Waterloo bests Kitchener and Cambridge in Canada-wide study

By Benjamin Bach, the Wealth Team on January 15, 2010 in kitchener waterloo, Real Estate Investment

An interesting tidbit in The Record this week: Waterloo more attractive to economy-boosting immigrants than Kitchener and Cambridge

WATERLOO REGION – Waterloo is a Canadian leader in attracting immigrants to power its economy, while Kitchener is in the middle of a pack of 50 cities nationwide, according to a study by the Conference Board of Canada.

Cambridge was in the bottom nine, scoring poorly in most categories – particularly innovation, health care and education of its population.

“Cities that fail to attract new people will struggle to stay prosperous and vibrant,” Mario Lefebvre, director of the centre for municipal studies at the Conference Board of Canada, said in a press release.

The “city magnets” study compared 41 indicators that make Canada attractive to skilled workers and mobile populations. Waterloo was in league with Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver, St. John’s and Richmond Hill in the battle for people needed to fuel economic and population growth.

“These six cities come on top across all the rankings, so they appear to have an overall winning combination that is attractive to migrants,” Lefebvre said.

Waterloo earned an overall A ranking. Kitchener got a C, along with 21 other cities including Winnipeg, Hamilton and Montreal.

Cambridge was marked D, in a cluster of nine cities, including Oshawa, Windsor and Saint John, NB. It’s a class of cities generally battered by job losses in the recession of which seven face population declines, the report says.

Waterloo also has a lower vacancy rate for rental properties (“Waterloo Vacancy Among Canada’s Lowest”) than Kitchener and Cambridge, although there are uber-desirable enclaves in all three cities.