It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.

[4] Waterloo Region forms the tenth-largest metropolitan area in Canada, with recent population growth almost entirely fuelled by international students.

In the wake of a smallpox epidemic and European incursions, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)[7] and the Wendat (Huron) Confederacies[8] waged war from 1642 to 1650.

In 1784, in recognition of Haudenosaunee support[9] during the American War of Independence and the consequent loss of its land in New York state,[9] the British government granted the Grand River valley to the Confederacy.

In 1816, William Dickson,[10] a Scottish-born land speculator, acquired 90,000 acres (360 km2) along the Grand River, in present North and South Dumfries Townships, and the city of Cambridge.

Initially serving local farmers, Galt's industrial development in the late 1830s eventually earned it the nickname "The Manchester of Canada".

[17] In 2020, a site at Fischer-Hallman Road was found to include artifacts from a "Late Woodland Iroquois village" that was inhabited circa 1300 to 1600.

[18] Settlement of the later Waterloo Township started in 1800 (in an area that is now Kitchener) by Joseph Schoerg (later called Sherk) and Samuel Betzner Jr.[19] (brothers-in-law), Mennonites, from Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

[22][23][24] Other settlers followed, mostly from Pennsylvania, and also purchased land in Block Number 2, German Company Tract[25] from Richard Beasley who had acquired a massive territory previously owned by the Six Nations.

[35] In 1806, Abraham Erb, from Franklin County, bought 900 acres (360 ha) from the German Company in what would be later part of the City of Waterloo.

[36] The putative founder of the city, Erb built a sawmill in 1808 and a gristmill in 1816; the latter operated for 111 years and still stands in Waterloo Park.

Ordained a Mennonite pastor in 1809, and later a bishop, Eby oversaw the building of the first church in 1813 and the confession's subsequent growth.

[38] Settlers often held a "bee" to help newcomers erect large buildings, a custom that persists today among traditional Mennonite communities.

In the same year, after clearing a farm and creating a rough road, Joseph Schneider built a frame house on the south side of the future Queen Street; the renovated home still stands.

When local merchant Joseph Gaukel donated a small portion of his land for that purpose at the corner of present current Queen and Weber streets, Berlin was selected.

In the following years, the region's physical and social infrastructure developed to include roads, bridges, agricultural societies, markets, and schools.

A 2009 report by the Toronto Star stated that "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work".

[54] Unlike the largely German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania, the later arrivals – from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and present day and Poland, France and Russia, were of other denominations.

In 1897, the Canadians with origins in Germany raised funds to erect a large monument, with a bronze bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I, in Victoria Park.

[67] In the year 2000, the Government of Ontario declared an annual German Pioneers Day to recognize the achievements of settlers from Germany.

While the best known is St. Jacobs, with its very popular thrice-weekly outdoor market, the community of Linwood has attracted increased tourist volume in recent years due to its highly authentic Mennonite lifestyle.

The council consists of the Regional Chair, the mayors of the seven cities and townships, and eight additional councillors – four from Kitchener and two each from Cambridge and Waterloo.

These communities include: Ayr, Baden, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Conestogo, Doon, Elmira, Freeport, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Maryhill, New Dundee, New Hamburg, Petersberg, Roseville, St. Agatha, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wellesley, West Montrose, and Winterbourne.

The region is known for its high concentration of tech companies, such as BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion), OpenText, Kik, and Maplesoft.

[80][81] Canada's top three fastest growing tech companies are located in the Region: Kitchener's ApplyBoard, Intellijoint Surgical, and Waterloo's Auvik Networks.

[88] An updated report by Maclean's in 2019 ranked the Region as the 49th most dangerous community in Canada, with robbery approximately as prevalent as the Canadian average of 60 incidents per 100,000 people.

These include police, emergency medical services, waste management, licensing enforcement, recycling, and the public transit system.

[90] All three were highly ranked for safety in a national comparison study in 2017–2018, particularly the two located in Kitchener, but all would benefit from reduced wait times.

[91] Long-term care beds are provided at numerous facilities,[92] including the Village of Winston Park in Kitchener and Saint Luke's Place in Cambridge which were promised additional funding by the province in 2018 for expansion.

[94] That secondary campus provides complex continuing care, rehabilitation, longer-term specialized mental health and other services.