A View on View :: Waterloo's Renaissance

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Waterloo's Renaissance

by Mark Evans on Fri 03 Feb 2006 07:51 AM EST | Permanent Link

I wrote a feature that appeared earlier this week in the National Post looking at how some of Canada's high-tech communities - Waterloo and Ottawa - have come back to life in the past couple of years. In Waterloo, the revival can be seen in a new industrial park where three new buildings have sprouted up on land where farmers grew corn a couple years ago. While Waterloo isn't a new story, it's interesting to see how people are excited again as Google moves into town and RIM continues to expand its footprint in the city.

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Re: Waterloo's Renaissance

by Campion on Sun 05 Feb 2006 09:57 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

Ottawa's rebound is far more modest than some proclaim. 1,800 companies ... a closer look at these will reveal a majority being one-person consulting venture (typically a business card) and many not having real ties to the technology community. Employment numbers (79,000) are difficult to accept let alone verify ... again the growth is more likely tied to part-time or variable term jobs. One has to notice how few "real" tech jobs are posted in the career sections of Ottawa newspapers ... a smidgeon at best.

Re: Waterloo's Renaissance

by Larry Borsato on Tue 07 Feb 2006 11:55 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

I'm noticing that in Waterloo as well. There may be new buildings but it is just existing companies moving into them. Google may have bought an existing company but I'm not sure that suggests that they will be expanding their presence there.

As far as employment goes, there is still a fair bit of downsizing happening. I know a number of people looking for work. I also know several who have gone on to start one man consulting shops. There are a few openings for software folks though.

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