Health infrastructure is a critical – but often overlooked – factor in site selection.
Healthcare access directly impacts site selection and talent retention, especially for international businesses considering expansion. Affordable, readily available healthcare services signal stability and motivates employees to relocate.
Waterloo has a vision for the future of regional healthcare. Hospital mergers, new facilities and other industry developments are building a system that’s fit to support our growing, diverse population.
In Part 1 of our Quality of Life series, we’ll see how access to healthcare helps companies establish long-term roots in an expansion location.
Why healthcare matters to expanding companies
Access to healthcare is a top priority for relocated employees and their families. Accessing basic and specialized healthcare services influences employees’ family planning decisions and overall quality of life. A strong healthcare network reflects the region’s capacity to support aging populations and community needs, all of which directly affect talent retention.
Canada’s public system reduces stress and cost for international workers, especially those moving from countries without universal healthcare. Compared to the United States’ predominantly privatized healthcare system, Canadian healthcare prioritizes universal coverage and health equity.
One great example of the equity created by the Canadian healthcare system is childbirth and parental leave. According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, it costs nearly USD $19,000 on average to have a child in the United States without healthcare coverage, and about USD $3,000 if you have coverage.
In Canada, there is no cost. Our parental leave policies also provide paid leave for a full year – drawing on social security programs and not company payrolls – while only 12 weeks of leave, unpaid, is required by law in the United States.
Healthcare in Waterloo
Waterloo Region has several hospitals, specialty clinics, doctor’s offices and walk-in clinics available for residents, and the region’s healthcare network is expanding in the coming years.
Waterloo is home to three hospitals with a fourth opening in 2035.
In 2024, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital – both located in Kitchener – merged to create a single organization with unified care delivery and improved service planning. Now known as the Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN), the merger demonstrates regional readiness to streamline and scale health services.
In 2025, Cambridge Memorial Hospital celebrated the completion of a $287 million expansion that added 400,000 square feet of space for patient care, laboratories, diagnostic imaging and more.
Our community will soon welcome a fourth hospital, which will open at the University of Waterloo’s David Johnston Research + Technology Park within the next decade. This strategic location offers access to top tech talent and research partnerships, highlighting the connection between healthcare and innovation in the region. It’s also easily accessible via highway and public transit.
As part of a long-term regional plan to support rapid population growth, the new facility will join Cambridge Memorial Hospital and the Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) as a central healthcare provider.
Our region is also home to two urgent care centres and 16+ walk-in clinics, which are available to anyone with an Ontario Health Card. Even if you don’t have a family doctor, professional medical care is always available in Waterloo Region.
Healthcare savings for businesses
Employees and employers benefit from Canada’s public healthcare system.
For employees, there are no co-pays, deductibles or other financial burdens to get standard healthcare, including urgent care, required surgeries and more.
For employers, there are big savings from not having employer-funded benefits covering standard healthcare. In Waterloo Region, for example, insurance covering life, health and disability costs just 5% of an employee’s salary, but in the United States the average is 8.8%. That’s nearly double the cost!
When you open a business in Canada, your employees get affordable healthcare, and your company gets lower costs – it’s a win-win.
Key takeaways for businesses
For international companies relocating talent or building long-term teams, the quality and accessibility of local healthcare systems directly affect employee well-being, family relocation decisions and overall confidence in an expansion destination.
By choosing Waterloo Region as an expansion site, you’re choosing a community that’s investing in long-term wellness and infrastructure. Both employees and their employers can rest assured that Waterloo’s growing healthcare system can meet individual needs and accommodate population growth.
With a healthcare system like this one, companies can easily support their employees and their families during expansion and in the years to come.
Talk to a member of our team about expansion opportunities in Waterloo.