Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario
Encyclopedia
The Regional Municipality of Niagara (2006 population: 427,421), also known as the Niagara Region, or, colloquially, "Regional Niagara", is a regional municipality
comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario
, Canada
.
The region occupies most of the Niagara Peninsula
. Its eastern boundary is the Niagara River
, which is also the border with the United States
. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario
and on the south by Lake Erie
.
Unique natural landscapes make the Niagara Region an important centre for agriculture
and tourism
in Canada. The most important agricultural enterprise in Niagara is viticulture
, or winemaking. The Niagara Wine Route, which connects visitors to dozens of wineries, is a growing tourism draw while the internationally-renowned Niagara Falls
is one of Canada's major tourist attractions. Along with Shaw Festival
, held annually in Niagara-on-the-Lake
, and the Welland Canal
, the Regional Municipality of Niagara receives up to 12 million visitors each year.
Towns
Townships
In total, the region has an area of 1850 square kilometres. The regional seat is in Thorold, where the Niagara Regional Council
meets.
.
Racial groups
Religious profile
Top ten largest ethnicities
East Niagara
Regional municipality
A regional municipality is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place...
comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The region occupies most of the Niagara Peninsula
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada lying between the south shore of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people...
. Its eastern boundary is the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
, which is also the border with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and on the south by Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.
Unique natural landscapes make the Niagara Region an important centre for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
in Canada. The most important agricultural enterprise in Niagara is viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
, or winemaking. The Niagara Wine Route, which connects visitors to dozens of wineries, is a growing tourism draw while the internationally-renowned Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
is one of Canada's major tourist attractions. Along with Shaw Festival
Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the second largest repertory theatre company in North America...
, held annually in Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
, and the Welland Canal
Welland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...
, the Regional Municipality of Niagara receives up to 12 million visitors each year.
Geography
Cities- Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, OntarioNiagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
- Port ColbornePort Colborne, OntarioPort Colborne is a city on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario, Canada...
- St. CatharinesSt. Catharines, OntarioSt. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
- ThoroldThorold, OntarioThorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara....
- WellandWelland, OntarioWelland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...
Towns
- Fort ErieFort Erie, OntarioFort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....
- GrimsbyGrimsby, OntarioGrimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Grimsby is a part of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. The majority of residents reside in the area bounded by Lake Ontario and the Niagara escarpment...
- LincolnLincoln, OntarioLincoln is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. The town's administrative and commercial centre is in the community of Beamsville.-Geography:...
- Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-on-the-Lake, OntarioNiagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
- PelhamPelham, OntarioThe Town of Pelham is located in the centre of Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada.The town's southern boundary is formed by the Welland River, a meandering waterway that flows into the Niagara River. To the west is the township of West Lincoln, to the east the city of Welland, and to the north the...
Townships
- WainfleetWainfleet, OntarioWainfleet is a rural township in southern Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada.There is a small and growing tourist industry, near and on Lake Erie at the southern area of Wainfleet called Long Beach...
- West LincolnWest Lincoln, OntarioWest Lincoln is a township in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. Main urban areas are located along the former provincial Highway 20. The administrative centre of West Lincoln is the community of Smithville, situated halfway between Hamilton and Pelham....
In total, the region has an area of 1850 square kilometres. The regional seat is in Thorold, where the Niagara Regional Council
Niagara Regional Council
The Niagara Regional Council is the governing body of the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Ontario, Canada.The council consists of a Regional Chair, the Mayors of all twelve Niagara Regional municipalities, and eighteen additional regional councillors elected to represent the various...
meets.
Demographics
Data from the Canada 2001 CensusCanada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
.
Racial groups
- WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
: 349,390 or 95.9% - BlackBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
: 2,990 or 0.8% - MultiracialMultiracialThe terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
: 2,665 or 0.7% - ChineseOverseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
: 2,345 or 0.6% - Other AsianAsian peopleAsian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
: 2,320 or 0.6% - (based on single responses)
Religious profile
- 43.2% Protestant
- 36.4% Roman Catholic
- 14.6% Non-religiousIrreligionIrreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
- 3.8% other ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
- 0.9% MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Top ten largest ethnicities
- Canadian - 121,660 (those who are most likely of BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
/FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
origin whose ancestors have been in Canada for many generations) - EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
- 108,425 - ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
- 66,385 - IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
- 56,640 - German - 49,435
- FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
- 48,155 - ItalianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
- 44,645 - DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- 23,805 - UkrainianUkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
- 16,735 - Polish - 16,295
Airports
- St. Catharines/Niagara District AirportSt. Catharines/Niagara District AirportSt. Catharines/Niagara District Airport, , is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, on Niagara Stone Road at Airport Road , just north of the Queen Elizabeth Way and east of the City of St. Catharines...
(Niagara-on-the-Lake) - Welland/Niagara Central AirportWelland/Niagara Central AirportWelland/Niagara Central Airport, , is located west of Welland, Ontario, Canada. Niagara Central accommodates a flight school, aerial photographers, and tourist traffic in small engine aircraft....
(Welland) - Niagara Falls/Niagara South AirportNiagara Falls/Niagara South AirportNiagara Falls/Niagara South Airport, , is located near Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The airport is located north of the Queen Elizabeth Way at Sodom Road exit. The airstrip's main entrance is on Sodom Road. The main runway is facing a northwest to southeast direction with a small loop at each end...
(Niagara Falls)
Education
- Brock UniversityBrock UniversityBrock University is a comprehensive university located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Brock offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs that include co-op and other experiential learning opportunities to an enrolment of over 17,000 full-time students.The enabling legislation is...
(St. Catharines) - Niagara CollegeNiagara CollegeNiagara College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology within the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The College has four campuses: the Welland Campus in Welland, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Maid of the Mist Campus in Niagara Falls, home of the Tourism Industry...
(Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Welland) - Niagara Catholic District School Board - SeparateNiagara Catholic District School BoardThe Niagara Catholic District School Board is a school board in the public separate school system of Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Niagara...
- District School Board of Niagara - PublicDistrict School Board of NiagaraDistrict School Board of Niagara is a school board in the public school system of Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Niagara. Its head office is in St. Catharines. The DSBN operates schools in each of the twelve municipalities in the region. It employs close to 2,500 instructional...
- Conseil scolaire du Niagara Sud
Festivals and major events
- Festival of Lights
- Niagara Food Festival
- Niagara Grape and Wine Festival
- Serbian Day (Vidov Dan)
- FISA World Rowing ChampionshipsWorld Rowing ChampionshipsThe World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
- 1970 & 1999 - St. Catharines Wine Tasting of 2005
- Canal DaysCanal daysThe Canal Days is an annual marine heritage festival in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. It is a not-for-profit event, traditionally held during the Canadian civic holiday weekend at the start of August and with over 100,000 visitors, it is one of the largest free festivals of its kind.Port...
- Niagara Folk Arts Festival
- Royal Canadian Henley Regatta
- Shaw Festival
Health care services
- Niagara Health SystemNiagara Health SystemThe Niagara Health System is Ontario's largest multi-site hospital amalgamation, comprising the following seven sites serving 434,000 residents across the 12 municipalities making up the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Canada....
- Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation CentreHotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation CentreThe Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre is a specialty healthcare centre in the south-end of St. Catharines, Ontario. Its mandate is to provide complex continuing care and rehabilitation services to patients in the city and Niagara Region....
p
History and trails
- Bruce Trail
- Fort GeorgeFort George, OntarioFort George National Historic Site is a historic military structure at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, that was the scene of several battles during the War of 1812...
National Historic Site (Niagara-on-the-Lake) - Fort MississaugaFort MississaugaFort Mississauga National Historic Site is a fort along the shore of Lake Ontario, not far from the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The fort today consists of a box–shaped brick tower and historic star–shaped earthworks—the only one in the country...
National Historic Site (Niagara-on-the-Lake) - Greater Niagara Circle Route
- Navy IslandNavy IslandNavy Island is a small island in the Niagara River in the province of Ontario, managed by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is located about upstream from Horseshoe Falls, and has an area of roughly...
National Historic Site (Niagara Falls) - Niagara ParkwayNiagara ParkwayThe Niagara Parkway, formerly known as Niagara Boulevard and historically as the Niagara Road, is a scenic road in the province of Ontario that travels on the Canadian side of the Niagara River from the town of Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake...
- Niagara Wine Route
- Old Fort Erie (Fort ErieFort ErieFort Erie was the first British fort to be constructed as part of a network developed after the Seven Years' War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris at which time all of New France had been ceded to Great Britain...
) - Queenston HeightsQueenston Heightsthumb|Brock's Monument|250px|Brock's Monument at Queenston HeightsThe Queenston Heights is a geographical feature of the Niagara Escarpment immediately above the village of Queenston, Ontario, Canada. Its geography is a promontory formed where the escarpment is divided by the Niagara River...
National Historic Site (Niagara-on-the-Lake) - Waterfront Trial
- Welland CanalWelland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...
Parkway - Morningstar Mill (St. Catharines)
Other
- Clifton HillClifton Hill (Niagara Falls)Clifton Hill is one of the major tourist promenades in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The street, close in proximity to Niagara Falls and the Niagara River, leads from River Road on the Niagara Parkway to intersect with Victoria Avenue. The street contains a number of gift shops, wax museums, haunted...
(Niagara Falls) - Lundy's Lane Tourist District (Niagara Falls)
- Niagara Olde Town (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
- Welland Canal Centre (St. Catharines)
Protected areas
- Short Hills Provincial ParkShort Hills Provincial ParkShort Hills Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the centre of the Niagara Peninsula, bordering the city of St. Catharines and the town of Pelham in the Niagara Region in southern Ontario, Canada. It occupies an area of 6.6 km²...
- Wainfleet Bog Provincial Wildlife Preserve
- Ball's Falls Conservation Area
- Chippawa Creek Conservation Area
- Long Beach Conservation Area
- Morgan's Point Conservation Area
- Cave Springs Conservation Area
- St. John's Conservation Area
- Rockway Conservation Area
- Louth Conservation Area
- Mountainview Conservation Area
- Beamer Memorial Conservation AreaBeamer Memorial Conservation AreaBeamer Memorial Conservation Area is located on the Niagara Escarpment in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada and is owned and operated by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority...
- Woodend Conservation Area
- Woolverton Conservation Area
- Wainfleet Wetlands
- Humberstone & Willoughby Wetlands
- Mud Lake Wetlands
- E.C. Brown Conservation Area
- United Empire Loyalist Conservation Area
- Port Davidson Weir Conservation Area
- Sugar Bush Conservation Area
- Stevensville Conservation Area
- Virgil Dams Conservation Area
- Happy Rolph's Bird Sanctuary
Wineries
West Niagara- Cave Spring Cellars
- FieldingFieldingFielding may refer to:* Fielding , the action of fielders collecting the ball in cricket* The action of fielders collecting the ball at any of the nine baseball positions* Fielding, Saskatchewan, Canada* Fielding, Utah, United States...
- FlatrockFlatrockFlatrock may refer to:Andrew Fleming* Flatrock, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada* Flatrock Township, Henry County, Ohio, United States...
- Henry of PelhamHenry of Pelham WineryHenry of Pelham Family Estate Winery is an Ontario winery that released their first vintage in 1988. The namesake of the winery, Henry of Pelham was an early settler in Upper Canada’s Niagara Peninsula...
Family Estate Winery - Hernder Estate WinesHernder Estate WinesHernder Estate Wines is a Canadian winery located in Niagara Peninsula, Ontario.-History:The Hernder family is in its third generation of viticulture and is one of the largest family estate winery operations in Canada. Gottfried Hernder emigrated from Germany to Western Canada. In 1939, the family...
- Peninsula Ridge
- Vineland Estate
East Niagara
- Chateau des Charmes
- Coyote's Run
- HillebrandHillebrand- Hillebrand:*Art Hillebrand , American football player.*Candîce Hillebrand, South African born singer-songwriter*Harold Newcomb Hillebrand, , American Professor for literature and theatre...
- InniskillinInniskillinInniskillin is a Canadian winery located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Inniskillin, which is mainly noted for their icewine production, has played an important pioneering role in the modern Canadian wine industry...
- Marynissen
- Pillitteri Estates Winery
400-Series expressways
Highway 405
Highway 406
Highway 420
Queen Elizabeth WayQueen Elizabeth WayThe Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...
(QEW)
Other highways
Highway 3Highway 3 (Ontario)King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3 and historically as the Talbot Trail, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the shore of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which runs from the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor...
Highway 20Highway 20 (Ontario)King's Highway 20, also known as Highway 20, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Presently, it is a short stub between Highway 58 and Niagara Regional Road 70 in the town of Thorold.- History :...
Highway 58Highway 58 (Ontario)King's Highway 58, commonly referred to as Highway 58, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Highway 58 currently runs from the Highway 406 junction on the St. Catharines – Thorold boundary to the Highway 406 junction near Turner's Corners, all...
Highway 58A
Highway 140Highway 140 (Ontario)King's Highway 140, commonly referred to as Highway 140, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connects Port Colborne near Lake Erie with Highway 406 in Welland, via the Main Street Tunnel...
Surrounding census divisions
- Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
- Haldimand County, OntarioHaldimand County, OntarioHaldimand is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Municipal offices are located in Cayuga....
- Niagara County, New YorkNiagara County, New YorkNiagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...
- Erie County, New YorkErie County, New YorkErie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...