St. Catharines (2006 population 131,989; metropolitan population 390,317) is the largest city in Canada's
Niagara RegionThe Regional Municipality of Niagara , also known as the Niagara Region, or, colloquially, "Regional Niagara", is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada....
and the sixth largest urban area in
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with 97.11
square kilometreSquare kilometre , symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units.1 km2 is equal to:* 1,000,000 m2...
s (37.5
sq miThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
) of land. It lies in
Southern OntarioSouthern Ontario is the portion of the Canadian province of Ontario lying 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 14-15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of Canada.Southern...
51 kilometres (32 mi) south of
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
across
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
and is 19 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the international boundary with the United States of America along the
Niagara RiverThe 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...
. It is the northern entrance of the
Welland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
. Residents of St. Catharines are known as
St. CathariniansThe following people were born in, residents of, or are otherwise closely connected to the city of St. Catharines, Ontario-Fashion:*Supermodel Linda Evangelista, was born and raised in St. Catharines. Her family still lives there. The breast screening centre at St...
.
St. Catharines carries the official nickname "The Garden City" due to its 1,000
acreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre....
s (4 km²) of meticulously groomed parks, gardens and trails.
St. Catharines is situated in an excellent area for commerce and trade since it is conveniently located between the
Greater Toronto AreaThe Greater Toronto Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. The GTA is a provincial planning area in Southern Ontario with a population of 5,555,912 at the 2006 Canadian Census...
(GTA) and the
Fort ErieFort 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....
-
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
metropolitan area. Manufacturing is the city's dominant industry, as noted by the heraldic motto, "Industry and Liberality". General Motors of Canada, Ltd., the Canadian
subsidiaryA subsidiary, in business matters, is an entity that is controlled by a separate entity. The controlled entity is called a company, corporation, or limited liability company and in some cases can be a government or state-owned enterprise, and the controlling entity is called its parent...
of General Motors, operates two plants in the city and until recently was the city's largest employer, a distinction now held by the
District 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....
.
TRWTRW Incorporated was an American corporation involved in a number of businesses, mostly defense-related, but including automotive, aerospace and credit reporting.The credit reporting business, spun off in 1996, is now called Experian...
operate a plant in the city, though in recent years employment has shifted from heavy industry and manufacturing to services.
St. Catharines lies on one of the main telecommunications
backbonesThe Internet backbone refers to the main "trunk" connections of the Internet. It is made up of a large collection of interconnected commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity data routes and core routers that carry data across the countries, continents and oceans of the world.The...
between Canada and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and as a result a number of
call centreA call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
s operate in the city.
History
The city was first settled by
LoyalistsLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during and after the American Revolutionary War. They were often referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men by the Patriots, those that supported the revolution...
in the 1780s. The first settlers, Sergeant Jacob Dittrick and Private John Hainer of
Butler's RangersButler's Rangers was a British provincial regiment composed of Loyalists in the American Revolutionary War, raised by Loyalist John Butler.Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York...
, came to the area where Dick's Creek met Twelve Mile Creek. Dick's Creek was named after another early settler, Richard Pierpoint, a
Black LoyalistA Black Loyalist or African American Loyalist was a formerly enslaved African American or Free Negro who escaped to the British during the American Revolutionary War...
who had been born in what is now Senegal and who had escaped slavery in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to fight for the British Crown, hence his nickname of Captain Dick. This part of the settlement eventually became the centre of town. Native trails were used as travel routes, resulting in present day radial road pattern from the city centre.
The first business, a goods storehouse owned by Robert Hamilton, was established around 1783. The first mill, Crown Mills, was opened in 1786. The surrounding land was surveyed, and townships created, between 1787 and 1789. The small settlement was known at the time as "The Twelve".
In 1797, the first
innInns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging and, usually, food and drink. They are typically located in the country or along a highway.- History and origins :...
was built by Thomas Adams, located on the east side of Ontario Street next to what is now St. Paul Street. It became a community meeting place and stagecoach rest stop. In 1798, "The Twelve" became known as "Shipman's Corners", after the inn's new owner, Paul Shipman. According to some sources, St. Paul Street - the main route in and out of the city at the time - was named after him also.
As
Shipman's Corners, the town was visited by
Laura SecordLaura Secord was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812.Laura was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1775...
during the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
, en route to warn
James FitzgibbonJames FitzGibbon was a British soldier and hero of the War of 1812.He enlisted in the Knight of Glin’s Yeomanry Corps at age 15. Three years later, he joined the Tarbert Infantry Fencibles , an Irish home service regiment, from which he was recruited into the British Army's 49th Regiment of Foot...
of the advancing Americans. She was travelling with her niece Elizabeth Secord, but Elizabeth was exhausted at that point and ceased her journey there. Laura Secord continued on to warn Fitzgibbon successfully.
In 1808 the name "St. Catharines" appeared for the first time on a survey; the name comes from Robert Hamilton's wife Catharine, who was the daughter of
John AskinJohn Askin was a fur trader, merchant and official in Upper Canada.He was born in Aughnacloy in Ireland in 1739; his ancestors are believed to have originally lived in Scotland with the surname Erskine. He came to North America with the British Army in 1758...
, a merchant and land speculator at
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
and Sandwich (now
WindsorWindsor is the southernmost major city in Canada and lies in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is located south of Detroit, is separated...
). In 1817 the post office was established with the name "St. Catherines" (sic), but by 1821, the name was officially "St. Catharines".
The first
Welland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
was constructed from 1824-33 behind what is now known as St. Paul Street, using Twelve Mile and Dick's Creek.
William Hamilton MerrittWilliam Hamilton Merritt was an influential figure in the Niagara Peninsula of Upper Canada in early 19th century and one of the fathers of the Welland Canal....
worked tirelessly to promote the ambitious venture, both by raising funds and by enlisting government support. The canal established St. Catharines as the hub of commerce and industry for the
Niagara PeninsulaThe 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...
.
Merritt also played a role in making St. Catharines an important place of abolitionist activity. In 1855, the
British Methodist Episcopal ChurchThe British Methodist Episcopal Church is a Protestant church in Canada that has its roots in the African Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States....
and Salem Chapel was established at the corner of Geneva and North streets, on land granted to the congregation by Merritt in the early 1840s. The area became known to escaped slaves as a place of "refuge and rest", and cemented it as a final terminus on the
Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the...
for
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
slaves. By the mid-1850s the population was about 6000, 800 of whom were "of African descent".
St. Catharines remains an important place in
Black CanadianBlack Canadians, Caribbean Canadians and African Canadians are designations used for people of Black African descent who reside in Canada. The terms are used by and of Canadian citizens who trace their ancestry back to people who were indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa...
history.
The Town of St. Catharines was incorporated in 1845. St. Catharines was incorporated as a city in 1876.
Geography and climate
St. Catharines enjoys a unique micro-climate because of the moderating influence of
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
and
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth 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...
and the sheltering effect of the
Niagara EscarpmentThe Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
to the south. As a result, the city can record a large number of frost-free days in the winter, although it sometimes receives lake-effect snow. The summer season is predominantly warm, sometimes hot and humid, with an average temperature of 27 °
CCelsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
(81 °
FFahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Today, the scale has been replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other nations, such as...
) in July, but humidity is often high. Summer thunderstorms are commonplace but less prevalent than further west in Southern Ontario due to the surrounding lakes.
The complex and extensive glacial history of the
Niagara PeninsulaThe 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...
has resulted in similarly complex soil
stratigraphyStratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
in the area occupied by the city today. St. Catharines was once at the base of a glacial lake known as
Glacial Lake IroquoisGlacial Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago.The lake was essentially an enlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence River downstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet...
, which deposited thick layers of clay between the Escarpment and Lake Ontario. As a result of these factors, the city's soil is particularly conducive to fruit growing and is capable of producing grapes that are used to make award-winning wines. Three wineries operate in the city's west-end:
Henry of Pelham WineryHenry of Pelham Family Estate Winery is one of the created in the aftermath of the wine revolution on the Niagara Peninsula unleashed by Don Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser in July 1975 when they received the first new winery license in Ontario since Prohibition....
, Hernder Estates and Harvest Estates. St. Catharines also boasts its own craft brewery, Niagara's Best Beer Ltd. They produce two award winning brews: Niagara's Best Blonde and Niagara's Best Lager.
Niagara's Best Beer
Since the opening of the first
Welland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
in 1829, the city has seen four different canal systems, whether modified or newly constructed, carved into its geographical landscape. The fourth and present-day canal forms the majority of the city's eastern boundary. The first three of the city's canals have largely been buried, portions of it beneath the present-day Highway 406 and
Queen Elizabeth WayThe Queen Elizabeth Way is a 400-Series freeway in Ontario, Canada. It links Buffalo, New York, USA and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto and its western suburbs. The freeway starts at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario and continues for 139 kilometres through Niagara Falls, St...
. Other remnants of the original canals can still be seen in various locations throughout the city, many of which are hidden within forested areas designated as city parks. There has been a growing movement in recent years to restore the original routing of the Welland Canal through the city. The restored waterway and locks would be open to pleasure craft and create a new tourist attraction within the city.
Major parks
- Montebello Park - Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, landscape designer and father of American landscape architecture, famous for designing many well-known urban parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City...
in 1887, who went on to create New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
's Central ParkCentral Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year...
. A commemorative rose garden with over 1,300 bushes in 25 varieties is the city's largest rose collection and features an ornamental fountain. The focal point of the park is a band shell and pavilion built in 1888. The park is designated under the Ontario Heritage ActThe Ontario Heritage Act, first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage value or interest....
.
- Lakeside Park - Located in the North end, along the shores of Lake Ontario in the community known as Port Dalhousie. Hosts yearly fireworks displays on July 1 (Canada Day). Has picnic areas, a pavilion, snack bar, change rooms, washrooms, playground equipment, boardwalk, the Lakeside Park Carousel, and public docks for visiting boaters. The beach offers magnificent sunset views over Lake Ontario. Lakeside Park inspired a song by Rush
Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
which describes the park itself and Neil Peart's memories there.
- Short Hills Provincial Park
Short 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...
- Ontario's first provincial park, it is located in the Southwest portion of the city along the Niagara Escarpment.
- Burgoyne Woods - A 50-hectare (0.5 km²) wooded area and recreational park located near the Downtown core.
- Happy Rolph’s Bird Sanctuary - A 6-hectare (0.06 km²) park on the shores of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
in the community of Port WellerPort Weller, Ontario is a community located at a in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the Niagara Region.It is located north of the centre of St...
. It is home to hundreds of native and migratory birds and features an exotic collection of flowering rhododendronRhododendron is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It is a large genus with over 1000 species and most have showy flower displays. It includes the plants known to gardeners as azaleas...
s. An onsite petting farm (containing horses, pigs, sheep, goats and llamas, as well as a donkey named 'Hoti' -- 'Don Quixote') is operated by the city from Victoria DayVictoria Day , colloquially known as May Two-four, May Long, or May Run is a federal Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday before or on 24 May, in honour of both Queen Victoria's birthday and the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday, and is also considered an...
to ThanksgivingThanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day , occurring on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season...
Weekend. A trail running throughout the park leads to a peaceful waterfront memorial to Canadian victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- Ontario Jaycee Gardens - Overlooking the Henley Rowing Course, this is the city's largest horticultural park with more than 8 hectares (0.08 km²) of meticulously landscaped gardens and flower displays. The park exists on land that once featured the Third Welland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
. The former entrance to the canal can still be seen at the North-West end of the park.
- Walker Arboretum - Located along the hillside of Rodman Hall and the Twelve Mile Creek below, the original owner of this estate was Thomas Rodman Merritt
Thomas Rodman Merritt was an Ontario businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He represented Lincoln in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1868 to 1874....
, son of William Hamilton MerrittWilliam Hamilton Merritt was an influential figure in the Niagara Peninsula of Upper Canada in early 19th century and one of the fathers of the Welland Canal....
. In the late 1800s, an English landscape designLandscape design is similar to landscape architecture. Landscape Design focuses more on the artistic merits of design, while Landscape Architecture encompasses the artistic design as well as structural engineering. Landscape design and Landscape Architecture, both take into account soils, drainage,...
er named Samuel Richardson was hired by Merritt to tend the grounds. As a result, the arboretumAn arboretum is a collection of trees. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
is an extensive, rambling garden with rare conifers which benefit from an exceptional micro-climate. It boasts one of the largest Chinese Empress trees in CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
- Woodgale Park - Located along Glendale Avenue between Glenridge Avenue and the Pen Center. Features wide open spaces, flowing fruit trees, rare birds, a soccer field and tennis courts. Also features a memorial to the original farm building on the north end of the park near Denis Morris High school. Locally known as Doug Hill Park, after a nearby resident who coached a number of baseball and tug of war teams in this area.
Municipal
St. Catharines is governed by a mayor and city council of twelve city councillors, with two councillors representing each of the six municipal wards in the city. A city councillor is also elected by the council as a whole to serve as deputy mayor, who only fills the role should the elected mayor not be available.
St. Catharines City CouncilThe St. Catharines City Council is the governing body of the City of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.The council consists of the mayor plus twelve elected councilors, with two councilors representing each of the six municipal wards...
meets every Monday and is open to participation by the community. Matters put forwarded are voted on by members of city council; the mayor presides over council debate and serves very much like the
speakerThe term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the...
, and as a result only votes in the case of a tie. After 2006, municipal elections will be in November every four years rather than the previous three. Unlike most cities its size, city councillors only serve on a part-time basis and continue with their non-political careers in the community. Only the mayor is elected to a full-time position. St. Catharines City Hall is located downtown on Church Street.
Tim RigbyTim Rigby is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of St. Catharines from 1997 to 2006, and is currently a Niagara Regional Councillor....
was the Mayor of St. Catharines from 1997 to 2006;
Brian McMullanBrian James McMullan is the mayor of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He was elected to the position in the 2006 St. Catharines municipal election. He was previously a St. Catharines city councillor and a Niagara regional councillor.-Early life and career:...
was elected to succeed Rigby on November 13, 2006, and was sworn-in on December 4.
St. Catharines uses a
council-manager governmentThe council-manager government is one of two main variations of representative municipal government in the United States....
, and as a result a
Chief Administrative OfficerA chief administrative officer is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive officer. In some companies,...
is appointed by council to oversee the day-to-day operations of the city and its departments. The CAO, in effect, is the highest ranking municipal civil servant and has authority over the spending of municipal tax dollars. The CAO advises council on policy matters and acts as liaison between the administrative staff and elected officials. Some of the CAOs duties include assisting in the creation of the municipal budget, and ensuring that municipal funds are spent in a responsible manner. Colin Briggs is Acting CAO, replacing B. Robert Puhach who resigned in February 2007. The city expects to a hire a permanent replacement by Fall 2007.
Residents of St. Catharines also elect six regional councillors to the
Niagara Regional CouncilThe 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...
on an at-large basis. Unlike other
Regional MunicipalitiesA 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...
in Ontario, regional councillors do not sit on city council and instead only represent at the regional level. Four school board trustees for the
District 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....
representing St. Catharines and
Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-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.-History:The original site was a Neutral Nation...
are elected, as well as and three trustees for the
Niagara 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...
, two for five of St. Catharines' wards, and one for
ThoroldThorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara.The earliest communities in what is now Thorold emerged at Beaverdams, DeCew Falls and St...
and the Merriton Ward of St. Catharines. Regional councillors and school board trustees are elected at the same time, and on the same ballot, as the mayor and city councillors.
St. Catharines has one of the highest resident/representative ratios of any large city in Ontario. There are just under 7,000 people per elected municipal representative in St. Catharines, while
OshawaOshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe...
(a similar-sized city in Ontario) has one representative per 13,500 people.
London, OntarioLondon is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of 457,720; the city proper had a population of 352,395 in the 2006 Canadian census....
has one representative per 30,500 people, and
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
has one representative per 55,000 people. There has been recent discussion regarding a modification of the city/regional council arrangement, with the possibility of reducing city council to six full-time representatives and having the six regional councillors serve on city council. While there is growing support in the business community for such an arrangement, city council has been unreceptive to such ideas.
Provincial
At the provincial level,
St. CatharinesSt. Catharines is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999....
is well-known for electing high-profile members of the
Legislative Assembly of OntarioThe Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario...
. Jim Bradley, the current member for St. Catharines and Ontario's longest serving Member of Provincial Parliament, is the current Minister of Transportation in the Liberal government of
Dalton McGuintyDalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer and politician and, since October 23, 2003, premier of the Canadian province of Ontario...
, and served as Minister of Environment in the government of
David PetersonDavid Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the twentieth Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
. Bradley recently celebrated 30 years in provincial politics, and it was noted that he actually served in the Ontario Legislature with the parents of five current MPPs.
Peter KormosPeter Kormos is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A former lawyer, he was first elected as an MPP to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as candidate of the New Democratic Party in the riding of Welland in a by-election in 1988, replacing veteran NDP legislator Mel Swart...
, who represents the southern portions of the city as part of the
Welland ridingWelland is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988, and since 2004. It first elected a member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2007 provincial election...
, is a prominent vocal member of the
Ontario New Democratic PartyThe Ontario New Democratic Party, formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a section of the federal New Democratic Party.-Origins:...
caucus and served previously as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations in the
Bob RaeRobert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal opposition's foreign affairs critic....
government.
From 1999 to 2003, during the premierships of
Mike HarrisMichael Deane Harris was the twenty-second Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002...
and
Ernie EvesErnest Lawrence Eves was the twenty-third Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
, St. Catharines was the only large city in Ontario to not have at least one government member representing the city, as the
Progressive ConservativeThe Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
-held ridings of
LincolnLincoln was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1883 and from 1904 to 1997. It was on the Niagara Peninsula in the Canadian province of Ontario...
and St. Catharines—Brock were eliminated as a cost saving measure.
Robert WelchRobert Stanley Kemp "Bob" Welch, OC was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1985 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Robarts, Bill Davis and Frank Miller.-Early life:Welch was...
, a long-time
Deputy Premier of OntarioThe Deputy Premier of Ontario is the representative of the Premier of Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario when the current Premier is unable to attend functions executed by the Premier...
, represented the now-eliminated Lincoln and St. Catharines—Brock ridings throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Federal
Federally,
St. CatharinesSt. Catharines is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999....
is one of the most
bellwetherA bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram leading its flock of sheep.The movements of...
of any riding in Canada, having only elected an opposition MP twice in its history.
Rick DykstraRichard "Rick" Dykstra is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2006 federal election, for the Ontario riding of St. Catharines. Dykstra is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada...
is the current MP for St. Catharines and is a member of the
Conservative Party of CanadaThe Conservative Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The party is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
, which currently forms Canada's government. The southern portion of the city is included as part of the
WellandWelland is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988, and since 2004. It first elected a member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2007 provincial election...
riding, and is represented by
Malcolm AllenMalcolm Allen is a former freestyle swimmer who competed for Australia at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He placed 13th in the 400m Freestyle, and ended up fourth with the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Team...
, an
NDPThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a social democratic political party in Canada. In the Canadian House of Commons, it holds a centre-left position in the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jack Layton...
MP. Most federal representatives from St. Catharines have maintained a low profile on either the government or opposition
backbenchesIn Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
. The exception was
Gilbert ParentGilbert "Gib" Parent, PC was a Canadian Member of Parliament. He is best known in his role of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons between 1994 and 2001....
, who served as
Speaker of the HouseSpeaker of the Canadian House of Commons is the presiding officer of the lower house and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The Speaker's role in presiding over Canada's House of Commons is similar to that of Speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the...
for seven years while
Jean ChrétienJoseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , is a Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003, and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 2003.-Early life:Chrétien was born on January 11, 1934 in Shawinigan, Quebec, as the 18th of 19...
was Prime Minister.
Legal
St. Catharines is the judicial seat of the Niagara North Judicial District of Ontario, Central West Region, which represents the northern half of the Niagara Region equivalent to historic
Lincoln CountyLincoln County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.The county was formed in 1792. In 1845, the southern portion of Lincoln County was separated to form Welland County....
. The Superior Court of Justice is located on Church Street across from City Hall. A satellite court is located in
GrimsbyGrimsby 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...
. Wally Essert is the current
Crown AttorneyCrown Attorneys or Crown Counsel are the public prosecutors in the legal system of Canada.Crown Attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code of Canada...
.
The city forms "1 District" of the
Niagara Regional Police ServiceThe Niagara Regional Police Service provides policing services for the Regional Municipality of Niagara in the Canadian province of Ontario....
. The NRPS headquarters are located on Church Street, with administrative offices on James Street and support services on Cushman Road.
Transportation
The most defining transportation icon of St. Catharines is the
Welland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
, a
ship canalA ship canal is a canal especially constructed to carry ocean-going ships, as opposed to barges. Ship canals can be enlarged barge canals, canalized or channelized rivers, or canals especially constructed from the start to accommodate ships....
that runs 43.4 kilometres (27.0 mi), passing through the city. Three of its locks are within city boundaries. The canal allows shipping vessels to traverse the 99.5 metre (326.5 ft) drop in altitude from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
The main access routes into and out of St. Catharines are served by two major
freewayA freeway is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections. This is accomplished by preventing access to and from adjacent properties and eliminating all cross traffic through the use of grade separations and...
s. The
Queen Elizabeth WayThe Queen Elizabeth Way is a 400-Series freeway in Ontario, Canada. It links Buffalo, New York, USA and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto and its western suburbs. The freeway starts at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario and continues for 139 kilometres through Niagara Falls, St...
runs east (at 15-Mile Creek) to west (at
Garden City SkywayThe Garden City Skyway is a major high-level bridge located in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, that allows the Queen Elizabeth Way to cross the Welland Canal without the interruption of a lift bridge. Six lanes of traffic are carried across the bridge, which is 3.5 miles ...
) and
Highway 406Highway 406 is a 400-series highway in Ontario, Canada. It is currently 25 kilometres long; 20 kilometres of the route consists of a full freeway, with the remaining portion being a limited-access two-lane highway....
runs north (at QEW) to south (at St. David's Road). Prior to the construction of these freeways, St. Paul Street (former
Highway 8Highway 8 is a King's Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km.-History:Highway 8 is one of the oldest provincial highways in Ontario, having first been established in 1918. Up until the early 1970s, the highway was much longer than its current length,...
, now
Regional Road 81Niagara Regional Road 81 is among one of the longest Niagara Regional Roads in Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada, and served as the routing of Highway 8 prior to its decommissioning in 1970. Due to its length, several local names have been assigned to it, including Main Street, King Street, St. Paul...
) and Hartzel Road (former
Highway 58Highway 58 is a provincially maintained highway in the Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada. Highway 58 currently runs from the Highway 406 junction on the St. Catharines/Thorold border to the Highway 406 junction near Turner's Corners. A second part runs from the Highway 58A junction in the south of...
, now a city-maintained street) provided east-west and north-south access to the city. The QEW is currently undergoing an extensive reconstruction and widening project through the city, which will see it reduced to one lane in both directions for the majority of the construction project. Motorists travelling through St. Catharines are advised to bypass the city, and the Ministry of Transportation has posted special detour signs directing traffic to exit and follow Thorold Stone Road in
Niagara FallsNiagara Falls is a Canadian city of 83,184 residents on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. Across the river is Niagara Falls, New York...
through the
Thorold TunnelThe Thorold Tunnel, located in Thorold, Ontario, Canada, is an underwater tunnel, carrying Highway 58 underneath the Welland Canal. Built between 1965 and 1967, the tunnel is 840 metres in length. It consists of two separate tubes, each two lanes wide...
and back to the QEW via Highway 406. The construction project is expected to be complete by 2012.
Public transportation is served by the
St. Catharines Transit CommissionSt. Catharines Transit provides bus service to the City of St. Catharines and the neighbouring City of Thorold. The St. Catharines Transit Commission took over operation of transit services within the city from Canadian National Transportation in 1961....
, which operates bus routes throughout the city and neighbouring Thorold.
All major routes converge at the St. Catharines Bus Terminal, which is located downtown within the headquarters of the
Ontario Ministry of TransportationThe Ministry of Transportation of Ontario is an Ontario government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of Ontario.-Role and responsibilities:The ministry is responsible for:...
. The central station is also served by
Greyhound LinesGreyhound Canada is the prominent operator of inter-city coach services in Canada. Greyhound Canada is a subsidiary of Scotland's FirstGroup plc, linked with Dallas-based Greyhound Lines .-History:In 1929, Greyhound Canada was founded as Canadian Greyhound Coaches, Limited, operating in Alberta...
and
Coach CanadaCoach Canada is the Canadian affiliate of Coach USA, and part of the North American operations of Stagecoach, the international transport group, with its headquarters in Perth, Scotland, UK....
, en route to Toronto and New York City and connecting it to major cities throughout Canada and the United States.
Though transportation by rail is becoming increasingly popular, the
St. Catharines train stationSt. Catharines station is a railway station in St. Catharines, Ontario that is served by Via Rail trains connecting it with Toronto, and by the Maple Leaf joint VIA-Amtrak train between Toronto and New York City...
is largely underutilized, with car and bus travel being the dominant forms of transportation for the city. The station is located in its original building, outside the downtown core (because of issues involving the crossing of 12-Mile Creek). It is served daily by
VIA RailVIA Rail Canada is an independent Crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada....
and
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
trains connecting it to
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. The provincial and federal government recently committed $385 million each to
GO TransitGO Transit is an interregional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada, currently operated by the provincial crown agency Metrolinx. It primarily serves the conurbation referred to by Metrolinx as the "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" with operations extending to several communities...
to aid in the development of their 10-Year Capital Expansion Plan, which includes an expansion bus line servicing the Niagara Region. A potential rail link with
GO TransitGO Transit is an interregional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada, currently operated by the provincial crown agency Metrolinx. It primarily serves the conurbation referred to by Metrolinx as the "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" with operations extending to several communities...
in the near future continues to be debated in St. Catharines.
St. 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...
services
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
as well as chartered
jetlinerA jet airliner is an airliner that is powered by jet engines. This term is sometimes contracted to jetliner.In contrast to today's relatively fuel-efficient, turbofan-powered air travel, first generation jet airliner travel was noisy and fuel inefficient...
flights. It is located near the city's east-end in neighbouring
Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-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.-History:The original site was a Neutral Nation...
.
St. Catharines was the first - and last remaining - location in the world to have a working
interurbanAn Interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad that enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were unpaved and could become nearly impassable during...
electric streetcar route, which ran between the city and
Merrittonthumb|right|275px|The Keg RestaurantMerritton is both a distinct community within and a council ward of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the Welland Canal Company...
and was eventually extended to
Port DalhousiePort Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal.The city's most popular beach, on the...
in the north and
ThoroldThorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara.The earliest communities in what is now Thorold emerged at Beaverdams, DeCew Falls and St...
to the south. Like most streetcar routes throughout the world, it was decommissioned in the 1960s, and the right-of-way has since been converted to parks and trails.
Education
St. Catharines is home to
Brock UniversityBrock University, generally referred to simply as Brock, 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 13,000...
(established 1964), a modern comprehensive university located on the Niagara Escarpment. A partnership between the university and the Ontario Grape and Wine Industry established the city as a centre for cool-climate grape and wine research. "Brock" offers an Honours
Bachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in
OenologyOenology, œnology , or enology is the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking except vine-growing and grape-harvesting, which is a subfield called viticulture. “Viticulture & oenology” is a common designation for training programmes and research centres that include both the...
and
ViticultureViticulture 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...
.
St Catharines is also home to a satellite campus of Niagara College. Niagara College has brought Canada its first Teaching Winery. The "Niagara College Teaching Winery" (or NCT for short) has created award winning wines. Niagara College has also taken home various medals from international wine competitions such as "Cuvee", "The Ontario Wine Awards" and "The Finger Lakes International Competition" to name a few.
It is clear why key people in the Wine industry are approaching Niagara College for employees. Niagara College is the only fully licenced teaching winery in Canada.
McMaster UniversityMcMaster University is a public research university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It bears the name of William McMaster, a prominent Canadian Senator and banker whose substantial bequeathed funds helped form the beginning of the university. The institution being incorporated under the...
's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine opened a satellite campus in St. Catharines in September 2008. The
Hamilton, 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...
-based university educates 15 first-year medical students in local hospitals within the city.
Ridley CollegeRidley College is a co-educational boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-Lower School:The Lower School is located across the campus from the Upper School and the Chapel...
, located near the city's downtown core in the Western Hill neighbourhood, is a distinguished co-educational boarding and day school. It was established as a boys' school in 1889, and became co-educational in 1973.
A campus of the
Niagara College of Applied Arts and TechnologyNiagara College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology within the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The college has four campuses: 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 Development Centre and...
is located near the city's east end. The school's Horticultural Campus was once located on 360 Niagara Street in the 1970s-1990s but has since been relocated to
Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-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.-History:The original site was a Neutral Nation...
. One of its greatest teachers, R. Roy Forster, was recognized with the Order of Canada on April 14, 1999, for his work in creating the
VanDusen Botanical GardenVanDusen Botanical Garden is situated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitford Julian Van Dusen, it has been a public garden since its opening on August 30, 1975, it is managed by the Vancouver Park Board and run by a large staff of volunteers...
in
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
.
The
District 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....
(DSBN), responsible for managing a school system of nearly 119 faculties, contains 8 Secondary Schools in the city of St. Catharines, Kernahan Park, Laura Secord,
Sir Winston ChurchillSir Winston Churchill Secondary School is a secondary school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is one of 8 public high schools in St. Catharines, and is located in the Glenridge area of the city...
,
Governor SimcoeGovernor Simcoe Secondary School named after John Graves Simcoe, is a public high school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is a three-floored school with a theatre attachment. It has an enrollment of about 900 students....
, St. Catharines Collegiate,
EdenEden High School, also known simply as Eden, is a co-educational, public secondary school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Students from Grade Nine to Grade Twelve study under the Curriculum of the Province of Ontario....
, West Park, and Lakeport.
The
Niagara 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...
(NCDSB) operates 3 Catholic Secondary Schools within the city,
Holy CrossHoly Cross is a Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. The school is administered by the Niagara Catholic District School Board.-History:Holy Cross was founded in 1985. Originally known as P.K...
, Denis Morris, and
St. FrancisSt. Francis is a Catholic high school and is one of three Catholic secondary schools found in St. Catharines, Ontario. St. Francis is the smallest of the eight high schools in the Niagara Catholic District School Board. However, St...
.
Communities and development
St. Catharines' development history has resulted in a number of unique and distinct communities within the city. The historical area of St. Catharines consisted of nothing more than what is now the downtown core, with the remaining land being part of Louth Township on the west and Grantham Township on the east. St. Catharines continued to steadily grow through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually annexing land to the southwest that would become Western Hill and Old
GlenridgeGlenridge is a community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south part of the city, spanning the downtown in the North to Glendale Avenue in the South. Old Glen Ridge, in the Northern portion of the community, is home to many historic tudor-style houses on large...
, and to the east and north that would collectively become the central part of St. Catharines. In addition to the growth of St. Catharines, the Town of
Merrittonthumb|right|275px|The Keg RestaurantMerritton is both a distinct community within and a council ward of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the Welland Canal Company...
and the Town of
Port DalhousiePort Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal.The city's most popular beach, on the...
existed as separate municipalities to the South and North of the city, each slowly growing their own residential base.
Along with the rest of Ontario, St. Catharines experienced explosive growth after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. St. Catharines continued to annex Grantham Township as development continued, including the large swaths of land to the north known now as "
The North EndThe North End of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada is not a community per se, but rather describes the large swaths of land annexed by St. Catharines from Grantham Township...
". St. Catharines would also absorb Merritton and Port Dalhousie in 1961, making them part of the city. During this time, St. Catharines nearly tripled in population.
With the formation of the
Regional Municipality of NiagaraThe Regional Municipality of Niagara , also known as the Niagara Region, or, colloquially, "Regional Niagara", is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada....
in 1970, the portion of Louth Township east of Fifteen Mile Creek was transferred to the City of St. Catharines. This included the eastern portion of the Hamlet of Rockway, as well as the Hamlet of
Power GlenPower Glen is a hamlet located in the St. Andrew's Ward of the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.It can trace its history back to 1786 when Robert Hamilton acquired from a Mr. Duncan Murray, a mill site on the waters of Twelve Mile Creek. This mill operated until 1800 as a sawmill. In 1811, a...
. The few remaining portions of Grantham Township in the Northeast corner of the area, including
Port WellerPort Weller, Ontario is a community located at a in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the Niagara Region.It is located north of the centre of St...
, were also transferred to the city. With the new Louth Township lands belonging to the city, St. Catharines would begin two developments in the west end - Martindale in 1983, and Vansickle in 1987. These developments are nearing completion. There was also a push to continue further expansion to the west in the late 1990s, but this has since been halted by Ontario Greenbelt legislation.
The following distinct communities exist within St. Catharines:
- North
- Bunting
- Facer
Facer is a community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the central part of the city, bounded by the Queen Elizabeth Way and Welland Avenue to the South, Grantham Avenue to the East, Carlton Street to the North and Niagara Street to the West, with Facer Street being...
- Lancaster
- Michigan Beach
Michigan Beach is a small community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Named for the Michiganers, a group of seasonal workers from the State of Michigan who travelled to Port Dalhousie to work on the Welland Canal during the summer months, the area served as their seasonal community. ...
- The North End
The North End of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada is not a community per se, but rather describes the large swaths of land annexed by St. Catharines from Grantham Township...
- Port Dalhousie
Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal.The city's most popular beach, on the...
- St. George's Point
St. George's Point is a small community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, surrounded by the much larger Martindale community. It is the location of upscale homes, and some of the city's most wealthy residents live in this small community...
- Central
- Fitzgerald
- Haig
- Orchard Park
- Queenston
- Downtown St. Catharines
The downtown core of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada is defined by the city as the area between Highway 406 on the west and south, Geneva Street on the east until it reaches St. Paul Street then Niagara Street north until it meets Welland Avenue....
- West
- Martindale
Martindale is a community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the west end, concentrated in and around Martindale Road...
- Power Glen
Power Glen is a hamlet located in the St. Andrew's Ward of the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.It can trace its history back to 1786 when Robert Hamilton acquired from a Mr. Duncan Murray, a mill site on the waters of Twelve Mile Creek. This mill operated until 1800 as a sawmill. In 1811, a...
- Vansickle
Vansickle is a community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the west end, concentrated in and around Vansickle Road. The area has seen a significant increase in residential development and, more recently, the construction of a four-pad sportsplex nearby...
- Western Hill
- East
- Kernahan
- Lock 3
- Merritton
thumb|right|275px|The Keg RestaurantMerritton is both a distinct community within and a council ward of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the Welland Canal Company...
- Oakdale
- Secord Woods
- South
- Barbican Heights
- Brockview
- Burleigh Hill
- Glenridge
Glenridge is a community in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south part of the city, spanning the downtown in the North to Glendale Avenue in the South. Old Glen Ridge, in the Northern portion of the community, is home to many historic tudor-style houses on large...
- Marsdale
- Riverview
- Louth Agricultural Lands
Demographics
| Ethnic Originhttp://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=CSD&Code=3526053&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |
Population |
Percent |
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
|
40,430 |
31.09% |
ScottishThe Scots people and an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.An ethnic group, historically they emerged from an amalgamation of Picts, Gaels and Brythons....
|
28,645 |
22.03% |
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
|
23,830 |
18.33% |
| German |
18,450 |
14.19% |
FrenchFrench people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law.* People whose ancestors lived in France or the area that later became France....
|
15,120 |
11.63% |
ItalianThe Italian people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common Italian culture, descent, and speaking the Italian language as a mother tongue...
|
11,205 |
8.61% |
According to the 2006 census, there were 131,989 people residing in city of St. Catharines, located in the province of Ontario, of whom 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female. Minors (youth under the age of 19) totalled 22.6 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 18.1 percent. This compares with the Canadian average of 24.4 percent (minors) and 13.7 percent (pensioners). The average age of St. Catharines residents is 41.7 compared to the Canadian average of 39.5.
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3526053&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=St.%20Catharines&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All In the five years between 2001 and 2006, the population of St. Catharines grew by 2.2%, while Canada as a whole grew by 5.4 percent.
As of 2006, 90.00% of the population was
WhiteWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
. Other groups include
blackBlack is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
: 2.0%,
AboriginalAboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors Indian and Eskimo are falling into disuse. Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are the earliest archaeological sites of human habitation in Canada. The Paleo-Indian Clovis, Plano cultures and Pre-Dorset...
: 1.6%, mixed race: 1.5%, south Asian: 1.3%, and
ChineseThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People who reside in and hold citizenship of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China . This definition stems from a legal perspective...
: 1.1%. Approximately 21 percent of the population was foreign born.
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3526053&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=St.%20Catharines&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Visible%20minority&Custom=
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
continues to be the dominant religion of the city. Some 81.0 percent of the population profess a Christian faith, the largest being various Protestant groups (42.9%), followed by Roman Catholicism (34.2%), while the remaining consists of
OrthodoxThe term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* Correct theology or belief, such as the ancient, majority, or Trinitarian theologies of Christianity...
, and independent Christian groups. Non-Christian groups are also present, namely Islam (1.5%), Judaism (0.5%), and Buddhism (0.5%). (The city contains a synagogue and Jewish community centre, as well as a large mosque). The remaining 16.5% report other or no religion.
Employment
- Employment rate: 58.2%
- Unemployment rate: 6.5%
- Average earnings: $30,997
Top five employers:
- District School Board of Niagara
District 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....
: 5,000
- General Motors: 2,653
- Niagara Health System
The Niagara Health System is Ontario's largest multi-site hospital amalgamation, comprising six hospital sites and an ambulatory care centre serving 434,000 residents across the 12 municipalities making up the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Canada...
: 1,800
- Brock University
Brock University, generally referred to simply as Brock, 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 13,000...
: 1,324
- Sitel
Sitel is a US company headquartered in Nashville, TN, which describes itself as "a leading global provider of outsourced customer contact center services". It maintains over 140 call centers in 27 countries....
: Approx. 1100
City issues
Like most large Canadian centres, a number of social issues affect the city. Since 1998, St. Catharines has had the highest obesity rates of any centre in Canada. A 2001 analysis by
Statistics CanadaStatistics Canada is the Canadian federal government department commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture....
showed that 57.3 per cent of its residents were overweight. This has caused some elements of the media, including
CTVCTV is a Canadian English language television network. It is Canada's largest privately owned network, the main television asset of CTVglobemedia, one of the country's largest media conglomerates...
, the
Canadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , a Canadian crown corporation, is the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster. In French, it is called la Société Radio-Canada...
and the Globe and Mail to dub St. Catharines as Canada's "fattest" city. Perhaps not incidentally, St. Catharines had previously appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Doughnut Capital of the World."
In 2008, new statistics were released that show that the percentage obese or obese/overweight residents of
HamiltonHamilton 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...
(74.3%),
KingstonKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
(70.1%), and St. John's, Newfoundland (70%) is now higher than St. Catharines-Niagara (69.3%), though the obesity rate in the city is higher now than in 1998.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/studies/82-003/archive/2006/17-3-c.pdf
St. Catharines also has a chronic shortage of social housing, causing hardship on low-income families.
http://www.regional.niagara.on.ca/living/saeo/reports/2005/COM14-2005.pdf. Downtown St. Catharines also has an unusually high vacancy rate of 10%,
http://www.stcathdowntown.com/economy.phpcausing
The Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a Canadian English language nationally distributed newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of 935 000, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star and...
in early 2005 to call St. Catharines the
Garbage City.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20051015.STCATHARINES15/TPStory/TPEntertainment/ In 2006, many of these issues were brought to the forefront during municipal elections, with the hope that many of these issues can be addressed and changed in the coming years.
Newspapers
- St. Catharines Standard
The St. Catharines Standard is the prominent daily newspaper of the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:The St. Catharines Standard was started in 1891, by W. B. Burgoyne. The Standard, located in St. Catharines, Ontario, is the largest daily newspaper in Niagara Region...
(daily)
- Niagara This Week (community weekly)
- Pulse Niagara
Pulse Niagara is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada. Its offices are located in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario....
(entertainment weekly)
- The Brock Press (academic)
- St. Catharines Shopping News (commercial advertiser)
Radio
- FM 91.7- (CIXL-FM GIANT-FM) Best of the 1980s, 90s, and today
- AM 610 - CKTB
CKTB is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Broadcasting at 610 AM, the station airs a news/talk format. CKTB is housed in the former mansion of William Hamilton Merritt, the main promoter of the first Welland Canal....
, newsNews is the communication of information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
/TalkTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
- AM 1220 - CHSC
CHSC is an AM radio station located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. CHSC broadcasts both daytime and nighttime with a radiated power of 10,000 watts at 1220 khz AM. The signal pushes mainly north and west. The transmitting signal is on a reduced pattern in both easterly and southerly...
, multilingual
- FM 97.7 - CHTZ
CHTZ-FM is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The station airs at 97.7 on the FM dial, and broadcasts an active rock format with the brand name HTZ FM.-History:...
, active rockActive rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across Canada and the United States. Active rock plays current rock artists with a mix of classic rock songs.-Format background:...
- FM 103.7 - CFBU
CFBU-FM is the community based campus radio station of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The station broadcasts at 103.7 FM, with an effective radiated power of 250 watts. CFBU was launched on the FM band in 1997....
, Brock UniversityBrock University, generally referred to simply as Brock, 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 13,000...
campus radioCampus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the station is based...
- FM 105.7 - CHRE
CHRE-FM is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Airing at 105.7 FM, the station broadcasts an adult contemporary format with the brand name 105.7 EZ Rock.-History:...
(EZ RockEZ Rock is a brand of adult contemporary music radio stations heard primarily in Canada. The branding was originally created by Telemedia in the mid-1990s for its adult contemporary stations, and based on the call sign of its Toronto flagship CJEZ....
), adult contemporary
In addition, numerous tourist and travel advisory stations are available off-air in the Niagara area.
Television
The Niagara region has no local television service of its own, although stations broadcasting from Toronto,
HamiltonHamilton 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...
and
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
are available. In 2003, a local business consortium applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for a licence to operate TV Niagara, a community television station in St. Catharines. The application was denied by the CRTC in 2005, citing concerns about the group's business plan and its dependence on gaining audience share in the Toronto market. However, the organization has appealed to the
Cabinet of CanadaThe Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms, along with the Canadian monarch, the government of Canada...
and hopes to continue gaining support for local television in Niagara.
Online News
- Pulse Niagara
- Niagara this Week
- Niagara Region Info
- Niagara Sports News
- St. Catharines Standard
Sister cities
Port of SpainPort of Spain is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population of 250,000...
, Trinidad and TobagoThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
Lacrosse
St. Catharines is a hotbed for lacrosse, and has a long history of the sport. The St. Catharines Athletics, who compete in the
Ontario Junior A Lacrosse LeagueThe OLA Junior A Lacrosse League is a box lacrosse league in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The playoff champion moves on to compete for the National Championship -- the Minto Cup.-The Teams:-Playoff Champions:...
, has won six
Minto CupThe Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's lacrosse team of Canada.It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto, and from 1901 until 1909 awarded to the senior men's champion of Canada...
championships (1947, 1950, 1990, 1991, 2001, 2003.) Their senior A squad (now defunct) has also had a great history, winning 14
Major Series LacrosseMajor Series Lacrosse is a Senior A box lacrosse league based out of Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the...
championships and five
Mann CupThe Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship series is played between the Western Lacrosse Association champion and the Major Series Lacrosse champion...
championships (1938, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1946.) The St. Catharines Athletics has brought many successful lacrosse players, many which play in the
National Lacrosse LeagueThe National Lacrosse League is the league of men's indoor lacrosse in North America. It currently has 11 teams; three in Canada and eight in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter...
,
Major League LacrosseMajor League Lacrosse is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada. The league currently has all six teams in one conference.- History :...
, or have had great success before in
Senior lacrosse leaguesMajor Series Lacrosse is a Senior A box lacrosse league based out of Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the...
. Notable players are:
- Randy Mearns
Randy Mearns was an All-American NCAA lacrosse player at Canisius College from 1990 to 1992 who is currently 13th all-time in Division I career points-per-game , having scored 95 goals and 95 assists for 190 career points in 39 games. He is also the all-time leading scorer at Canisius...
- Steve Toll
Steve Toll is a lacrosse player for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League. Before being a member of the Knighthawks, Toll won four NLL Championships with the Toronto Rock.-Junior Career:...
- Craig Conn
Craig Conn is a lacrosse player for the Calgary Roughnecks in the National Lacrosse League and the New Westminster Salmonbellies of the Western Lacrosse Association.-High School career:...
- Thomas Hajek
Thomas Hajek is a Slovakian-Canadian lacrosse player from St. Catharines, Ontario, who plays for the Philadelphia Wings in the National Lacrosse League.-College Career:...
- Buff McCready
- James Brian Thomson
- Ian Llord
Ian Llord is a professional lacrosse player who plays for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League.-Junior career:Llord played for the St. Catharines Athletics of the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League...
- Billy Dee Smith
Billy Dee Smith is a professional box lacrosse player who plays for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League...
- Sean Greenhalgh
Sean Greenhalgh is a lacrosse player for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. Sean is a cousin to Charlie Mulgrew, a Scottish footballer, who plays for Aberdeen FC.-High School Career:...
- Matt Vinc
Matt Vinc .Vinc is a lacrosse goaltender in the National Lacrosse League, currently playing for the Orlando Titans, the Six Nations Chiefs of the MSL, and the Toronto Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. He was a member of Team Canada during the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship...
- Mark Steenhuis
Mark Steenhuis is a lacrosse player from St. Catharines, Ontario who plays for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League .-Lacrosse career:...
The team has also brought successful lacrosse players from other parts of the Niagara Region and many other areas, such as
Mike AccursiMike Accursi is a lacrosse player for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. He is also a teacher and lacrosse coach at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.-NLL:...
,
Mike HominuckMike Hominuck is a lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League.-NLL:...
,
Darris KilgourDarris Kilgour is the head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. Kilgour also played for the Bandits for 8 seasons, before finishing his playing career with the Rochester Knighthawks and Albany Attack. He won three championships with the Bandits, and is...
, and
Frank ResetaritsFrank Resetarits is a lacrosse player from Hamburg, New York. As a high school player Resitarits ranks in the top three players all-time for points in a career. He plays forward for the Washington Stealth of the National Lacrosse League and attack for the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse...
. The Athletics play at Bill Burgoyne Arena.
There is also a junior B team in St. Catharines in the
Merrittonthumb|right|275px|The Keg RestaurantMerritton is both a distinct community within and a council ward of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the Welland Canal Company...
part of town. They are known as St. Catharines Spartans. They have also been successful, winning four league championships and three
Founders CupThe Founders Cup is the championship trophy of Canada's Junior "B" lacrosse leagues. The custodial duties of this trophy fall upon the Canadian Lacrosse Association. The National Champions are determined through a round robin format with a playdown for the final in a host city...
championships, (only one of them while playing in St. Catharines, in 1996.)
Holy Cross Catholic Secondary SchoolHoly Cross is a Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. The school is administered by the Niagara Catholic District School Board.-History:Holy Cross was founded in 1985. Originally known as P.K...
in St. Catharines has one of the most successful high school field lacrosse teams in Canada, which have won 3 provincial championships and 14 SOSSA (Southern Ontario) championships in 16 years. The school has produced many successful lacrosse players who have, or are currently playing junior, college, and/or professional lacrosse.
Hockey
St. Catharines entered into the
Ontario Hockey AssociationThe Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
Junior 'A' Hockey in 1943 as the
St. Catharines FalconsThe St. Catharines Falcons were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1943 to 1947. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
. In 1947, they became the Teepees and were affiliated with the
American Hockey LeagueThe American Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League . 28 of the 30 NHL teams have exclusive affiliation agreements with one of the AHL's 29 active clubs...
's Buffalo Bisons. When the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
's (NHL)
Chicago Black HawksThe Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won three Stanley Cup Championships and thirteen division titles since their founding in 1926...
made the Bisons their number one farm team, they inherited the Teepees. In the 1960s, the Jr. 'A' team went deeply into debt to the Chicago Black Hawks, but continued as a successful franchise. The
HamiltonHamilton 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...
Fincups moved to St. Catharines in 1976 and played here for one year before moving back to Hamilton. The AHL
St. Catharines SaintsThe St. Catharines Saints was a minor league ice hockey team in St. Catharines, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1982–1986 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs....
played in St. Catharines between 1982 and 1986, before being forced to re-locate to
NewmarketNewmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 45 km north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe in an area known as the "905 Region"...
due to protests from the NHL
Buffalo SabresThe Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding:...
. The St. Catharines Saints served as the
farm teamIn sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
for the
Toronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, and today are known as the
Toronto MarliesThe Toronto Marlies are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that serves as the farm team for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. They play in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum...
.
A new OHL team returned to St. Catharines, in time for the 2007-2008 season
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=499733&catname=Local+News&classif=. The
Niagara IceDogsThe Niagara IceDogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was originally known as the Mississauga IceDogs and founded in 1996. The team was relocated to St. Catharines and played its inaugural season in the Niagara...
played out of
Jack Gatecliff ArenaThe Gatorade Garden City Complex is the main arena facility in St. Catharines, Ontario. It houses two arena pads - the Jack Gatecliff Arena which is home to the Niagara IceDogs, and the smaller Rex Stimers Arena. The original section was constructed in 1938, and was named the Garden City Arena...
within the newly named Gatorade Garden City Complex. The city's Junior 'B' Hockey team, named the
St. Catharines FalconsThe St. Catharines Falcons are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The Falcons play their home games inside Jack Gatecliff Arena in downtown St. Catharines.-History:The...
, also plays out of the complex.
Baseball
The city was the home of the
New York - Penn LeagueThe New York – Penn League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. It is classified as a "Short-Season A" league; its season starts in June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early...
's
St. Catharines Blue JaysSt. Catharines Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team that played at Community Park in St. Catharines, Ontario. They were the Short-Season A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays in the New York-Penn League. The team began play in 1986 as the Blue Jays, though were later renamed the St....
, the Short-season A affiliate of the
Toronto Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League.The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name...
, from 1986 to 1999.
Soccer
The
Canadian Soccer LeagueThe Canadian Soccer League is the top soccer league in Canada and is sanctioned by the Ontario Soccer Association. . It was formerly known as the Canadian Professional Soccer League , and was officially re-branded on May 17, 2006...
's
St. Catharines WolvesSt. Catharines Wolves, also known as St. Catharines Roma Wolves or simply Roma Wolves, are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1977...
are one of the most successful professional soccer teams in Canada, and play at Club Roma in the west-end of the city.
Rowing
Martindale Pond in St. Catharines' Port Dalhousie is the site of the annual
Royal Canadian Henley RegattaThe Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhousie's Martindale Pond hosted by the St...
, a world-class event that brings over 3,000 athletes from various nations to the city. The site hosted the FISA
World 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...
in both 1970 and in 1999. There are currently talks to bring the Canadian Rowing Hall of Fame to St. Catharines sometime in the near future. The pond is also home to the
St. Catharines rowing clubThe St. Catharines Rowing Club is a non-profit organization located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.It has a long history of rowing excellence and community service dating back over more than a century....
and to the annual CSSRA Championships, which draws hundreds of high school athletes from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Trails system
The city's trail system offers over 90 kilometres (55 mi) of accessible pathways that are suitable for walking, jogging, cycling, hiking and cross-country skiing.
- Bruce Trail
The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern and central Ontario, Canada.-General:It follows the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, one of the thirteen UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Canada, for more than...
- Canada's oldest and longest hiking trail, following the Niagara EscarpmentThe Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
(designated as a UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
World Biosphere Reserve site) from Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-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.-History:The original site was a Neutral Nation...
to TobermoryTobermory is a small community located at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. It is 300km northwest of Toronto...
. A 20-kilometre (12 mi) section with associated side trails winds through St. Catharines passing by places such as the Morningstar Mill.
- Merritt Trail - a segmented 11 km (6.8 mi) trail that passes many of the old sections of the second Welland Canal and remnants of its locks.
- Terry Fox Fitness Trail - named after Canadian hero Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, CC was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. He became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, which Fox ran with one prosthetic leg...
, a 1.5 km trail that runs along the former interurbanAn Interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad that enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were unpaved and could become nearly impassable during...
railway right-of-way through central St. Catharines. Placed strategically along the Terry Fox Fitness Trail are six exercise stations of Dynatract Fitness Course, with instruction boards at each station.
- Waterfront Trail
The Waterfront Trail refers to an interconnected series of trails along the shores of Lake Ontario in Canada, currently beginning in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and extending to Brockville, Ontario, with an extension along Former Highway 2, to the Quebec provincial border...
- follows the shore of Lake Ontario, connecting communities from Niagara-on-the-Lake to BrockvilleBrockville is located in the Thousand Islands region on the St. Lawrence River in Leeds & Grenville County, Ontario, Canada.Known as the "City of the 1000 Islands", Brockville is located in Southern Ontario on the north shore of the St...
. The Port DalhousiePort Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal.The city's most popular beach, on the...
portion of the trail is a major highlight.
- Welland Canals Parkway - provides an uninterrupted 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) paved path for non-motorized traffic, along the western-side of the scenic Welland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
. It links with the waterfront trails of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Port Colbourne, and the Niagara ParkwayNiagara Parkway is a road along the Niagara River from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie, in the Canadian province of Ontario.The road is a scenic route from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Table Rock, Niagara Falls and continues as a rural riverside highway to Fort Erie.The route is a two-lane minor...
to create the Greater Niagara Circle Route, measuring approximately 150 kilometres (90 mi). An equestrianEquestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working purposes as well as recreational activities and competitive sports.-Overview of equestrian activities:...
trail is located on the east-side of the canal and is part of the parkway.
Whitewater park
A dedicated group of local paddlers and businesses is trying to bring a
WhitewaterWhitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
facility, suitable for hosting world-class kayaking events, to the City of St. Catharines. The proposed course would utilize the Wellandvale stretch of Twelve Mile Creek, near the downtown core. If made reality, the project would be Canada's first urban
WhitewaterWhitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
facility.
Plans for the facility were made public in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
's bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. When Toronto lost the bid to
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
, the
Niagara Whitewater Park Association was created to keep the project alive. In September 2006, the
St. Catharines StandardThe St. Catharines Standard is the prominent daily newspaper of the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:The St. Catharines Standard was started in 1891, by W. B. Burgoyne. The Standard, located in St. Catharines, Ontario, is the largest daily newspaper in Niagara Region...
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentID=199185&catname=Local+News reported that St. Catharines Hydro is in talks with
Ontario Power GenerationOntario Power Generation is a public company wholly owned by the Government of Ontario.OPG is responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity generation in the Province of Ontario, Canada ....
to construct a small generating station adjacent to the proposed site of the Whitewater facility. The proposed Shickluna Generating Station would create electricity for up to 5,000 homes while regulating waterflow to the course. Unfortunately the cost of operating the course was found to be aprox. $200,000 per year and the funds could not be found. The proposal has been tabled until an alternative can be found.
Art Councils
The
St. Catharines and Area Arts Council is a not-for-profit organization working to facilitate communication, collaboration and programs among artists, arts organizations and the community with the goal of enhancing cultural life.
Art galleries
Rodman Hall runs a diverse program of exhibitions throughout the year, featuring the work of local, national and international artists. It also houses a permanent collection of over 850 works including paintings, photographs, sculptures and outdoor installations. Rodman Hall was a public-run gallery from 1960-2003 when financial issues provoked
Brock UniversityBrock University, generally referred to simply as Brock, 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 13,000...
to purchase the building. Today, it is affiliated with the Brock School of Fine and Performing Arts and continues to serve and welcome the public.
The
Niagara Artists' Centre (NAC) is a not-for-profit, charitably registered, collective formed by local community artists and dedicated to serving the working artists and art-enthusiasts of Niagara. It runs a series of diverse exhibitions throughout the year involving abstract paintings, sculptures, new media installations and film screenings. Recently, the Niagara Artists' Centre moved out of its former location on Bond St. to a newly renovated storefront building on St. Paul Street in the city's downtown.
Festivals
The Folk Arts Festival was first presented to the city by representatives from the ethno cultural communities of Niagara over 35 years ago. From that first festival was created the
Folk Arts Council of St. Catharines, which continues to run its festival each year throughout the month of May and concludes with "Folk Arts in the Park", which takes place in Montebello Park in the city's downtown.
The Art of Peace Festival] is now in its fifth year, the Festival seeks to increase community engagement in art as a tool for reflecting on peace issues. Montebello Park fills with performing arts events, Speak Your Peace! open mic program, community art workshops, an elementary school art exhibition, vendors, and Peace Through Art Stations at which peace groups make information available and offer arts activities. This year we are introducing the Youth Listening Tent. Our goals are to increase connections between artists and the public, increase community engagement in peace issues and increase youth engagement. Presented by St. Catharines and Area Arts Council and Project Ploughshares Niagara.
The theme of this year’s Festival is Families and Peace.
Spend a day in the park – be in touch with the world!
The Niagara Grape & Wine Festival is a non-profit organization that presents three popular wine festivals in St. Catharines and Niagara during the year. The Niagara Icewine Festival (Winter), the Niagara New Vintage Festival (Summer), and the Niagara Wine Festival (Fall), which is the largest of the festivals, attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the region each year. This event known by most locals simply as "Grape and Wine" attracts young and old varying from partiers to wine connoisseurs.
The
SCENE Music FestivalThe SCENE Music Festival is a one-day music festival held in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada since 1996.The event is held annually in late June/early July. The acronym "SCENE" stands for St. Catharines Event for New Music Entertainment.The first festival in 1996 drew about 800 people...
is one-day event held in various clubs and pubs downtown. Rock, indie, pop, singer-songwriter, ska, punk, metal, and many other genres are represented by bands such as
AlexisonfireAlexisonfire is a five-piece post-hardcore band that formed in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2001. The band consists of George Pettit , Dallas Green , Wade MacNeil , Chris Steele , and Jordan Hastings .They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in...
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Bedouin SoundclashBedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band currently based in Toronto. Their sound can be described as reggae.-History:The band's current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, and bassist Eon Sinclair. Their debut album, Root Fire, released in 2001 also included djembe player Brett...
,
MoneenMoneen is an indie rock band from Brampton, Ontario, Canada.-History:The band formed in 1999 after the dissolution of another band, called Perfectly Normal. Moneen's original bass player, Mark Bowser, was replaced by Chris Slorach, who left the band after the release of The Theory of Harmonial Value...
, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Damn 13,
ShadThe shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. The several species frequent different areas on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and in the...
, Sick Boys,
Raising The FawnRaising the Fawn is a Canadian indie rock band, with its roots in Toronto. The band is composed of John Crossingham , Scott Remila and Dylan Green. The band formed in 1997 and released their self-titled first album in 2001.-Discography:* Raising the Fawn * By the Warmth of Your Flame * The North Sea...
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SupergarageSupergarage is a Canadian indie rock act based out of Toronto. They have released four albums. In 1996, they released their 6-song EP Duct Tape, which had the radio hit "Post-Teen Crisis" . In 1997, they released their self-titled debut album on Iron Music/BMG.Original guitarist left the band in...
, Sailboats Are White, Revenge Of The Egg People,
IllScarlettillScarlett is a Canadian four-member band from Mississauga, Ontario,. The band has four major studio albums: iLLP, Clearly in Another Fine Mess, All Day With It, and most recently 1UP!. The album All Day With It reached gold status in Canada. The have also released one EP, titled EPdemic.Their...
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SilversteinSilverstein is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 2000. The band name originates in reference to the famous children's author Shel Silverstein.-Early years :...
, Bang Theory,
Dead and DivineDead and Divine is a five-piece Metalcore band out of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Their success spawned from their 2005 EP What Really Happened At Lover's Lane on Verona Records ....
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Teenage HeadTeenage Head is a Canadian rock group from Hamilton, Ontario and was one of the most popular Canadian punk rock bands during the early 1980s.Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, the group was formed by Frankie Venom, Gord Lewis, Steve Mahon and Nick Stipanitz...
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Cancer Bats-Background:Cancer Bats originated in May 2004 with singer Liam Cormier and guitarist Scott Middleton, former member of Toronto heavy metal band At The Mercy Of Inspiration. The two wanted to form a project that combined their favorite parts of bands like Refused, Black Flag, Led Zeppelin and Down,...
, Lights,
MadballMadball is a New York-based band that originated in the late 1980s, as a side-project of Agnostic Front .-History:Madball was founded in 1988 and featured most of Agnostic Front's members...
, and
Billy TalentBilly Talent are a Juno award-winning Canadian band formed in 1993 in Streetsville, Ontario. The band consists of Ben Kowalewicz , Ian D'Sa , Jon Gallant and Aaron Solowoniuk .The band existed for almost a decade before mainstream success...
who have played at the festival, which has been sponsored by
Solo MobileSolo Mobile is a brand owned and operated by Bell Mobility created to compete with other Canadian value-minded mobile carriers & brands.- History :Solo Mobile initially began as Bell Mobility's prepaid brand...
in the past. Traditionally, a compact disc of select performers is included with admission prices - although in recent years the CD has been expanded to a 2-disc compilation - representative of the growth of the festival. SCENE 2008 and SCENE 2009 included a card with a PIN enabling 50 MP3 downloads, instead of CD's.
Museums
The St. Catharines Museum is located at Lock 3 on the
Welland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada, that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St...
, off the Welland Canals Parkway. An elevated viewing platform at the museum allows visitors to get a close-up look at ships from around the world as they climb this major section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Along with its exhibits dedicated to the city's history and the canals, the museum is home to the Ontario
LacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
Hall of FameA hall of fame is a type of museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field.In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia...
and Museum.
Morningstar Mill, perched atop the
Niagara EscarpmentThe Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
, is one of Ontario's oldest mills on an original site, and is fully powered by water. The picturesque park provides a glimpse into the innovative and pioneering spirit of the 19th Century.
The YMCA Discovery Centre](formerly The Children's Discovery Centre of Niagara), located in the former
Niagara CollegeNiagara College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology within the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The college has four campuses: 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 Development Centre and...
HorticultureHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
School, provides children and their families with an educational yet entertaining and stimulating place to visit using hands-on, interactive exhibits and outdoor activities.
Musical theatre
Garden City ProductionsGarden City Productions is a community based theatre group located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.Garden City Productions Inc. became an official entity in 1956. Its objectives were to establish, maintain, and operate a permanent Canadian repertory theatrical company...
(formerly the Operatic Society of Grantham United Church 1956-1962) puts on two community theatre shows per year at the Mandeville Theatre in Ridley College.
Theatre in Port put on a year-round schedule of professionally produced musicals, comedies and dramas.
Shopping
- The Pen Centre
The Pen Centre is the largest mall in the Niagara Region, located in St. Catharines, Ontario. At one point, The Pen was the fourth largest mall in Canada, with over one million square feet of floor space...
- largest shopping mall in the Niagara PeninsulaThe 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...
- Fairview Mall
- Smart!Centres (formerly First Pro Garden City)
- Lincoln Mall - demolished, replaced by Lincoln Value Centre
- Downtown
The downtown core of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada is defined by the city as the area between Highway 406 on the west and south, Geneva Street on the east until it reaches St. Paul Street then Niagara Street north until it meets Welland Avenue....
Farmers Market
- Port Dalhousie
Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal.The city's most popular beach, on the...
Business District
- Merritt Street, South St. Catharines (Downtown Merritton)
External links