Regional yearbook shares progress on community’s priorities

Waterloo Region – The Region of Waterloo has released its award-winning yearbook for the second year in a row. 13 stories of care shares how we are meeting the needs of a growing community. 

The Region provides services that 650,000 residents rely on daily, and we work with partners to address challenges and meet community needs now and into the future. The yearbook highlights actions we took in 2023 towards priorities the community identified in our four-year Strategic Plan, Growing with Care. 

“We are moving many critical pieces forward as we grow. This highlights some of those accomplishments and the dedication our staff show in serving the residents of Waterloo Region,” says Regional Chair Karen Redman. “We are working to improve the lives of everyone in our community each and every day, and ensure we continue to grow with care.”   

Highlights from the yearbook include:

• Building Better Futures continues to exceed milestones, with 2,350 new affordable homes occupied or in development. That’s 10 times more new homes each year than before the plan began; 
• More people than ever relied on Grand River Transit in 2023, with boardings exceeding 25 million;  
• Innovating how we manage the impact of waste on the environment every day; 
• Minimizing our footprint on the community in square footage and emissions; and 
• Finding creative and effective ways to connect patients with the care they need while freeing up paramedics and ambulances for emergencies. 

These are just a few of the stories we invite the community to explore as we continue to share our progress on building a Waterloo Region where everyone can thrive. 

“This past year, with significant increases in transit services, the redesign of the bus network in Cambridge, the delivery of new transition and supportive housing units, and investments in paramedic services, the Region is directly addressing critical needs of the community,” says Acting CAO Mathieu Goetzke. 

The 2022 Regional yearbook received a MarCom award for best annual report in the government category. The MarCom Awards is a creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievements by marketing and communications professionals from more than 25 countries. 

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