Kitchener

Kitchener is a city in the southern part of the province of Ontario, Canada. From 1854 to 1912 it was known as Town of Berlin and from that year until 1916 as City of Berlin. Then it changed its name on the occasion of the First World War to distance it from Berlin and received its current designation in honor of Horatio Herbert Kitchener, First Count of Kitchener.

In 2016 it had a population of 233,222, according to the census conducted that year in Canada. Its metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Waterloo and Cambridge, has a total of 451,235 inhabitants, which makes it the eleventh urban agglomeration of Canada and the fifth in the province of Ontario. It is the head of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, to which also belong Cambridge and Waterloo, which are smaller cities. Kitchener and Waterloo are often referred to as "Kitchener-Waterloo" (K-W), although they have separate local governments. Including Cambridge, they are collectively known as "the tri-cities". In 2011 the population was 219,153 inhabitants.

Kitchener has a humid continental climate of the warm subtype of summer there are large seasonal differences, generally hot and humid summers and cold winters to occasionally very cold. Winter conditions generally last from mid-December to mid-March, while summer temperatures generally occur between mid-May and the end of September.

Kitchener's economic inheritance is rooted in manufacturing. Industrial artifacts are found in public places throughout the city as a celebration of their manufacturing history. Although the dependence of the local economy on manufacturing has decreased, in 2012, 20.36% of the labor force was employed in the manufacturing sector.

The city hosts four municipal business parks: the Bridgeport Business Park, the Grand River West Business Park, the Huron Business Park and the Lancaster Corporate Center. The largest, the Huron Business Park, houses several industries, from seat manufacturers to furniture components.