Building community in Canada's fastest-growing region: 'Waterloo Area's Top Employers' for 2025 are announced

WATERLOO, ON, Jan. 14, 2025 /CNW/ - It might be Canada's fastest-growing region, but employers in the Kitchener-Waterloo area know that the hallmark of true success is building community. The region's employers go out of their way to make it easy for their staff to help local charities, while building friendships with colleagues at work. That's the message from this year's Waterloo Area's Top Employers, announced today by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

"This year's Waterloo Area's Top Employers lead the way in creating a sense of belonging that comes from building community," says Kristina Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp. "It takes only small initiatives on an employer's part, such as providing paid time off to volunteer or matching charitable donations, to help employees take an active role in shaping their community while building friendships at work. These employers make it easier for staff to give back to the community through well-organized programs."

Community involvement has long been a key measure of workplace excellence. It became the eighth and final category added to the Canada's Top 100 Employers project shortly after its inception 25 years ago. The project's editors noticed that employers that took a broader view of their responsibilities to the community also tended to treat their own employees very well. This year, more than 90 per cent of Waterloo Area's Top Employers offer organized programs for employees to give back to their local communities, the region's strong commitment to fostering civic engagement.

The Kitchener-Waterloo area is the fastest-growing community in Canada, according to recent Statistics Canada data. With a 6.15% annual growth rate and almost 40,000 new residents last year, the region outpaced even major metropolitan areas like Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton. The remarkable growth is driven by the region's thriving tech sector, robust manufacturing base, and an exceptional talent pipeline from several of Canada's top post-secondary institutions.

Now in its 18th year, Waterloo Area's Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the employers in the Kitchener-Waterloo area that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Editors at Mediacorp review employers on eight criteria, which have remained consistent since the project's inception: (1) Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. The editors publish detailed 'reasons for selection' for these criteria, providing transparency in the selection of winners and a catalogue of best practices for employers and job-seekers alike. The competition is open to any employer with its head office or principal place of business in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, including Guelph and Cambridge. Employers of any size may apply, whether private or public sector.

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 19 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach millions of Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners, including The Globe and Mail. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, used by millions of job-seekers annually to find new job postings and discover what the nation's best employers are offering.

The full list of Waterloo Area's Top Employers (2025) was announced today in a special magazine published online in the Waterloo Region Record and on Eluta.ca. Detailed 'reasons for selection' for each of this year's winners, as well as stories and photos about their initiatives, were released today by the editors and are accessible via the competition homepage.

Join the discussion about today's announcement on social media:
Instagram & Facebook: @topemployers
Twitter/X: @top_employers
Hashtags: #WaterlooTopEmployers, #TopEmployers2025

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.

Further information: Chantel Watkins, Assistant Editor, [email protected]