Waterloo Region Economy

The Waterloo Region's economy is diverse, growing, and increasingly export and globally oriented.

Economic Growth

For the second consecutive year (2008), the Waterloo Region registered the highest reading among Canadian metropolitan areas in the CIBC World Markets' Metropolitan Economic Activity Index. Based on nine key macroeconomic variables and drivers of economic growth, the Index is designed to capture the rate of change in the level of economic activity in Canada's largest 25 cities. The latest CIBC Report noted that the Waterloo Region ranked very high in most of the nine individual categories, enabling it to maintain its leading position. Key factors in the Region were strong population and employment growth with overall job gains of 4.6% over the past year (more than triple the national average), and a strong housing market. A strong housing market was also another factor mentioned.

Economic Structure (2006):

• GDP - $21.5 billion
• Canada’s second most manufacturing intensive economy
• Major economic sectors: Automotive, Advanced Manufacturing, Business and Financial Services, High-tech
• Emerging economic sectors: Biotechnology, Health Sciences Environmental, Nanotechnology, Pharmaceutical
• $347 million in private-sector and $200 million in public-sector R&D expenditures (2005)
  • 150 research institutes

 

Export-Orientation

• From 2000 to 2005, the Waterloo Region's product exports grew 43.8% to $12 billion
  (6% of Ontario's total exports)
• Transportation Equipment Industries account for the bulk of the area’s exports amounting to $6.3 billion in product, accounting for 52.8% of all exports. Computer and Electronic Product Industries followed with exporting over $1.4 billion in product exports, accounting for 12.0% of all exports. Twelve industries exported more than $100 million each.
• The relative importance of exports as a generator of Gross Domestic Product has risen dramatically over the past decade, as output per employee is higher in sectors that export.
• $50,000 Product Exports Per Employee Compared to $31,000 for Ontario (2004)
• Major export markets include the United States, the UK, China, Germany and Japan. Major sources of foreign investment included the U.S, Germany, the UK, France, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Demographic Benchmarks

• Population - 507,000* (Canada’s 10th largest, and Ontario’s 4th largest urban population)
• Population growth (2001-2006) - 8.9%
• Workforce - 277,200 (2009)
• Net labour force inflow (2001-2006) - 23,010
• Immigrants comprise 22% of the population. Countries of immigrant origin are shifting from the UK, Portugal, Germany and Poland to India, China, Pakistan and Romania
• 3rd youngest median age of major Canadian urban areas (2006 StatsCan)
• Unemployment rate - 9.5 (2009)

*Source: Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Unless otherwise indicated, all other statistics are sourced from Statistics Canada