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 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 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.
History 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. In 1904, the town and village amalgamated to form the City of Niagara Falls, by virtue of an Act passed the previous year. In 1963, the city amalgamated with 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.
Black history
Niagara Falls has had a Black population since at least 1783. Up to 12 African-Americans were 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 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 the first African Canadians to be elected to political office, holding the position of City Councillor of Niagara Falls until 1901.
Geography
Niagara Falls is approximately by road from Ontario's capital of Toronto, which is across Lake Ontario to the north. The area of the Niagara Region is approximately .
Topography The city is built along the Niagara Falls waterfalls and the Niagara Gorge on the Niagara River, which flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
Climate 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 and a low of . However, temperatures above are common during winter. The average annual snowfall is , 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 and a low of . The average annual precipitation is , which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.
Niagara Falls holds the record for the highest temperature recorded in Canada in January, when it reached 22.2 °C (72 °F) on January 26, 1950.
Communities and neighbourhoods 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.
Beaverdams Hyott N.E.C. West Nichols Shriners Warner Chippawa Bridgewater Cummings Hunter Kingsbridge Ussher Weinbrenner Crowland Crowland Drummond Brookfield Caledonia Coronation Corwin Drummond Industrial Basin Hennepin Leeming Merrit Miller Orchard Trillium Elgin Balmoral Central Business District Glenview Hamilton Maple Oakes Ryerson Valleyway Grassybrook Grassybrook Industrial Basin Oakland Rexinger Northwest Carmel Kent Mulhearn Queen Victoria Clifton Hill Fallsview North Fallsview South Marineland Queen Victoria Stamford Burdette Calaguiro Church Cullimore Gauld Ker Mitchellson Mountain N.E.C. East Olden Pettit Portage Queensway Gardens Rolling Acres Thompson Wallice Westlane Garner Hodgson Lundy Munro Oakwood Royal Manor Westlane Industrial Basin Willoughby Niagara River Parkway Willoughby
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Niagara Falls 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.
At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the St. Catharines - Niagara CMA 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.
Ethnicity 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%). + Panethnic groups in the City of Niagara Falls (2001−2021)Panethnic group20212016201120062001 European 70,810 72,575 71,630 73,440 72,890 South Asian 5,815 2,430 1,020 955 630 Southeast Asian 3,730 2,465 1,770 1,365 910 East Asian 3,030 2,230 1,715 1,790 1,265 African 2,840 1,735 1,730 1,080 685 Indigenous 2,495 2,240 1,960 1,390 860 Latin American 1,455 950 740 630 255 Middle Eastern 1,260 865 305 310 305 Other/multiracial 1,240 495 440 185 215 Total responses 92,670 85,975 81,300 81,155 78,015 Total population 94,415 88,071 82,997 82,184 78,815 Ethnic origin (>2000 population)Population%English18,64020.1%Italian15,63516.9%Canadian12,91513.9%Scottish13,93015.0%Irish13,28514.3%German8,8909.6%French7,7458.4%Polish3,9054.2%Indian3,4403.7%Ukrainian3,3003.6%British Isles, n.o.s.3,2953.6%Dutch2,8753.1%Filipino2,7252.9%Hungarian2,2802.5%Chinese2,2302.4%Source: 2021 Census of Canada
Religion 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 the population. The largest of these were Islam (4.1%), Hinduism (2.0%), Sikhism (1.4%) and Buddhism (0.8%)
Language Mother tongue, 2021 Census: English – 74.2%, Italian – 3.2%, French – 1.6%, Spanish – 1.5%, Tagalog – 1.5%, Punjabi – 1.2%.
Economy
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 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 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; 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 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 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.
Comparison to Niagara Falls, New York In the 20th century, there was a favourable exchange rate when comparing Canadian and U.S. currencies.