The City of Kitchener is located in the heart of south-western Ontario and together with Waterloo and Cambridge, is often referred to as Canada’s Technology Triangle, as it has one of the highest concentrations of high-technology companies.
Kitchener’s roots are more industrial, and despite a decline in industrial activity and several factory closures, about 15% of Kitchener’s work force are still employed in manufacturing, processing and utilities. The automotive parts industry is still strongly represented in Kitchener and includes major manufacturers such as Budd Canada and Michelin (formerly Uniroyal Goodrich). In the past, furniture and leather companies had flourished, but after a significant decline in this sector, only Krug Furniture has a national presence. Dare Foods and Electrohome Industries also add to the economic base in Kitchener. These international commercial activities create a significant demand for multi-lingual services.
The Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area is a significant regional education centre. Kitchener itself is the headquarters of Conestoga College, a leading non-university educational institution. Downtown Kitchener is the location of the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy which is to evolve into the UW Health Sciences Campus. The City of Kitchener has contributed $30 million to create the School of Pharmacy in its downtown area. It will become the home of the Centre for Family Medicine which will offer training for new family physicians as well as an optometry clinic and the International Pharmacy Graduate Program.
According to Statistic Canada, in the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Kitchener grew by 8.2% compared with an increase of 6.1% for Ontario as a whole. Historically, a large population of Kitchener is of German descent. Within its 204,668 population, the five major languages by mother tongue in Kitchener (other than English) are: Vietnamese, Serbian, Polish, Spanish and Portuguese.
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