GET TO KNOW NIAGARA CANADA
There’s more to Niagara Canada than that famous waterfall. Here’s everything you need to know about this world-renowned address.
Niagara by the numbers
Niagara Canada has attracted visitors from around the world for centuries. Today, those who call this famous destination home are part of a growing area of almost 2 million people within a 30-minute drive, encompassing a total area of 1,852 km squared with a population of 496,059. The region has three urban centres (Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland) and its landmark natural features include Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Niagara River and the Niagara Escarpment. It is easily accessible from other major urban centres, located as close as a 75 km drive to Toronto and as little as 1 km from Buffalo, New York.
Weather that shines in every season
Niagara Canada’s unique geography creates a microclimate that brings about the best weather in all of Canada. Each season brings its own distinct weather patterns – our mild spring, hot summers, crisp fall and snowy winters.
Onguiaahra
The name ‘Niagara’ comes from the word “Onguiaahra,” the first settlement of indigenous people (also called the “Neutral tribe” by French explorers due to their role in keeping the peace between the warring Iroquois and Huron Nations). In 1764, over 2,000 First Nations leaders representing 24 Nations gathered in what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake to enter into the Treaty of Niagara, the first treaty in present-day Canada, which outlined the relationship between the local Indigenous people and the British Crown.
Niagara Canada then became home to early English settlements including Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake), the first capital of Upper Canada (now the province of Ontario) and site of the first provincial parliament. The region was also shaped by the influx of settlers who migrated here after the American Revolutionary War.