Kitchener: Population: 204,668 city, 451,235; metropolitan area (2006 census)

Downtown Kitchener is served by three major airports all within close proximity: The Region of Waterloo International Airport; John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport located an hour from downtown Kitchener; and Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

Downtown Kitchener is undergoing a dramatic transformation that has resulted in loft condominiums, a new children's museum, a new urban market, Canada's Centre for Art and Technology, two new downtown university campuses...and the list goes on. Confidence is brimming for a diverse thriving urban community and the business climate is buzzing.

Visit the Kitchener Market. Each week for more than 130 years, meat, fowl, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, herbs, roots, fish, cheese and flowers have flowed into Kitchener's market building in anticipation of the thrifty and gourmet alike. Today's Kitchener market is an urban market that is both modern and inviting, with 50-foot transparent ceilings and walls of windows flooding the market space with natural light.

Kitchener is situated in the Grand River valley, 60 miles (95 km) west-southwest of Toronto in the regional municipality of Waterloo,. Founded by Bishop Benjamin Eby and settled by German immigrants about 1807, the community was known successively as Sand Hill, Ebytown, and Berlin before being renamed after the British field marshal Lord Kitchener in 1916.

It is an important industrial, financial, and distribution centre in one of Canada's most densely populated areas. Economic activities include meat-packing, brewing and distilling, tanning, furniture making, and the manufacture of textiles, shoes, rubber products, and appliances.

Kitchener boasts of over 2,000 acres of parkland and open spaces. One of the most picturesque parks, Victoria Park, is nestled just a short walk from City Hall in the heart of downtown. Each winter, City staff creates two outdoor rinks in Victoria Park. One is set aside for shinny hockey while the other is for skating only. Both rinks are lit until approximately 10 pm.

The closely knit cultural unit of Kitchener-Waterloo supports a symphony orchestra, philharmonic choir, little theatre, and art society. The boyhood home of Mackenzie King, former Canadian prime minister, is preserved in Woodside National Historic Park. Inc. village, 1854; town, 1870; city, 1912.

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