full screen accessible report

To learn more about our key sectors, please visit our Key Sectors page.