The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a

regional municipality A regional municipality (or region) 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. R ...

southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

, Canada, which occupies most of the Niagara Peninsula. As of 2024, the region had an estimated population of 539,180. St. Catharines is the region's largest city, while the regional seat is located in Thorold. The Niagara Region is bounded to the north by

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

and to the south by

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. The region is bordered in the west by Haldimand County and the City of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, with its eastern boundary at the Niagara River, which is also the international border with the

US state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

of New York. The Niagara Region is the southernmost part of the Golden Horseshoe, the most populated region of Ontario. Unique natural landscapes make the Niagara Region an important centre for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

in Canada. The most important agricultural enterprise in Niagara is

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

, 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 is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

is one of Canada's major tourist attractions. Along with

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a Charitable organization, Charitable theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America, second only to Canada's Strat ...

, held annually in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

, the Regional Municipality of Niagara receives up to 12 million visitors each year. The Niagara Region has a rich history of First Nations such as the Neutral, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe, including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Administrative divisions

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Regional Municipality of Niagara had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Religion

Religious profile (2021): *

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

: 61.0% **

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

: 29.0% *

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

: 2.4% *

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

: 0.8% *

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

: 0.5% * Non-religious: 33.9%

Ethnicity

Human trafficking

The area has a higher concentration of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

compared to other regions in Canada, with 3% of recorded incidents taking place within it. The Niagara Region's proximity to the border and large amounts of hotels are considered to be contributing factors to this issue.

Transportation

Airports

Niagara Region contains three airports used primarily for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

: * St. Catharines/Niagara District Airport (Niagara-on-the-Lake) * Welland/Niagara Central Airport (Welland) * Niagara Falls/Niagara South Airport (Niagara Falls) Aside from scheduled commuter flights between Niagara District Airport and Toronto City with FlyGTA, for commercial flights Niagara residents use Toronto Pearson International Airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, or John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area; as well as crossing the border to use

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga (town), New York, Cheektowaga, New York (state), New York, United States. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York in the United States, and the southern Golden H ...

or Niagara Falls International Airport in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

Public Transport

Public transit within Niagara Region is provided by Niagara Region Transit, including scheduled local bus service within Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Thorold and Welland, on-demand transit service in other portions of the Region, and regional bus service between communities in the region. WEGO is an additional local bus network within Niagara Falls, targeted at visitors rather than residents. The WEGO Green Line is operated by the Niagara Parks Commission and requires separate WEGO tickets, while the remainder of WEGO routes are operated by Niagara Region Transit and accept both Niagara Region Transit and WEGO tickets. GO Transit provides regional train and bus services from Niagara Falls and St. Catharines to the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

VIA Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

serves Grimsby, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls stations as part of the

Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbols of Canada, national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by ...

intercity train between Toronto and New York City, jointly operated with

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. Many private bus operators operate intercity services to Niagara Region on routes connecting to cities such as Toronto, Buffalo and New York. As of 2023, private bus operators in Niagara Region include Flixbus, Megabus, Equinox,

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

, and Trailways.

Highways

400-series expressways: * Ontario 405

Highway 405 * Ontario 406

Highway 406 * Ontario 420

Highway 420 * Ontario QEW

Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highways, 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The highway begins at the Canada–United States border on the Pea ...

(QEW) Other highways: * Ontario 3

Highway 3 * Ontario 20

Highway 20 * Ontario 58

Highway 58 * Ontario 58A

Highway 58A * Ontario 140

Highway 140

Education

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

(St. Catharines) * University of Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls) * Conseil Scolaire Viamonde - French Public * District School Board of Niagara - Public * Niagara Catholic District School Board - Separate * Niagara College (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Welland) * Niagara Parks School of Horticulture (Niagara Falls, Ontario)

Notable people

* Paul Bissonnette, former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player *

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

, film director * Linda Evangelista, fashion supermodel * Daniel Girardi, former NHL player * Dallas Green, musician and producer known as "City and Colour" * Tim Hicks, musician * Nathan Horton, former NHL player * Stephan Moccio, Grammy and Academy award-winning musician and composer * Jordan Nolan, former NHL player * Daniel Paille, former NHL player *

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

(1952–2020), drummer for the band Rush * Laura Secord, heroine of

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

*Joel Thomas Zimmerman, musician known as " Deadmau5" *Imane Anys, Twitch streamer who goes by the name " Pokimane"

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Niagara Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada