About Cambridge


Cambridge (2006 population 120,371) is a city located in Southern Ontario on the Grand River and Speed River in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of the former towns Galt, Preston, and Hespeler, Ontario. Galt covers the largest portion of Cambridge, taking up the southern half of the city. Prestonis located on the western side of the city while Hespeler is the most north-easterly section of Cambridge.

Economy

In 1988, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada opened a plant in Cambridge, which employed 4,518 people as of December 2005 and is by far the city’s largest employer. Although highly beneficial to the town, traffic issues caused by slow-moving and long trains passing through main traffic routes to deliver material to the plant have caused some frustration in residents. Several other industrial companies also call Cambridge home, including Gerdau Ameristeel, ATS Automation Tooling Systems,Loblaw Companies Limited, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Challenger Motor Freight Inc., Sutherland-Schultz Inc., Canadian General-Tower Ltd., iQor, Frito-Lay Canada (formerly Hostess), Babcock and Wilcox, Northstar Aerospace, Rockwell Automation and Com Dev.

Attractions

Cambridge is home to many cultural events and activities, including the Mill Race Festival and Rock the Mill music festivals in downtown Galt. There’s also the Wings of Paradise butterfly conservatory, the annual dragon boat festival, the Cambridge fall fair which has been entertaining locals and visitors alike for over 100 years, and the Southworks Outlets district.

Cambridge also has the Cambridge Highland Games in Churchill Park in July. The Cambridge Highland Games is a celebration of Scottish and Celtic culture. It starts with a Ceilidh followed by many events such as Putting the Stone, Sheaf Toss, Hammer Throw, Caber Toss, Tug O War, Pipe Bands, an 8 km race as well as a traditional Scottish dance competition.

The Cambridge Riverfest is an annual gathering to promote community spirit within the area. Organized by the City of Cambridge; the Riverfest features Dragon Boat Races as well as other family activities such as live bands. The festival brought in over 2,000 people in 2008.

The Mill Race is a free traditional folk music festival, now in its sixteenth year. The day’s events are held on numerous outdoor stages in the town core. Local and internationally renowned performers are selected each year to reflect the most diverse and entertaining mixture of musical cultures. The streets are filled with the sounds of fiddles while toes defying restraint, must tape merrily to lively jigs, reels and hornpipes. Colourfully costumed dancers will also be on the streets. Generally, there is an area especially reserved for children with music, dance, clowns and crafts. Local arts, crafts, and food vendors are at the festival site.

The Cambridge Santa Claus Parade is one of the first if not the first city parade in Ontario to go to the night-time format. It was also the first so-called small-market parade to be televised nationally by the Children’s television network YTV, based out of Toronto. This was done in 1992, in conjunction with the 125th Anniversary celebrations of Canada’s birthday. It has also been documented as having the longest parade by unit in Ontario. The parade is viewed in person by over 30,000 people each year in November, and is televised by Rogers Community Television.

Due to the high number of families in Cambridge, and the absence of a University, the city lacks a youthful nighlife. There is no “club” sector of the city, meaning there is next to no places for young adults to dance or meet for drinks. There are relatively few pubs as well, and most of these are populated by the older crowd. Young adults who wish to go to bars in Cambridge will most likely forsake their own city for the neighbouring cities of Waterloo or Guelph.

Demographics

Cambridge has been characterised by rapid growth in recent years. According to the 2006 Census, the city has a population of 120,371. This represents an increase of 9.1 percent, or 10,000 people, in five years. The municipality is 112.86 square kilometres in size (43.58 square miles). According to recent Economic Development estimates, the population of Cambridge for 2009 is 126,000, and the projected population for 2031 is 180,000.

According to the most recent figures, Cambridge is overwhelmingly populated by people of a European ethnic background – 90.2%, mostly those of English (31,400), Scottish (20,625), Irish (19,040), German (14,110), Portuguese (10,685) and French (10,040) origins. Many Newfoundlanders (mostly from the Conception Bay and Bell Island area) have migrated to Cambridge, mostly due to the closure of the iron ore mines on Bell Island. There is also a significant Franco-Ontarian and Armenian population in Cambridge.

The city is largely Christian at 80.2%, followed by non-religious people who number 15%. Muslims and Hindus and other faiths make a little over 5% of the population. Over the last few years the numbers of Indians, Pakistanis and Afghanis moving in from other urban areas or immigrating from their respective countries, has doubled and tripled. Cambridge is also much younger than the national average. 21.6% of the population are under 14 years of age. Only 11% of the population is over 65, resulting in an average age of 35.2, significantly lower than the national average.

Click the link to see the most recent Cambridge City Initiatives .

Cambridge Property Taxes

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