Editing Waterloo, Ontario (section)

==Economy==
[[Image:Sun-life-financial-building-waterloo-ontario.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Sun Life Financial building is currently the tallest building in Waterloo.]]
[[Image:BMO Building uptown waterloo.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Marsland Centre in Uptown Waterloo]]
[[File: Uptown Waterloo, Ontario.jpg|thumb|right|View from the parkade in Uptown Waterloo]]

According to the [[2016 Canadian Census]], Waterloo has a median household income (after tax) of $72,239.<ref name="CensusProfile2016CompareCanada" /> This is significantly higher than the national median of $61,348. The unemployment rate in Waterloo (6.9%) is lower than the national rate of 7.7%. The median value of a dwelling in Waterloo ($399,997) is higher than the national median of $341,556.<ref name="CensusProfile2016CompareCanada">{{Cite web |author=Statistics Canada |author-link=Statistics Canada |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Waterloo, CY [Census subdivision], Ontario and Canada [Country] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3530016&Geo2=PR&Code2=01 |access-date=2020-07-12 |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724123147/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3530016&Geo2=PR&Code2=01 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Intelligent Community Forum named Waterloo the Top Intelligent Community of 2007.<ref name="ICF">{{cite web |title=Intelligent Community Awards 2007 |url=http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=220 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613112113/http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=220 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |access-date=August 8, 2007 |publisher=Intelligent Community Forum}}</ref>

Waterloo has a strong knowledge and service-based economy with significant insurance and high-tech sectors as well as two universities.<ref name="riding">{{cite news
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/146/
| title = Riding profile
| access-date = August 30, 2007
| publisher = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070612191530/http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/146/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 12, 2007}}</ref> The city's largest employers are [[Sun Life Financial]], the [[University of Waterloo]], [[Manulife Financial]], [[BlackBerry (company)|BlackBerry]],<ref name="financialstatement">{{cite web |title=FY 2015 SEC Form 40 |url=http://us.blackberry.com/content/dam/bbCompany/Desktop/Global/PDF/Investors/Documents/2016/Q416_Financial_Statements.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2016 |publisher=Research In Motion Investor Relations |archive-date=April 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418104517/http://us.blackberry.com/content/dam/bbCompany/Desktop/Global/PDF/Investors/Documents/2016/Q416_Financial_Statements.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sandvine]] and [[Wilfrid Laurier University]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Investment prospectus |url=http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/CS_EDM_documents/Invest_Per09.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=December 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827200040/http://city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/CS_EDM_documents/Invest_Per09.pdf |archive-date=August 27, 2011 |quote=Wilfrid Laurier University Staff Count}}</ref><ref name="financialstatement" />

=== Insurance ===
Before it became known for technology, Waterloo was sometimes referred to as "the [[Hartford]] of Canada" because of the many insurance companies based in the area.<ref name="cow history" /> Insurance companies founded in Waterloo include:<ref>Elizabeth Bloomfield, ''Waterloo Township through Two Centuries'', (Waterloo Historical Society, 1995), 442.</ref>

* Waterloo Mutual Insurance (1863) – acquired by [[Economical Insurance]] in 1980
* North Waterloo Farmers Mutual Insurance (1874) – merged with Oxford Mutual in 2016 to form Heartland Farm Mutual
* [[Mutual Life|Mutual Life Assurance]] (1868) – acquired by [[Sun Life Financial|Sun Life]] in 2002
* Mercantile Fire Insurance (1875) – acquired by [[London and Lancashire Insurance|London and Lancashire]] in 1896 and moved to Toronto<ref>"An insurance deal," ''The Globe'', (11 February 1896), 5.</ref>
* [[Dominion Life|Dominion Life Assurance]] (1889) – acquired by [[Manulife]] in 1985
* [[Equitable Life of Canada|Equitable Life Insurance]] (1920)
* Merchants Casualty Insurance Company (1924) – acquired by [[Economical Insurance]] in 1936<ref>"Economical will buy Waterloo firm," ''Kitchener Daily Record'', (15 December 1936), 1.</ref>
* Pilot Automobile and Accident Insurance (1927) – now a subsidiary of [[Aviva Canada]]<ref>George W. Stark, ''The Best Policy: The Story of Standard Accident Insurance Company'', (Powers, 1959), 162-3.</ref>
* Canada Health and Accident Assurance Corporation (1945) – merged into [[CNA Financial|CNA Assurance]] in 1972<ref>Henry Koch, "Talking business," ''Kitchener–Waterloo Record'', (6 April 1972), 22.</ref>

=== Technology ===
The city is part of [[Canada's Technology Triangle]] (CTT), a joint economic development initiative of Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge and the [[Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario|Region of Waterloo]] that markets the region internationally. Despite its name, CTT does not focus exclusively on promoting technology industries, but on all aspects of economic development.

Waterloo has a strong technology sector with hundreds of high-tech firms.<ref name="riding" /> The dominant technology company in the city is BlackBerry, makers of the [[BlackBerry]], which has its headquarters in the city and owns several office buildings near the University of Waterloo's main campus.

Notable Waterloo-based high-tech companies include:<!-- New links in alphabetical order please -->
* [[Aeryon Labs]]
* [[BlackBerry (company)|BlackBerry]]
* [[Dalsa]]
* [[Descartes Systems Group]]
* [[Google]] (in neighbouring [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]])
* [[Kik Messenger]] (in neighbouring [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]])
* [[Waterloo Maple|Maplesoft]]
* [[MKS Inc.]]
* [[ON Semiconductor]]
* [[OpenText|OpenText Corporation]]
* [[Sandvine]]
* [[Vidyard]]

Many other high-tech companies, with headquarters elsewhere, take advantage of the concentration of high-tech employees in the Waterloo area, and have research and development centres there. [[Shopify]], [[SAP SE|SAP]], [[Google]], [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]], [[Intel]], [[McAfee]], [[NCR Corporation]], [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Agfa]] are among the large, international technology companies with development offices in Waterloo.

=== Education and research ===
Waterloo is home to two major universities, the [[University of Waterloo]] and [[Wilfrid Laurier University]].

The city is also home to three well-known think tanks – the [[Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics]], an advanced centre for the study of foundational, theoretical physics and award-winning educational outreach in science; the [[Institute for Quantum Computing]], based at the University of Waterloo, which carries out innovative research in the computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences; and the [[Centre for International Governance Innovation]], an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges.

=== Distilling and brewing ===
Breweries and distilleries had been a significant industry in the Waterloo area until 1993 when a [[Labatt]]-owned brewery was shut down. The [[Brick Brewing Company]] operated in Waterloo but is now based in Kitchener. Waterloo was the original home of distiller [[Seagram]] (also the home town of many descendants of J.P. Seagram), which closed its Waterloo plant in 1992. Of the remaining Seagram buildings, [[Seagram Museum|one]] became home of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), while others were converted into condominiums.

=== Other ===
The city encourages location filming of movies and TV series and many have taken advantage of Waterloo locations. Examples include ''[[Downsizing (film)|Downsizing]]'' (released in 2017), ''The Demolisher'' (2015) and ''[[Degrassi: The Next Generation]]'' (2015).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Waterloo,%20Ontario,%20Canada |title=Waterloo Locations |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2017 |website=IMDB |access-date=12 March 2017 |archive-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313051058/http://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Waterloo,%20Ontario,%20Canada |url-status=live }}</ref>