Kitchener (Ontario)

Kitchener [ kɪtʃənəɹ ] is located in Ontario (Canada), about an hour southwest of Toronto. The city is often grouped together with the neighboring university town of Waterloo as a twin city ( Twin Cities ). The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Cambridge, North Dumfries and Woolwich and has a total of 477 160 inhabitants. Kitchener itself has 219 153 inhabitants ( 2011). The city is the seat of the Waterloo Regional Municipality (administrative region ).

Originally, the city was a Mennonite settlement and was called after their leader Ebytown. In 1833 she received the name Berlin and became the unofficial capital of Germans in Canada. Under the influence of anti-German movements during the First World War, the city of Berlin in 1916 was renamed after a referendum boycotted by many residents after the famous British Field Marshal and Minister of War, Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum. In the 1990s there was an initiative to rename the city back in Berlin, but this was not enough support.

Nevertheless, it is still the German influence in the city to be felt, for example, the annual Oktoberfest, to the arriving guests from all over North America. There is also a Christmas market.

• 4.1 Transportation
• 4.2 highways
• 4.3 Rail transport
• 4.4 flight connections

Location and climate

Kitchener is centrally located in the province of Ontario. The city is located about 100 km from Toronto, 80 miles from London and Mississauga. In the immediate vicinity are the cities of Guelph, about 30 km away, and Waterloo, which is directly adjacent to the city.

The climate is similar to that in Europe, with warm to hot summers and cool to very cold winters. The average temperatures are in January and March -7 to -1 degrees Celsius. During the months of April and June this increase to 5.8 degrees and 17.3 degrees Celsius in July and September, 19.8 and 14.3 ° Celsius. During the summer months, however, several days the temperatures rise above 30 ° Celsius, which can also occur sporadically in October. The end of September and in October the temperatures drop gradually and reach average daily temperatures between 14 ° and -3 ° Celsius.

Policy

Since 1997, Carl Zehr Mayor of Kitchener. With 15 years in office, he is the longest reigning mayor of the city.

The supreme governing body of the city is the City Council of Kitchener, consisting of the mayor and according to the number of districts from ten councilors. Its composition reflects the development of a Kitchener's German-influenced to a multi-ethnic locality. The current councilors are Scott Davey, Berry Vrbanovic, John Gazzola, Yvonne Fernandes, Kelly Galloway, Paul Singh, Bil Ioannidis, Zyg Janecki, Frank Etherington and Dan Glenn - Graham.

Economy and infrastructure

Overview

Kitchener benefits from the immediate vicinity of the town of Waterloo, in which many research institutions and companies in the high-tech industry have settled. The economy of Kitchener is strongly influenced by the manufacturing sector. The largest companies in Kitchener include Maple Leaf Foods, Dare Foods, Kitchener Frame Ltd.. , Arvato Services Inc., Lear Canada, Kuntz Electroplating Inc., MTD Products Ltd.. Kitchener 's headquarters from Christie.

In addition, many service companies have a location in the city. These include Rogers Communications, HSBC, Scotiabank, National Bank of Canada and other companies in the service industry.

Education

The town has several primary and secondary schools within the city limits up to class 12 ( high school). In addition, the city has a campus of the University of Waterloo and other colleges.

Sports

Kitchener houses the Kitchener Rangers, a successful junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League.

Traffic

Transportation

The inner city, public transport is operated by Grand River Transit. Several bus lines connect important areas together within Waterloo and Kitchener. Besides Greyhound Canada operates some bus lines and long-distance bus.

Highways

The Conestoga Parkway and Highway 8 connect Waterloo and Kitchener, Cambridge and with the highway 's 7/8 and Highway 401

Rail transport

The town has a railway station. VIA Rail Canada provides connections between Sarnia and Toronto. These trains stop at the station, south-east on the border with Waterloo at the corner of Victoria Street and Weber Street. The station is accessible by public transportation through downtown Kitchener.

Flights

The nearest airport in Waterloo Region is the Waterloo ( IATA code YKF ) Airport. The airport is located about eight kilometers east of Kitchener. The airport was expanded and renovated in recent years, so that it can be also served by larger machines. The airport has two runways.

The airport was previously served only by smaller machines, since recent, however, regular services offered by rising passenger numbers. Westjet Airlines has an existing several times a day non-stop link between Waterloo / Kitchener to Calgary with a Boeing 737-700 furnished. Since June 2010 Westjet Airlines also offers a connection to Vancouver. Bearskin Airlines offers since October of 2007 scheduled flights between Waterloo / Kitchener and Ottawa. During the winter months Sunwing Airlines offers connections to the Dominican Republic. Since June 2012, American Airlines offers flights to Chicago.

Famous people

• Kristin Booth, Actress
• Brian Bradley, former ice hockey player
• Woody Dumart, former ice hockey player
• David Edgar, football player
• Pietro Gagliano, graphic designer and entrepreneur
• Thomas Geldmacher, former ice hockey player
• Alyssa Lagonia, soccer player
• William Lyon Mackenzie King, politician
• Lois Maxwell (1927-2007), actress
• Margaret Millar, novelist
• David Morrell, author
• John Oswald, improvisation musician and composer
• Kyle Quincey, hockey player
• Jeremy Ratchford, actor
• Jason Reso, WWE wrestler also known as Christian
• Mark Scheifele, hockey player
• Brad Schlegel, former ice hockey player
• Milt Schmidt, former ice hockey player and manager
• Earl Seibert, former ice hockey player
• Frank J. Selke, former hockey coach and manager
• Darryl Sittler, former ice hockey player
• Edna Staebler (1906-2006), writer regional cookbooks
• Scott Stevens, former ice hockey player
• Walter Henry Zinn (1906-2000), nuclear physicist