97-720: The Niagara Falls Memorial Arena is a defunct ice arena located in Niagara Falls, Ontario , Canada. Built in 1950, the arena was home to various ice hockey teams, including the Niagara Falls Thunder and the Niagara Falls Flyers . It also served as the home of the Niagara Falls Canucks , a team in the Greater Ontario Junior B Hockey League. The Memorial Arena hosted four of the five games played in
194-565: A convention centre are located nearby in the city's large tourist area. Other parts of the city include historic sites from the War of 1812 , parks, golf courses, commercial spaces, and residential neighbourhoods. Prior to European arrival, present day Niagara Falls was populated by Iroquoian -speaking Neutral people but, after attacks from the Haudenosaunee and Seneca , the Neutral people population
291-472: A honeymoon destination, describing itself as the "honeymoon capital of the world". Its counterpart in New York also used the moniker. The phrase was most commonly used in brochures in the early twentieth century and declined in usage around the 1960s. With a plentiful and inexpensive source of hydroelectric power from the waterfalls, many electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical industries located there in
388-535: A 'unique opportunity for Hamilton to renew major sport facilities giving Hamiltonians a multi-purpose stadium, a 50-metre swimming pool, and an international-calibre velodrome to enjoy for generations to come'." Hamilton's major sports complexes include Tim Hortons Field and FirstOntario Centre . Hamilton is represented by the Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League . The team traces its origins to
485-653: A Canadian ice hockey arena is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario , Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls . As of the 2021 census , the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the Niagara River , which forms part of the Canada–United States border , with
582-518: A Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) fee, a percentage of which goes to the city. Fees that are present elsewhere only benefit the owners of the business itself, leading to these fees being criticized as deceptive. Some tourists have effectively fought the additional charge, while other businesses have enforced it as mandatory. In the 20th century, there was a favourable exchange rate when comparing Canadian and U.S. currencies. Niagara Falls, New York , struggles to compete against Niagara Falls, Ontario;
679-588: A broad street and backed onto a twelve-foot lane. It took at least a decade to sell all the original lots, but the construction of the Burlington Canal in 1823, and a new court-house in 1827 encouraged Hamilton to add more blocks around 1828–9. At this time he included a market square in an effort to draw commercial activity onto his lands, but the town's natural growth occurred to the north of Hamilton's plot. The Hamilton Conservation Authority owns, leases or manages about 4,500 hectares (11,100 acres) of land with
776-1034: A change of 6.8% from its 2016 population of 406,074 . With a land area of 1,397.09 km (539.42 sq mi), it had a population density of 310.4/km (803.8/sq mi) in 2021. As of the 2021 Census, 20.9% of the city's population were visible minorities, 3.5% had Indigenous ancestry, and the remaining 75.6% were White. The largest visible minority groups were South Asian (6.3%), Black (3.1%), Filipino (3.0%), Chinese (2.4%), Latin American (1.6%) and Arab (1.1%). 60.1% of Niagara Falls city residents self-identified with Christian denominations in 2021, down from 74.1% in 2011. 33.2% of residents were Catholic , 13.9% were Protestant , 7.1% were Christians of unspecified denomination, and 2.4% were Christian Orthodox . All other Christian denominations/Christian related traditions made up 3.5%. 30.9% of residents were irreligious or secular, up from 22.5% in 2011. Overall, followers of non-Christian religions/spiritual traditions were 9.0% of
873-953: A geodemographic marketing firm that created 66 different "clusters" of people complete with profiles of how they live, what they think and what they consume, sees a future Hamilton with younger upscale Hamiltonians — who are tech-savvy and university-educated — choosing to live in the downtown and surrounding areas rather than just visiting intermittently. More two and three-storey townhouses and apartments will be built on downtown lots; small condos will be built on vacant spaces in areas such as Dundas , Ainslie Wood and Westdale to accommodate newly retired seniors. Furthermore, additional retail and commercial zones will be created. Hamilton maintains significant Italian , English , Scottish , German and Irish ancestry. 130,705 Hamiltonians claim English heritage, while 98,765 indicate their ancestors arrived from Scotland, 87,825 from Ireland, 62,335 from Italy, and 50,400 from Germany. The top countries of birth for
970-791: A notable presence in Hamilton with three centralized Mafia organizations: the Luppino crime family , the Papalia crime family , and the Musitano crime family . Street gangs such as the Original/Oriental Blood Brothers & the Oriole Crescent Crips, and biker crews such as Satan's Choice MC and the Hells Angels also have presence in Hamilton. Hamilton's local attractions include
1067-510: A part of the Butler's Rangers , including Richard Pierpoint . When they were disbanded in 1783, they tried to establish themselves through farming nearby, making them among the first Black settlers in the region. It is estimated that nearly 10 percent of the Loyalists to settle in the area were Black Loyalists . Niagara Falls' Black population increased in the following decades, as a destination on
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#17328583037541164-557: A pilot project providing weekend and holiday train service from Toronto to Niagara falls from mid June to mid October. These GO Trains run seasonally between Toronto Union Station and Niagara Falls at weekends. At other times, regular hourly GO train services are provided between Toronto Union and Burlington station, where connecting bus services operate to and from the rail station at Niagara. As of January 2019, GO Transit offers two-way, weekday commuter service from Niagara Falls station (Ontario) to Union Station (Toronto) as part of
1261-512: A population of 94,415 living in 37,793 of its 39,778 total private dwellings, a change of 7.2% from its 2016 population of 88,071 . With a land area of 210.25 km (81.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 449.1/km (1,163.1/sq mi) in 2021. At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the St. Catharines - Niagara CMA had a population of 433,604 living in 179,224 of its 190,878 total private dwellings,
1358-651: A public library in 1890, and the Right House department store in 1893. The first commercial telephone service in Canada, the first telephone exchange in the British Empire , and the second telephone exchange in all of North America were each established in the city between 1877 and 1878. The city had several interurban electric street railways and two inclines, all powered by the Cataract Power Co. Though suffering through
1455-560: A tornado in 2005. In 2007, the Red Hill Valley Parkway opened after extensive delays. The Stelco mills were idled in 2010 and permanently closed in 2013. This closure capped a significant shift in the city's economy: the percentage of the population employed in manufacturing declined from 22 to 12 percent between 2003 and 2013. Hamilton is in Southern Ontario on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around
1552-638: Is Andrea Horwath , elected on October 24, 2022 . Hamilton's next municipal election will be held in 2026. Hamilton is served by four school boards: the English language Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board and the French language Conseil scolaire Viamonde and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir . Each school board is governed by trustees. The English language school boards are represented by trustees elected from wards in Hamilton. The HWDSB has 11 trustees and
1649-399: Is 154 centimetres (61 in), in which it can receive lake effect snow from both lakes Erie and Ontario. Summers are warm to hot and humid, with a July high of 27.4 °C (81.3 °F) and a low of 17 °C (62.6 °F). The average annual precipitation is 970.2 millimetres (38 in), which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. Niagara Falls holds the record for
1746-455: Is 250m (820') above the level of Lake Ontario. According to all records from local historians , this district was called Attiwandaronia by the native Neutral people . Hamilton is one of 11 cities showcased in the book, Green City: People, Nature & Urban Places by Quebec author Mary Soderstrom , which examines the city as an example of an industrial powerhouse co-existing with nature. Soderstrom credits Thomas McQuesten and family in
1843-604: Is about 30% of Canada's flat-rolled sheet steel shipments. Dofasco was North America's most profitable steel producer in 1999, the most profitable in Canada in 2000, and a long-time member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index . Ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to divest itself of the Canadian company, ArcelorMittal has been allowed to retain Dofasco provided it sells several of its American assets. In
1940-526: Is an inactive railway bridge; it is closed off by the Canadian Pacific Railways to prevent trespassing but can be accessed by NRPS or CBSA/CBP if required. Niagara Falls is linked to major highways in Canada. The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), stretching from Fort Erie to Toronto , passes through Niagara Falls. Highway 420 (along with Niagara Regional Road 420) connect the Rainbow Bridge to
2037-404: Is home to 26,330 immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2010 and 13,150 immigrants who arrived between 2011 and 2016. In February 2014, the city's council voted to declare Hamilton a sanctuary city , offering municipal services to undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation . Children aged 14 years and under accounted for 16.23% of the city's population, a decline of 1.57% from
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#17328583037542134-567: Is home to more than 100 waterfalls and cascades, most of which are on or near the Bruce Trail as it winds through the Niagara Escarpment. Visitors can often be seen swimming in the waterfalls during the summertime, although it is strongly recommended to stay away from the water: much of the watershed of the Chedoke and Red Hill creeks originates in storm sewers running beneath neighbourhoods atop
2231-752: Is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens , the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum , the Bruce Trail , McMaster University , Mohawk College , and Redeemer University . McMaster University is ranked 4th in Canada and 69th in the world by Times Higher Education Rankings 2021. In pre- colonial times, the Neutral First Nation used much of the land. They were gradually driven out by the Five (later Six) Nations (Iroquois) who were allied with
2328-578: Is part of the Toronto television market, even though it is directly across the Niagara River from its American twin city, which is part of the Buffalo market. Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario . Hamilton has a population of 569,353 (2021), and its census metropolitan area , which encompasses Burlington and Grimsby , has a population of 785,184. The city
2425-657: Is represented in the Parliament of Canada by five members of Parliament and in the Legislature of Ontario by five members of Provincial Parliament . Hamilton's municipal government has a mayor, elected citywide, and 15 city councillors—one per city ward—to serve on the Hamilton City Council. The province grants the Hamilton City Council authority to govern through the Municipal Act of Ontario. Hamilton's current mayor
2522-657: Is served by two main local newspapers, three radio stations and a community television channel. All other media is regionally based, as well, from Hamilton and Toronto. Local newspapers are: Due to its proximity to Hamilton and Toronto, local residents have access to the papers like The Hamilton Spectator , the Toronto Star , and the Toronto Sun . The area is otherwise served by stations from Toronto , Hamilton and Buffalo . Television stations from Toronto and Buffalo are also widely available. Officially, Niagara Falls
2619-567: Is situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Toronto in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812 , the town of Hamilton became the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe . On January 1, 2001,
2716-619: The 1968 Memorial Cup won by the Flyers on home ice. The arena closed in 2010, when it was replaced by the Gale Centre . The Memorial Arena was later purchased by Russian owners and converted into a sand sculpture museum. The owners fell into financial difficulties and put the building up for sale in 2014. The building is abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. 43°05′41″N 79°04′45″W / 43.094653°N 79.079053°W / 43.094653; -79.079053 This article about
2813-409: The 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Hamilton had a population of 569,353 living in 222,807 of its 233,564 total private dwellings, a change of 6% from its 2016 population of 536,917 . With a land area of 1,118.31 km (431.78 sq mi), it had a population density of 509.1/km (1,318.6/sq mi) in 2021. At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in
2910-553: The 2021 census , religious groups in Hamilton included: The most described religion in Hamilton is Christianity although other religions brought by immigrants are also growing. The 2011 census indicates that 67.6% of the population adheres to a Christian denomination, with Catholics being the largest at 34.3% of the city's population. The Christ the King Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Hamilton . Other denominations include
3007-702: The American Revolutionary War , when the British Crown made land grants to Loyalists to help them resettle in Upper Canada and provide some compensation for their losses after the United States became independent. Loyalist Robert Land received 200 acres (81 ha) and was one of the first people of European descent to settle in the Niagara Region. He moved to nearby Hamilton three years later due to
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3104-667: The British against the Huron and their French allies. The hamlet of Westover was built in an area that was originally a Seneca Iroquois tribal village, Tinawatawa , which was first visited by the French in September 1699. After the American Revolutionary War , about 10,000 United Empire Loyalists left the United States to settle in Upper Canada , now southern Ontario. In 1792, the Crown purchased
3201-850: The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum , the HMCS ; Haida National Historic Site, Dundurn Castle (the residence of an Allan MacNab , the 8th Premier of Canada West ), the Royal Botanical Gardens , the Canadian Football Hall of Fame , the African Lion Safari Park, the Cathedral of Christ the King , the Workers' Arts and Heritage Centre, and the Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology. As of September 2018 , there are 40 pieces in
3298-701: The Grey Cup , was played in Hamilton in 2021 and won by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers . In 2019, Forge FC debuted as Hamilton's soccer team in the Canadian Premier League . The team plays at Tim Hortons Field and shares the venue with the Tiger-Cats. They finished their inaugural season as champions of the league. In 2019, the Hamilton Honey Badgers debuted as Hamilton's basketball team in
3395-587: The Hamilton Street Railway strike of 1906, with industrial businesses expanding, Hamilton's population doubled between 1900 and 1914. Two steel manufacturing companies, Stelco and Dofasco , were formed in 1910 and 1912, respectively. Procter & Gamble and the Beech-Nut Packing Company opened manufacturing plants in 1914 and 1922, respectively, their first outside the US. In June and July 1916,
3492-548: The Köppen classification , Hamilton is on the Dfb/Dfa boundary, found in southern Ontario because the average temperature in July is 22.0 °C (71.6 °F). However, its climate is moderate compared with most of Canada. The airport's open, rural location and higher altitude results in lower temperatures, generally windier conditions, and higher snowfall amounts than lower, built-up areas of
3589-525: The Niagara Gorge on the Niagara River , which flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario . The city of Niagara Falls has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ) which is moderated to an extent in all seasons by proximity to bodies of water. Winters are cold, with a January high of −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) and a low of −7.8 °C (18.0 °F). However, temperatures above 0 °C (32.0 °F) are common during winter. The average annual snowfall
3686-685: The Queen Elizabeth Way ) are patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the rest by Niagara Regional Police (NRPS) for city streets and general policing or Niagara Parks Police (NPP) on property relating to Niagara Parks Commission . Policing on the Canadian side of bridges (Whirlpool and Rainbow Bridges) are conducted by both Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations, but may involve Niagara Regional Police and/or OPP, as well as US agencies. Michigan Central Railway Bridge
3783-520: The Underground Railroad . In 1856, a British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church was established for African-Canadian worshipers. The BME Church, Nathaniel Dett Memorial Chapel is now a National Historic Site , remaining in operation into the 21st century. Composer, organist, pianist and music professor Nathaniel Dett was born in Niagara Falls in 1882. In 1886, Burr Plato became one of
3880-529: The United Church (6.5%), Anglican (6.4%), Presbyterian (3.1%), Christian Orthodox (2.9%), and other denominations (9.8%). Other religions with significant populations include Islam (3.7%), Buddhist (0.9%), Sikh (0.8%), Hindu (0.8%), and Jewish (0.7%). Those with no religious affiliation accounted for 24.9% of the population. Citizens of Hamilton are represented at all three levels of Canadian government: federal, provincial, and municipal. Hamilton
3977-542: The a strike of up to 2,000 machinists was caused by a failure of employers to improve working conditions or pay during a booming World War I economy. The strike disrupted production at many of the largest manufacturers and was the largest dispute in the city's history. Population and economic growth continued until the 1960s. In 1929 the city's first high-rise building, the Pigott Building, was constructed; in 1930 McMaster University moved from Toronto to Hamilton, in 1934
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4074-543: The naval reserve division HMCS Star , 23 Service Battalion and the 23 Field Ambulance. The Criminal Code of Canada is the chief piece of legislation defining criminal conduct and penalty. The Hamilton Police Service is chiefly responsible for the enforcement of federal and provincial law. Although the Hamilton Police Service has authority to enforce, bylaws passed by the Hamilton City Council are mainly enforced by Provincial Offences Officers employed by
4171-426: The "old" City of Hamilton had 331,121 residents and was divided into 100 neighbourhoods. The former region of Hamilton-Wentworth had a population of 490,268. The amalgamation created a single-tier municipal government ending subsidization of its suburbs. The new amalgamated city had 519,949 people in more than 100 neighbourhoods, and surrounding communities. The city was impacted by a widespread blackout in 2003 and
4268-424: The 1869 "Hamilton Foot Ball Club". Hamilton is also home to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame museum. The museum hosts an annual induction event in a week-long celebration that includes school visits, a golf tournament, a formal induction dinner and concludes with the Hall of Fame game involving the local CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field. The 108th championship game of the Canadian Football League,
4365-408: The 1930s who "became champions of parks, greenspace and roads" in Hamilton. Hamilton Harbour is a natural harbour with a large sandbar called the Beachstrip. This sandbar was deposited during a period of higher lake levels during the last ice age and extends southeast through the central lower city to the escarpment. Hamilton's deep sea port is accessed by ship canal through the beach strip into
4462-433: The 2011 census. Hamiltonians aged 65 years and older constituted 17.3% of the population, an increase of 2.4% since 2011. The city's average age is 41.3 years. 54.9% of Hamiltonians are married or in a common-law relationship, while 6.4% of city residents are divorced. Same-sex couples (married or in common-law relationships) constitute 0.8% (2,710 individuals) of the partnered population in Hamilton. Environics Analytics,
4559-417: The 2021 census, the Hamilton CMA had a population of 785,184 living in 307,382 of its 320,081 total private dwellings, a change of 5% from its 2016 population of 747,545 . With a land area of 1,373.15 km (530.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 571.8/km (1,481.0/sq mi) in 2021. In the 2016 Canadian census , 24.69% of the city's population was not born in Canada . Hamilton
4656-439: The British Empire Games) in 1930 . Hamilton bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2010 but lost to New Delhi . On November 7, 2009, in Guadalajara, Mexico , it was announced Toronto would host the 2015 Pan Am Games after beating out two rival South American cities, Lima , Peru , and Bogotá , Colombia . The city of Hamilton co-hosted the Games with Toronto. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said "the Pan Am Games will provide
4753-545: The Canadian and US currencies moved closer to parity in the 2000s, Niagara Falls, Ontario continued to be a popular destination for Americans, while Niagara Falls, New York, experienced a prolonged economic downturn. Ontario's legal drinking age is 19, which attracts potential alcohol consumers from across the border, as the American drinking age is 21. Some cultural areas of Niagara Falls include Queen Street, Main and Ferry Streets, Stamford Centre and Chippawa Square. Community centres that are host to cultural activities include
4850-414: The Canadian side has a greater average annual income, a higher average home price, and lower levels of vacant buildings and blight, as well as a more vibrant economy and better tourism infrastructure. The population of Niagara Falls, New York fell by half from the 1960s to 2012. In contrast, the population of Niagara Falls, Ontario more than tripled. The Ontario government introduced legal gambling to
4947-413: The City of Hamilton. In 2020, the city saw 18 murders and 51 shootings (up from 47 in 2019), the most shootings the city seen in at least a decade. 2021 saw the homicides in the city increase to 20, giving the city a rate of around 3.5 per 100,000 residents. Hamilton ranked first in Canada for police-reported hate crimes in 2016, with 12.5 hate crimes per 100,000 population. Organized crime also has
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#17328583037545044-439: The City of Niagara Falls Museums, Niagara Falls Public Libraries, Coronation 50 Plus Recreation Centre, Club Italia and Scotia Bank Convention Centre. Notable attractions in Niagara Falls include: Niagara Falls City Council consists of eight councillors and a mayor. City elections take place every four years with the most recent election held on 24 October 2022 . Council is responsible for policy and decision making, monitoring
5141-422: The Downtown Arts Centre on Rebecca Street has spurred creative activities in the core. The Community Centre for Media Arts (CCMA) continues to operate in downtown Hamilton. The CCMA works with marginalized populations and combines new media services with arts education and skills development programming. Hamilton hosted Canada's first major international athletic event, the first Commonwealth Games (then called
5238-401: The Francophone community maintains a population of 6,760, while 30,530 residents, or 5.8% of the city's population, have knowledge of both official languages. The Franco-Ontarian community of Hamilton boasts two school boards, the public Conseil scolaire Viamonde and the Catholic Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir , which operate five schools (2 secondary and 3 elementary). Additionally,
5335-475: The HWCDB has 9 trustees. The French language school boards are represented by one trustee each from Hamilton and the surrounding area. The Canadian Military maintains a presence in Hamilton, with the John Weir Foote Armoury in the downtown core on James Street North, housing the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry as well as the 11th Field Hamilton-Wentworth Battery and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada. The Hamilton Reserve Barracks on Pier Nine houses
5432-483: The Niagara GO Expansion. The full expansion project is expected to be complete by 2025. The City of Niagara Falls is working toward Bike Friendly designation and providing more resources to encourage active transportation. Niagara Falls has one post-secondary institution in the city and another in the Niagara Region. Niagara is served by the District School Board of Niagara and the Niagara Catholic District School Board which operate elementary and secondary schools in
5529-495: The Niagara escarpment, and water quality in many of Hamilton's waterfalls is seriously degraded. High e. coli counts are regularly observed through testing by McMaster University near many of Hamilton's waterfalls, sometimes exceeding the provincial limits for recreational water use by as much as 400 times. The storm sewers in upstream neighbourhoods carry polluted runoff from streets and parking lots, as well as occasional raw sewage from sanitary lines that were improperly connected to
5626-461: The QEW. The Niagara Parkway is a road operated under the Niagara Parks Commission which connects Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie via Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls formerly had King's Highways passing through the city. These included: Via Rail Canada and Amtrak jointly provide service to the Niagara Falls station via their Maple Leaf service between Toronto Union Station and New York Penn Station . In summer 2009, Go Transit started
5723-717: The Toronto–Hamilton region is Canada's most industrialized area. The area from Oshawa , Ontario around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls, with Hamilton at its centre, is known as the Golden Horseshoe and had a population of approximately 8.1 million people in 2006. With sixty percent of Canada's steel produced in Hamilton by Stelco and Dofasco , the city has become known as the Steel Capital of Canada. After nearly declaring bankruptcy, Stelco returned to profitability in 2004. On August 26, 2007 United States Steel Corporation acquired Stelco for C$ 38.50 in cash per share, owning more than 76 percent of Stelco's outstanding shares. On September 17, 2014, US Steel Canada announced it
5820-528: The U.S. In addition to stores of all types, four banks, tradesmen of various types, and sixty-five taverns, industry in the community included three breweries, ten importers of dry goods and groceries, five importers of hardware, two tanneries, three coachmakers, and a marble and a stone works. As the city grew, several prominent buildings were constructed in the late 19th century, including the Grand Lodge of Canada in 1855, West Flamboro Methodist Church in 1879 (later purchased by Dufferin Masonic Lodge in 1893),
5917-501: The United States and were settled on reserves west of Lake Ontario as compensation for lands they lost in what was now the United States. During the War of 1812 , British regulars and local militia defeated invading American troops at the Battle of Stoney Creek , fought in what is now a park in eastern Hamilton . The town of Hamilton was conceived by George Hamilton (a son of a Queenston entrepreneur and founder, Robert Hamilton ), when he purchased farm holdings of James Durand ,
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#17328583037546014-519: The United States. In 1997, there was a devastating fire at the Plastimet plastics plant. Approximately 300 firefighters battled the blaze, and many sustained severe chemical burns and inhaled volatile organic compounds when at least 400 tonnes of PVC plastic were consumed in the fire. On January 1, 2001, the new city of Hamilton was formed from the amalgamation of Hamilton and its five neighbouring municipalities: Ancaster , Dundas , Flamborough , Glanbrook , and Stoney Creek . Before amalgamation,
6111-416: The area in 1803 as he remembered it: "The city in 1803 was all forest. The shores of the bay were difficult to reach or see because they were hidden by a thick, almost impenetrable mass of trees and undergrowth". George Hamilton , a settler and local politician, established a town site in the northern portion of Barton Township in 1815. He kept several east–west roads which were originally Indian trails, but
6208-531: The area was referred to as Township Number 2 as well as Mount Dorchester after Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (and today is only honoured by Dorchester Road and the community of Dorchester Village). The earliest settlers of Township Number 2 were Philip George Bender (namesake of Bender Street and Bender Hill near Casino Niagara originally from Germany and later New Jersey and Philadelphia ) and Thomas McMicken (a Scottish-born British Army veteran). Increased settlement in this area took place during and after
6305-491: The bill they take. The collected money is untraceable and there are no controls over how each establishment spends it. The Ontario government—concerned tourists could be misled into believing the fees were endorsed by the government—warned hotels and restaurants in 2008 not to claim the fee if it was not being remitted to a legitimate non-profit agency that promotes tourism. The practise continues and takes in an estimated $ 15 million per-year. Hotels specifically charge
6402-575: The city is encouraging redevelopment of this area as an arts and culture district. The downtown was a major centre for local commerce and night life up until the 1970s, when the Niagara Square Shopping Centre began to draw away crowds and retailers. Since 2006, Historic Niagara has brought art galleries, boutiques, cafés and bistros to the street. Attractions include renovation of the Seneca Theatre. In 2004, several tourist establishments in Niagara Falls began adding additional fees to bills. These fees have various different names and range in what percentage of
6499-443: The city maintains a Francophone community health centre that is part of the LHIN (Centre de santé communautaire Hamilton/Niagara), a cultural centre (Centre français Hamilton), three daycare centres, a provincially funded employment centre (Options Emploi), a community college site (Collège Boréal) and a community organization that supports the development of the francophone community in Hamilton (ACFO Régionale Hamilton). According to
6596-411: The city operating 1,077 hectares (2,661 acres) of parkland at 310 locations. Many of the parks are along the Niagara Escarpment, which runs from Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the north, to Queenston at the Niagara River in the south, and provides views of the cities and towns at Lake Ontario's western end. The hiking path Bruce Trail runs the length of the escarpment. Hamilton
6693-432: The city's Public Art Collection. The works are owned and maintained by the city. Founded in 1914, the Art Gallery of Hamilton is Ontario's third largest public art gallery. The gallery has over 9,000 works in its permanent collection that focus on three areas: 19th-century European, Historical Canadian and Contemporary Canadian. The McMaster Museum of Art (MMA), founded at McMaster University in 1967, houses and exhibits
6790-447: The city. Growth in the arts and culture sector has garnered media attention for Hamilton. A 2006 article in The Globe and Mail , entitled "Go West, Young Artist", focused on Hamilton's growing art scene. The Factory: Hamilton Media Arts Centre, opened a new home on James Street North in 2006. Art galleries have sprung up on streets across the city: James Street , King William Street , Locke Street and King Street . The opening of
6887-429: The city. The highest temperature ever recorded in Hamilton was 41.1 °C (106 °F) on July 14, 1868. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −30.6 °C (−23 °F) on January 25, 1884. In 2023, it was found that the city has areas of poor air quality with a high concentration of benzo(a)pyrene , particularly in neighbourhoods near industrial sites. Manufacturing is important to Ontario's economy, and
6984-486: The current boundaries of Hamilton were created through the amalgamation of the original city with other municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth . Residents of the city are known as Hamiltonians. Traditionally, the local economy has been led by the steel and heavy manufacturing industries. During the 2010s, a shift toward the service sector occurred, such as health and sciences. Hamilton
7081-475: The early to mid-20th century. Industry began moving out of the city in the 1970s and 80s because of economic recession and increasing global competition in the manufacturing sector. Tourism increasingly became the city's most important revenue source. Recent development has been mostly centred on the Clifton Hill and Fallsview areas. The Niagara Falls downtown (Queen Street) is undergoing a major revitalization;
7178-426: The first African Canadians to be elected to political office, holding the position of City Councillor of Niagara Falls until 1901. Niagara Falls is approximately 130 km (81 mi) by road from Ontario's capital of Toronto , which is across Lake Ontario to the north. The area of the Niagara Region is approximately 1,800 km (690 sq mi). The city is built along the Niagara Falls waterfalls and
7275-564: The harbour and is traversed by two bridges, the QEW's Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway and the lower Canal Lift Bridge. Between 1788 and 1793, the townships at the Head-of-the-Lake were surveyed and named. The area was first known as The Head-of-the-Lake for its location at the western end of Lake Ontario. John Ryckman, born in Barton township (where present day downtown Hamilton is), described
7372-513: The highest temperature recorded in Canada in January, when it reached 22.2 °C (72 °F) on January 26, 1950. Although more historical and cultural diversity exists, Niagara Falls has 11 communities and 67 neighbourhoods defined by Planning Neighbourhoods and Communities for the City of Niagara Falls. (>2000 population) In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Niagara Falls had
7469-635: The land on which Hamilton now stands from the Mississaugas in Treaty 3, also known as the Between the Lakes Purchase. The Crown granted the Loyalists lands from this purchase to encourage settlement in the region. These new settlers were soon followed by many more Americans, attracted by the availability of inexpensive, arable land. At the same time, large numbers of Iroquois who had allied with Britain arrived from
7566-463: The local economy in the mid-1990s. Casino Niagara precipitated an economic boom in the late 1990s as numerous luxury hotels and tourist attractions were built, and a second casino, Niagara Fallsview , opened in 2004. Both attracted American tourists due in part to the comparatively less expensive Canadian dollar, and despite the opening of the Seneca Niagara Casino on the American side. When
7663-509: The local member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada , shortly after the War of 1812. Nathaniel Hughson , a property owner to the north, cooperated with George Hamilton to prepare a proposal for a courthouse and jail on Hamilton's property. Hamilton offered the land to the crown for the future site. Durand was empowered by Hughson and Hamilton to sell property holdings which later became
7760-404: The new Gore District's administrative centre. Another dramatic economic turnabout for Hamilton occurred in 1832 when a canal was finally cut through the outer sand bar that enabled Hamilton to become a major port. A permanent jail was not constructed until 1832, when a cut-stone design was completed on Prince's Square, one of the two squares created in 1816. Subsequently, the first police board and
7857-459: The newcomers living in Hamilton in the 1990s were: former Yugoslavia , Poland , India , China , the Philippines , and Iraq . Hamilton also has a notable French community for which provincial services are offered in French. In Ontario, urban centres where there are at least 5,000 Francophones are designated areas where bilingual provincial services have to be offered. As per the 2016 census,
7954-486: The north–south streets were on a regular grid pattern. Streets were designated "East" or "West" if they crossed James Street or Highway 6. Streets were designated "North" or "South" if they crossed King Street or Highway 8. The townsite's design, likely conceived in 1816, was commonplace. George Hamilton employed a grid street pattern used in most towns in Upper Canada and throughout the American frontier. The eighty original lots had frontages of fifty feet; each lot faced
8051-621: The operation and performance of the city, analysing and approving budgets and determining spending priorities. Due to regulations put forward by the Municipal Elections Act 1996, elections are held on the fourth Monday in October except for religious holidays or if a member of council or if the mayor resigns. Jim Diodati has been the mayor of Niagara Falls since 2010. As of 2023, the city's fire and emergency services are staffed by 130 firefighters and 104 volunteers. Provincial roads (namely
8148-516: The other side being the twin city of Niagara Falls, New York . Niagara Falls is within the Regional Municipality of Niagara and a part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) . Tourism is a major part of the city's economy: its skyline consists of multiple high-rise hotels and observation towers that overlook the waterfalls and adjacent parkland. Souvenir shops, arcades, museums, amusement rides, indoor water parks, casinos, theatres and
8245-495: The population. The largest of these were Islam (4.1%), Hinduism (2.0%), Sikhism (1.4%) and Buddhism (0.8%) Tourism started in the early 19th century and has been a vital part of the local economy since that time. The falls became known as a natural wonder, in part to their being featured in paintings by prominent American artists of the 19th century such as Albert Bierstadt . Such works were reproduced as lithographs, becoming widely distributed. Niagara Falls marketed itself as
8342-449: The region. There are also numerous private institutions offer alternatives to the traditional education systems. Niagara Falls is also served by Niagara Falls Public Library , a growing library system composed of four branches, with the main branch in the downtown area. It is visited by over 10,000 people weekly. An extensive online database of photographs and artwork is maintained at Historic Niagara Digital Collections. Niagara Falls
8439-536: The relentless noise of the falls. In 1791, John Graves Simcoe renamed the town as Stamford after Stamford, Lincolnshire in England but today Stamford is only used for an area northwest of downtown Niagara Falls as well as Stamford Street. During the war of 1812, the battle of Lundy's Lane took place nearby in July 1814. In 1856, the Town of Clifton was incorporated by Ogden Creighton after Clifton, Bristol . The name of
8536-541: The second Canadian Tire store in Canada opened here; in 1940 the airport was completed; and in 1948, the Studebaker assembly line was constructed. Infrastructure and retail development continued, with the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway opening in 1958, and the first Tim Hortons store in 1964. Since then, many of the large industries have moved or shut down operations in a restructuring that also affected
8633-537: The site of the town. As he had been instructed, Durand circulated the offers at York during a session of the Legislative Assembly, which established a new Gore District , of which the Hamilton townsite was a member. Initially, this town was not the most important centre of the Gore District. An early indication of Hamilton's sudden prosperity occurred in 1816 when it was chosen over Ancaster, Ontario to be
8730-473: The storm sewers instead of the separate sanitary sewer system. Notably, in March 2020, it was revealed that as much as 24 billion litres of untreated wastewater has been leaking into the Chedoke creek and Cootes' Paradise areas since at least 2014 due to insufficiencies in the city's sewerage and storm water management systems. Hamilton's climate is humid-continental , characterized by changeable weather patterns. In
8827-516: The surrounding Stamford Township. In 1970, the Niagara regional government was formed. This resulted in the village of Chippawa , Willoughby Township, and part of Crowland Township being annexed into Niagara Falls. An internment camp for Germans was set up at The Armoury (now Niagara Military Museum) in Niagara Falls from December 1914 to August 1918. Niagara Falls has had a Black population since at least 1783. Up to 12 African-Americans were
8924-550: The town limits were defined by statute on February 13, 1833. Official city status was achieved on June 9, 1846, by an act of Parliament of the Province of Canada . By 1845, the population was 6,475. In 1846, there were useful roads to many communities as well as stagecoaches and steamboats to Toronto, Queenston, and Niagara. Eleven cargo schooners were owned in Hamilton. Eleven churches were in operation. A reading room provided access to newspapers from other cities and from England and
9021-453: The town was changed to Niagara Falls in 1881. In 1882, the community of Drummondville (near the present-day corner of Lundy's Lane and Main Street) was incorporated as the village of Niagara Falls (South). The village was referred to as Niagara Falls South to differentiate it from the town. In 1904, the town and village amalgamated to form the City of Niagara Falls. In 1963, the city amalgamated with
9118-615: The university's art collection of more than 7,000 objects. Supercrawl is a large community arts and music festival that takes place in September in the James Street North area of the city. In 2018, Supercrawl celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 220,000 visitors. In March 2015, Hamilton was host to the JUNO Awards . The Hamilton Film Festival stages an annual program of over 100 independent feature and short films annually, many but not all with direct production connections to
9215-495: The westernmost part of Lake Ontario ; most of the city, including the downtown section, is on the south shore. Hamilton is in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe . Its major physical features are Hamilton Harbour, marking the northern limit of the city, and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into "upper" and "lower" parts. The maximum high point
9312-439: Was applying for bankruptcy protection and it would close its Hamilton operations. A stand-alone subsidiary of ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steel producer, Dofasco produces products for the automotive, construction, energy, manufacturing, pipe and tube, appliance, packaging, and steel distribution industries. It has approximately 7,300 employees at its Hamilton plant, and the four million tons of steel it produces each year
9409-627: Was severely reduced. The Haudenosaunee people remained in the area until Europeans made first contact in the late 17th century. The Niagara Falls area had some European settlement in the 17th century. Louis Hennepin , a French priest and missionary , is considered to be the first European to visit the area in the 1670s. French colonists settled mostly in Lower Canada, beginning near the Atlantic, and in Quebec and Montreal. After surveys were completed in 1782
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