Tri-Cities (Ontario)

Tri-Cities Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA
Metropolitan area
Downtown Kitchener skyline
Old Galt Public Library in Cambridge
Uptown Waterloo at King Street
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Area (2011)[1]
• Total	827.43 km2 (319.47 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• CMA	477,160
• CMA density	576.7/km2 (1,494/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)

The Tri-Cities (also known as Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo) is a metropolitan area located in the south-central portion of Ontario, Canada. It is centred on the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, as well as surrounding municipalities, collectively called the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 477,160 in 2011, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Ontario, after Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton, and the tenth largest metropolitan area in the country. The tri-cities area is known for its high concentration of tech companies, such as BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion), OpenText, Kik, and Maplesoft. As such, it has often been referred to as "Canada's Silicon Valley".^[2][3] The Tri-Cities are also home to the widely known University of Waterloo, as well as Wilfred Laurier University and Conestoga College.

The area is also known for its high concentration of Mennonites. There are many Mennonite churches in the area, serving the New Mennonites, Conservative Mennonites, Old Order Mennonite and the Mennonite Brethren.

List of municipalities in order of population

• City of Kitchener
• City of Cambridge
• City of Waterloo
• Township of Woolwich
• Township of North Dumfries

References