Last week, the Ontario government announced that it intends to provide strong mayor powers to 169 more cities and towns across the province. Among the municipalities slated to become recipients of the new toolkit are eight communities in Niagara.  The decision to bring new municipalities under the strong mayor umbrella comes as the province seeks […]

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre campaigned in St. Catharines last Friday and unveiled his party’s economic action plan should the Tories win the federal election scheduled for April 28. Poilievre held a press conference as well, with the Ontario Shipyards at the Port Weller Dry Docks behind him as he made comments and then took questions […]

During an April 8 meeting, the Niagara Falls City Council voted unanimously in favour of a motion brought forward by Mayor Jim Diodati to formally request membership in the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) organization.  OBCM is a group of mayors from across Ontario that represent municipalities with populations of at least 100,000. It seeks […]

Updated: The Blue Box Program in Niagara took effect as of January 1, 2024, not April 1, 2025. In Niagara Region, the changes to the Blue Box Program took effect on January 1, 2024. Since that date, producers (the businesses that supply packaging and paper to residents) have been fully responsible for collecting and recycling […]

Niagara Regional Councillors met as a Committee of the Whole last week to hear from staff about their plans for a budget timetable for the Region’s 2026 budget process. CAO Ron Tripp delivered the presentation. Tripp noted that the plan staff have drawn up includes one information meeting per month from May until October to […]

Grimsby Town Council has decided to hire a third-party consultant who will lead a review process of the rate of payment for councillors. Ultimately, it must be determined whether town councillors will receive a pay raise following the 2026 municipal elections.  Council voted in favour of hiring a third-party consultant over the alternative option, which […]

Earlier this week, the provincial government announced that it would invest $35 million to support the reconstruction of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Royal George Theatre. The theatre is a key component of the Town’s Shaw Festival, one of the Niagara Region’s premier tourist attractions.  The funding announcement was made outside of the current Royal George Theatre on April […]

The Canadian Mental Health Association of Niagara is planning to host its 14th Annual “Wellness for All” fundraiser next month in Thorold.  The event will be held on Thursday, May 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Ovation Room.  “We are excited to introduce some fun changes to our signature event, not the […]

Residents of Ward 6 in St. Catharines will go the polls on April 14 to select a replacement for the late Carlos Garcia, who passed away late last year during his third term on Council.  There are seven candidates running to replace Garcia and fill the rest of his term: Jonathan Belgrave, Zach Dykstra, Patrick […]

On March 26, Niagara Regional Council Chair Jim Bradley delivered his annual State of the Region address. The speech was presented at a new period of turbulence for the local economy as U.S. President Donald Trump has been enacting tariffs on Canadian exports.  The address was attended by officials from various levels of Canadian government, […]