Reinventing the Future: Waterloo EDC Shares 5-Year Strategic Plan

For every $1 of municipal funding received, we attracted $114 in new investment. We also leveraged support from our municipal partners to generate 68% more funding from the Federal and Provincial governments.

We’ve been involved in some of the region’s biggest business expansion stories, supporting noteworthy clients like Toyota, EPAM Systems and Conestoga Meats, to name a few.

To maintain this momentum, we’ve developed a plan for the next five years that includes our goals, as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

This article gives you a high-level overview of our plan. For all the details, you can view the full report.

Our economic development goals

Everything we do at Waterloo EDC comes back to strengthening our core and building new investment capacity.

Here are five ways we’ll support economic prosperity in our community over the next five years:

1. Retain our diversified economy and build resilience.

Waterloo is known for its diverse economy, with a strong representation across industries, including manufacturing, automotive, technology and more. We’ll strive to keep it that way by focusing on attracting investments across multiple sectors.

2. Land a large, transformative manufacturing investment.

The manufacturing industry is changing, with AI and automation presenting new opportunities to innovate and the EV industry driving multi-billion-dollar investments. To evolve with the industry, we’ll continue to attract investment in automotive manufacturing and supply chains while advocating for more serviced industrial land to support this growth.

3. Promote our value proposition and reputation.

We’ve built a strong reputation in places like California, New York and Boston via engaging content and an award-winning blog. Over the next five years we’ll build on our efforts by communicating our value proposition to new and emerging markets such as the UK, Germany and other US regions.

4. Strengthen existing clusters and support emerging ones.

Waterloo already has incredible technology, manufacturing and automotive industries. As we move forward, we’ll put a greater focus on supporting new clusters that give us a competitive edge for new investment such as cleantech, quantum technology and health innovation.

5. Amplify our social justice, equity and inclusion efforts.

Social justice issues like housing and homelessness are on the rise in Canada. Recognizing that these issues have an impact on economic development, we’re committed to having a voice in social justice, equity and inclusion in our community, starting with the creation of our own guiding principles.

Turning challenges into opportunities

We know there will be challenges, but as a community of problem solvers, we’ll be ready to turn them into opportunities.

Here are four key challenges we see the region facing in the next five years:

Land and Infrastructure: Waterloo Region is losing high-margin advanced manufacturing investment opportunities and risking the loss of local anchor companies due to a lack of available land for expansions. We need parcels that are shovel-ready and ideal for mid-to-mega-sized investments.

Diversification and Resilience: Economic diversification has allowed our community to be resilient to economic shocks – pandemic, recession, etc. It’s critical that we maintain this diversification though continued attraction of new investments in both manufacturing and technology.

Talent: Talent is a global competition. To attract and retain the best and brightest minds, Waterloo Region must be a place people want to live and can afford to live. We need to ensure that we have career opportunities to attract newcomers and re-skilling programs to retain our existing workforce. We also need to make a concerted, community-led effort to attract new talent.

Social Justice: Economic prosperity needs to benefit everyone. The growing social justice movement is increasing pressure on government and private enterprises to support an increasingly diverse population. Communities that value diversity, equity and inclusion are best positioned to win new investment.

To learn how we plan to tackle these challenges, you can view the full report.

Let’s get to work

Building on our success to date, our five-year plan prepares us for the challenges ahead. At Waterloo EDC, we’re committed to showing the world why Waterloo is a prime destination for investment and growth. We’re geared up and ready. Are you in?