I had heard about it from a few leading edge tech types – the next cool thing – and I figured I should get on and see what the fuss was about.

Like many, I wasn’t quite sure – even after I signed up and took a look around. (Let me guess, you know how I felt!)

As time went on, I started to get it.

Conversations were happening, all around me.  I could listen to all of them, meet the people behind them, and even jump in to offer my point of view.

Eventually, I understood the power of twitter – meeting people, listening to them, and engaging where where I could add value.

We can see (and search through) what people everywhere are talking about.  Talk about market research!

I can hear what the Kitchener Waterloo community is talking about.

I  learn what the leading marketing minds are reading and thinking.

I listen to people’s needs in real time; what’s important right now.

I  interact with my clients and get feedback from prospects.

I  meet and learn from colleagues within the Commercial Real Estate and ‘Real Estate social media’ scenes.

I listen to what brilliant minds are talking about on twitter, and I absorb.

Pretty cool, eh?

Who I met on twitter

I’ve met and interacted with some amazing people on twitter.  Thanks to all of you!

First, the #KWawesome gang.  Kitchener-Waterloo sure is a cool place -and we have our own awesome hash tag to prove it

Special thanks to Mayor Brenda Halloran (remember to vote in the upcoming election!), Mandy Dennison, Darryl Kraemer, Thrive Juice Bar, Herle’s and Martin’s farms, Kurt Wissent, Amy & Karl from CuteGecko, Julie Wheeler, Vince Jelenic, James Howe, Mike and Vesna Leonard,  Mike Shanks, Ramy Nassar, local restaurants like The41, Bauer Kitchen (always accomodating my vegan requests – extra thx!!) and Nate and Nats just to name a few.

This list isn’t exhaustive – there are hundreds of cool KW people on twitter – just a sample of the awesomeness behind #KWawesome!

The real estate twitterverse is full of awesome people too.  In the morning i can pop in and say hi to the #CRUSH and #crejavaclub crews.  If I can’t sleep, Tom Royce, Darin Persinger & Ricardo Bueno are always on west coast time talking about real estate & internet marketing.

Real Estate People like Maya Paveza, Jay Thompson, Nicole Nicolay, Dustin Luther, Loren Sanders, Jeff Brown,  Darin Persinger, Lani & Benn Rosales Todd Waller, Marc Pina, Mike Mueller,  Nikki Beauchamp,  Melissa DelGaudio, Jeff Gingerich, Addy Saeed,Teresa Boardman, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Marianna Wagner are great resources to talk with and learn from. Again, this is far from an exhaustive list!

There is a great Keller Williams community online too, including the whole team behind @kwri, Amber, Jay Papasan, the whole KW Commercial crew, Lisa Archer, Sherry Puffer, David Paterson, and more.

The Global Commercial Real Estate world is also connecting over twitter, with brokers from all over coming together to network, exchange ideas, deals and contacts – all to the benefit of our clients. People like Barbi Reuter, Duke Long, Coy Davidson, Charlie Foxworth, ColliersAZNews, Michael_MBA, and others make twitter a valuable place for anyone looking to learn about Commercial Real Estate – novice or expert, vendor or broker.

There are some awesome Toronto social media people doing their thing on twitter, like Scott Stratten – unMarketing, and TheBizMedia crew headed by Guy Gal (who like Vayner Media, ran a live-to-twitter basketball league this past summer).

Thanks to Celebrity authors and speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Stefan Swanepol, Robert Cheeke, Coach Tom Ferry, Richard Robbins, Chris Brogan, Jeff Pulver and Tom Peters, who take the time to listen and talk with the people who buy their products.

Tom is cool enough to take time to exchange tweets with me on lazy weekends about global politics, (lack of) integrity in journalism, among other topics.

I think everyone knows how @GaryVee will drop anything and do a call or ustream for a fan, so I don’t need to recount that here. Needless to say, Gary has been very generous with his time and knowledge.

Rich Robbins tweets out the best ideas from his morning reflections, and these thoughts help me get the day started right.

It’s cool that I was able to easily gain access to people like this through twitter.

So… Was it all worth it?

My first 9,999 tweets led to me meeting awesome new people, being interviewed on internet radio programs, receiving invitations to speak at Inman’s Agent Reboot in Seattle, writing for the leading real estate online magazine Agent Genius, speaking to an audience at REBarCamp Toronto that included internet marketing legend Dean Jackson, meeting and speaking with the Mayor of Waterloo, having juice with Duke Long in Toronto, receiving business referrals, meeting new clients, sharing my blogs with more people, having dinner with new friends, taking online relationships offline and face-to-face (how cool is that?!?!) and being able to engage with my communities on a deeper level.

What an awesome ride so far.

I’m exciting to see where the next 10,000 tweets lead me.

–
Are you on twitter? What has it led you to?

Let me know in the comments, and add me at @BenjaminBach

My First 9,999 Tweets – Who I’ve met & What I’ve learnt on this crazy little thing called Twitter is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. 3 Things You Should Look For Before Investing in a Condo in Kitchener Waterloo
2. Gary Vaynerchuk talks about Social Media & Business
3. Real Estate Investment Tip: Raising Rent on Rental Units in Ontario

I spoke with CTV at the Keller Williams office yesterday morning, and they also spoke with a client, Stephen Litt on site at the Arrow Lofts development.  They ran the segment on the 6pm news, and again at 11.

Here is the (shorter) clip from the 11pm news:

(thx Mike Hagedorn for getting this for me!)

If anyone was able to capture the clip that ran on the 6pm news, I’d be eternally grateful for a link.  Thanks!

Local News looks at Why REIN named Kitchener Waterloo #1 place to invest in Ontario is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. Top 9 Reasons You Should Invest in KW Real Estate
2. Two Waterloo Region Apartment Buildings Sell For $45+ million
3. Why we invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate

Kitchener Waterloo is Ontario’s top Real Estate Investment Destination, again.

Well, it’s that time of year again. Kitchener Waterloo is getting some more much deserved attention from Canadian Real Estate Investors all across the country.

KW has been named the top real estate investment destination in Ontario by the Real Estate Investment Network for a couple years in a row (see: Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate ranked #1 again), and this year the trend continues.

REIN just named Kitchener Waterloo the #2 investment destination in Canada, and tops in Ontario again.

From CTV News:

The Record reports:
REIN “refers to Waterloo Region as the “economic Alberta of Ontario.”
That means Waterloo Region is seen not only as the economic engine of the new Ontario economy, but also that it “will outperform all other major regions in eastern Canada,” says REIN president Don Campbell
For indicators, he points to job growth, student growth and a new light rapid-transit system.”

Why are real estate investors focused on our city?  Let’s take a look at the reasons why people like buying investment property in Kitchener Waterloo

Top 9 Reasons People Are Investing in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Now

1. Top Area to Invest – The Real Estate Investment Network named Kitchener Waterloo & Cambridge (“the Technology Triangle”) the #1 city to invest in Ontario and #2 in Canada, behind Calgary.

2. Low Interest Rates. currently we have very low interest rates – although there is a slight upward trend right now – which makes NOW a great time to invest.  Rates will be going up in the future. It’s a matter of how soon, and how much.  Smart real estate investors are taking advantage of historically affordable cost of borrowing money.

3. Great prices – Investors love Kitchener Waterloo because it has a booming economy, without big city property prices.  Our clients invest in condos ranging from $120,000 on up, and there are opportunities to buy multi-family housing with cap rates of 7%, leaving room for healthy cash flow with today’s low interest rates.

You can buy good quality new construction rental units here, for much less than you’d pay for an older condo in Toronto.  (That’s what our cilents from Toronto happily do, over and over again).

4. Growth – Kitchener Waterloo is growing at a rapid rate. If you haven’t been here in a few years, just drive down King St! There are mulitple mega million dollar developments that are underway or have been completed recently – The Bauer Lofts, The Barrel Yards, the Arrow Lofts, Kaufman Lofts, the new McMaster medical school and University of Waterloo Pharmacy school, the new King St streetscape in downtown, the new Uptown Waterloo, the Kitchener Market, Market lofts; and LOTS of development in the university areas as well.

Also, the University of Waterloo has recently announced plans to double it’s footprint over the next 40 years. See Is Waterloo’s Student Housing Market Being Over Built?
5. Stable, Diverse Economy – Kitchener Waterloo is a market supported by strong fundamentals – world class high tech companies, universities and NGOs; a strong manufacturing sector; proximity to Toronto and the United States; an international airport; continued job growth etc.

In the July 2010 figures released by Stats Canada, the jobless rate of the KW area fell, while national unemployment rose.

6. Access to Property Management – all of our clients have access to world class property management for a very reasonable rate. Contact me for more details !

7. Great Business Community – Major companies and organizations call the Technology Triangle home including RIM (makers of the blackberry), Toyota, OpenText, Manulife, Sunlife, the Perimetere Institute, the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and a host of world class local companies.

8. Awesome, Smart People: Kitchener Waterloo is the MOST INTELLIGENT COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD. Take that Toronto

9. Great Resource – You have found a real estate agent and Wealth Building team that is focused on building your wealth!

What are some of the reasons you like investing in Kitchener Waterloo? Let us know in the comments!

Top 9 Reasons You Should Invest in KW Real Estate is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. Local News looks at Why REIN named Kitchener Waterloo #1 place to invest in Ontario
2. Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate ranked #1 again
3. Two Waterloo Region Apartment Buildings Sell For $45+ million

I asked Jeff what he thought of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike:

To most it doesn’t have much of an impact – 0.25% on a 200,000.00 mortgage that would be $10.00 a week or so. Mentally though when there are increases it scares people.

We need to keep in mind that rates are still very low and increases are expected going forward.

My advice to clients is if you can’t afford your current mortgage if rates were 6-6.5% your probably should look in a lower range as rates could easily be in that range someday (likely not for some time but it is possible)

Are you concerned with the direction rates are going in? Personally, I do not think it is smart economic policy to artificially keep money cheap – but I do enjoy borrowing at low rates to invest in more property!

What about you?

A Mortgage Broker’s thoughts on the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. More analysis on the Bank of Canada interest rate hike
2. Bank of Canada raises interest rate 0.25%
3. Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Market Update – October 2009

Perimeter Development Corp. is redeveloping the old (some parts date to 1903) complex on the corner of Breithaupt and King, bringing cool space to the north end of downtown Kitchener.

Developer turning old boot factory into trendy commercial space

When its first phase opens next summer, The Breithaupt Block, as it’s been named by developer Perimeter Development Corp., will offer 175,000 square feet of trendy commercial space targeted primarily at the high-tech, research and creative sectors.

“In terms of people who like that type of space, they’re creative thinkers,” said David Gibson of Perimeter. “That’s the type of people we’re going after — design oriented type companies and the like. There are many good examples of this type of mix in Toronto and we think there’s a real demand for it in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.”

The developer added a slick wrap advertising the space on the face of old factory last week and has already seen significant interest.

Gibson — the former CEO of First Gulf Development, which was responsible for the redevelopment of a significant stretch of Uptown Waterloo — bought the complex in June 2009. Perimeter is also in the process of redeveloping several properties in downtown Galt.

Go read the whole article

Thanks to James Howe at @KingandOttawa for the heads up this morning!

Large Redevelopment Coming to Breithaupt & King in Kitchener is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. CBRE Looks at Canada’s Top Multi-Family Sales in 2009
2. Commercial Real Estate news around the web
3. Notable Multi Family & Student Housing Transactions in Waterloo

Owners of Student Housing Rejoice

Back in April you read about the University of Waterloo proposed plans to double the size of campus (Is Waterloo’s Student Housing Market Being Over Built?), and today the news is announced that the plans are moving forward.

This is great news for people who invest in the student housing market here – the demand for quality new student housing will continue to increase for decades.  We will need to build even more property around WLU and UW!

From The Record:

Plans are moving forward to double the size of the University of Waterloo campus over 40 years.

Monday, Waterloo council endorsed a subdivision plan that calls for the staged development of the north-west campus, between Westmount and Fischer-Hallman roads. It’s estimated the 73-hectare site could eventually support 9,000 jobs, similar to the research and technology park operating on adjacent campus lands.

Waterloo council will spend $9 million to grade and service the site, as part of a deal to locate a new city library branch and YMCA there.

Vacant lands could be used for research, academic buildings, and housing for students or faculty

Student Housing can provide great cash flow, abundance of tenants (and even in a recession, when investing in an education becomes even more of a priority), and long term security for your family’s money.

We have a terrific development opportunity for sale; building your own property is a great way to get into the student housing market.

For full details, and for other opportunities in the Waterloo student housing market, just email or call me.

Terrific news for Real Estate Investors in Waterloo is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. Construction underway on many projects at University of Waterloo
2. Is Waterloo’s Student Housing Market Being Over Built?
3. Update: Waterloo Student Housing Investment Property under Development

More analysis on the Bank of Canada interest rate hike is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. A Mortgage Broker’s thoughts on the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike
2. Bank of Canada raises interest rate 0.25%
3. Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Market Update – October 2009

Mortgage interest rates area heading up!

This morning, the Bank of Canada announced what many of us were expecting; they have raised the prime interest rate by a quarter percent, to 0.75%. This will likely put pressure on variable rate mortgages.

Mortgage ares are still very affordable. We have real estate investors buying properties, and getting loans with very low interest rates.

My friend Bev Gay, from STS Mortgage Pros in Kitchener, says that ‘banks will raise their prime lending rate today from 2.5% to 2.75%.’

(see also: More analysis on the Bank of Canada interest rate hike)

Here is the full press release from the Bank of Canada:

“Bank of Canada increases overnight rate target to 3/4 per cent

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/2 per cent.

The global economic recovery is proceeding but is not yet self-sustaining. Greater emphasis on balance sheet repair by households, banks, and governments in a number of advanced economies is expected to temper the pace of global growth relative to the Bank’s outlook in its April Monetary Policy Report (MPR). While the policy response to the European sovereign debt crisis has reduced the risk of an adverse outcome and increased the prospect of sustainable long term growth, it is expected to slow the global recovery over the projection horizon. In the United States, private demand is picking up but remains uneven.

Economic activity in Canada is unfolding largely as expected, led by government and consumer spending. Housing activity is declining markedly from high levels, consistent with the Bank’s view that policy stimulus resulted in household expenditures being brought forward into late 2009 and early 2010. While employment growth has resumed, business investment appears to be held back by global uncertainties and has yet to recover from its sharp contraction during the recession.

The Bank expects the economic recovery in Canada to be more gradual than it had projected in its April MPR, with growth of 3.5 per cent in 2010, 2.9 per cent in 2011, and 2.2 per cent in 2012. This revision reflects a slightly weaker profile for global economic growth and more modest consumption growth in Canada. The Bank anticipates that business investment and net exports will make a relatively larger contribution to growth.

Inflation in Canada has been broadly in line with the Bank’s April projection. While the Bank now expects the economy to return to full capacity at the end of 2011, two quarters later than had been anticipated in April, the underlying dynamics for inflation are little changed. Both total CPI and core inflation are expected to remain near 2 per cent throughout the projection period. The Bank will look through the transitory effects on inflation of changes to provincial indirect taxes.

Reflecting all of these factors, the Bank has decided to raise the target for the overnight rate to 3/4 per cent. This decision leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in light of the significant excess supply in Canada, the strength of domestic spending, and the uneven global recovery.

Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments.

Information note:
A full update of the Bank’s outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, will be published in the MPR on 22 July 2010. The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is 8 September 2010″

Bank of Canada raises interest rate 0.25% is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. More analysis on the Bank of Canada interest rate hike
2. A Mortgage Broker’s thoughts on the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike
3. Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Market Update – October 2009

Apartment construction boosts housing starts
WATERLOO REGION — Fuelled by a surge in apartment building construction, housing starts in Waterloo Region rose 165 per cent in June compared to the same month last year.

Ground was broken on 388 units, up from 146 a year ago, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Friday.

June was a good month, but the first half of this year was also a busy one for builders in the region. Foundations have been poured for 1,566 units, the highest total in the past five years and 88 per cent more than the 831 units started for the first half of 2009, the agency said.

Of the units started last month, 175 were concentrated in two multi-unit projects, a 61-unit condo complex in Cambridge and a 114-unit apartment complex in Kitchener.

Construction of single-detached dwellings rose to 135 from 77 a year ago, townhouse starts increased to 64 from 25 while semis held steady at 14.

Kitchener and Cambridge were the busiest with 228 and 125 starts respectively. Waterloo was quiet with only 10 starts.

For the year to date, 692 detached homes have been launched in the region, up from 447 in 2009. Foundations have been poured for 572 apartment units compared to 831 last year.

“The strong level of apartment construction, as well as the increased demand for new homes in the latter part of 2009 and early 2010 were responsible for the strength of new residential construction this year,” Erica McLerie, an analyst with the housing corporation, said in a news release.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 189,300 in June, down 3.1 per cent from May.

The decline was largely due to fewer multiple-unit starts — condos and semi-detached homes — in Ontario, though most of the country has seen a softening in demand for residential construction permits in recent months.

The June figures support economists’ view that housing activity has peaked for the time being, says BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic.

“Despite recent softness, overall starts still remain above the estimated 175,000 rate of household formation, helping to build the case for further weakness in the coming months,” Kavcic wrote in a note.

Housing Starts in Kitchener Waterloo up 165% is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. Investment Property in Cambridge Ontario sells for $45+ million
2. 2009 Kitchener Waterloo Investment Real Estate Market Update
3. April’s Real Estate Sales in Kitchener Waterloo set Record

This is a terrific choice for Canada, and is yet another event that will draw Canadian’s attention to the Waterloo Region, one of the most vibrant communities in Canada.

David has been a major influence for good in our community, inspiring the Barnraiser Award which is presented ‘annually to an individual who contributes to the region’s tradition of inspirational, collaborative achievement.’

This award was inspired by a speech David gave that I was lucky enough to attend, where he laid out 10 goals for our community, to truly be a world class knowledge destination.

University of Waterloo celebrates appointment of President David Johnston as the next Governor General of Canada:

The University of Waterloo and its alumni around the world proudly learned today of the appointment of current president, David Johnston, as the next Governor General of Canada, effective October 1, 2010.

President Johnston shared some of his feelings with the campus and broader community, commenting:

“My wife Sharon and I are honoured to be asked to serve Canada in this way and will miss the Waterloo family enormously, but we will not be far away,” he said.

“I am a teacher as are my only brother and my sister. All five of our daughters are public servants. All the important things in life I’ve learned from my children. This is just one more lesson.”

…

“David Johnston exemplifies the highest qualities of leadership and commitment to public service we have in Canada. The University of Waterloo is fortunate to have had him as its president for the past 11 years, a time when Waterloo has grown in innovation, accomplishment and profile in Canada and around the world,” Harding said.

“While we are losing a great president, Canada gains a splendid individual and a community leader who will represent all Canadians with great distinction as our next GG. We, his Waterloo family, are so grateful for his leadership and we are proud of him.”

Mike Lazardis, co-CEO and founder of RIM (Research In Motion), and Waterloo’s Chancellor Emeritus, said Johnston “has led the University of Waterloo during the most prolific growth period in its history. He has worked tirelessly to position the University of Waterloo as a world-class institution of math, science, engineering, health and the arts.

“David’s strong understanding of law and the Canadian Constitution, combined with his great communication skills, charm and real ability to achieve consensus amongst stakeholders, will serve him well in the role of Governor General. David’s appreciation of the importance of higher education, scientific research and private-public partnerships also distinctly qualifies him for the role.”

…

During his 11-year tenure at the University of Waterloo, David Johnston oversaw unprecedented growth in the university’s reputation, research capacity and leadership capabilities.

Of his many accomplishments, he will be especially remembered for:

Putting the University of Waterloo, and the surrounding region, on the national map as a centre for talent, ideas, and innovation.

    * He led Campaign Waterloo, which raised in excess of $500 million to
        support the university's scholarship, students, and key building
        projects.

    * The Institute for Quantum Computing, founded in 2002, has become a
        leading centre for development of ideas that may lead to a revolution
        in how we store and transmit information, among many other things.
        The institute moves into the $160-million Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis
        Quantum Nano Centre in 2011, one of five current major building
        projects underway on the uWaterloo campus.

    * Leading research groups have formed and grown under President
        Johnston's tenure, including the Water Institute, the Waterloo
        Institute for Sustainable Energy, the Propel Centre for Population
        Health Impact, the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research (WATCar),
        and the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change. Research funding
        for the university has nearly tripled in this decade from $61 million
        in 1999 to $170 million in 2009.

    * He has encouraged talent and ideas through VeloCity, the university's
        unique "dormcubator" residence for student entrepreneurs, and the
        Accelerator Centre, which provides a fertile environment for start-up
        high-tech firms developing new products and services.

    * 2001 saw the launch of Waterloo's Research and Technology Park, a
        100-acre development on the university's north campus supported by
        the City of Waterloo, the Region of Waterloo, and the provincial and
        federal governments.

    * The university's School of Architecture opened in a renovated silk
        mill in downtown Cambridge in 2004, a partnership of the university,
        local business leaders, the City of Cambridge, the Region of
        Waterloo, philanthropists, and the provincial government.

    * Waterloo's health sciences campus, anchored by Canada's only co-op
        School of Pharmacy that opened in 2009, was made possible through the
        investment and vision of the City of Kitchener, the Region of
        Waterloo, the provincial and federal governments, and the university.

    * Ground will break this fall for a new Stratford Campus focused on
        digital media, a joint project of the City of Stratford, corporate
        partners including Open Text, the university and the provincial and
        federal governments.

Inspiring the community through his vision of a “Knowledge Capital” that has raised the sights of Waterloo to aspire to world leadership.

    * In 2007, the City of Waterloo was recognized as the world's Top
        Intelligent Community by the Intelligent Communities Forum.

    * President Johnston's vision includes a community where universities
        are innovative leaders, healthy living standards rise, investments in
        research and development transform, smart infrastructure is
        developed, and social innovation is championed.

Championing experiential education and the university’s co-operative education program, the largest of its kind in the world, which nurtures Waterloo’s students’ ideas and teaches them how their ideas are their most valuable offering in Canada’s knowledge economy.

    * The William M. Tatham Centre for co-operative education and career
        services opened on the Waterloo campus in 2002, a building dedicated
        solely to supporting and growing the university's co-op program.

    * Half of Waterloo's undergraduate students are part of the co-op
        program, with 13,000 students matched with 3,000 employers world-
        wide.

David was also principle of McGill, as well as a member of Harvard’s rowing team

For his part, Johnston said he was “profoundly” touched by the appointment and relished the opportunities his new job will provide. “I’ve had the good fortune to witness Canadians’ creativity and our ties to the world, as well as our diversity and our vitality,” he told reporters in Ottawa. “The opportunity to see these values at work across the country means a great deal to me.”

Johnston, a legal scholar and current President of the University of Waterloo, led McGill for 15 years, from 1979 to 1994, before returning to the Faculty of Law to teach. In 1997, he was named Chairman of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, his alma mater. He assumed the presidency of the University of Waterloo in 1999 and has guided that institution to new levels of national and international recognition.

“David Johnston has made an enormous contribution to higher education in Canada,” said Heather Munroe-Blum, McGill’s current Principal and Vice-Chancellor. “We at McGill are absolutely delighted to see this inspired choice to be the Queen’s representative in Canada. His appointment is both a recognition of his prodigious talents and sterling reputation, and an important symbol of the vital role higher education, research and innovation plays in this country’s prosperity and progress in the global community.

“Prof. Johnston has truly made a very real difference everywhere he has served,” Munroe-Blum said.

The governor-general is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the prime minister and acts as the Queen’s representative in Canada. The term is five years and can be extended to seven.

On being sworn in as Governor-General, Johnston automatically becomes the official Visitor of McGill University. This little-known role dates to the Royal Charter of 1852, under which McGill operates. At the time of the Charter, the Governor of Lower Canada was appointed as the Visitor, a role that since Confederation has been played by the Governor-General of Canada. The post is ceremonial; although the Visitor does have the power to disallow University statutes, that power has never been exercised.

McGill awarded Prof. Johnston an honorary doctorate of laws in 2000

Everyone I’ve spoken to in Kitchener Waterloo is exceedingly proud of David’s appointment. Congratulations Mr (soon to be) Governor General!

Do you know David? Please share a comment about him below

Kitchener Waterloo local David Johnston named Canada’s next Governor General is a post from the Invest in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate blog by Benjamin Bach.

Related posts:

1. Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Market Update – October 2009
2. More Tech Innovations Come out of Waterloo
3. Is Waterloo’s Student Housing Market Being Over Built?