Rents declined across Niagara Region in January, in line with declines nationwide, as rents across Canada fell to their lowest levels in nearly three years. That’s all according to a new Rentals.ca report. The monthly Rentals.ca National Rent Report includes 60 cities across Canada and has recorded a year-over-year decline in national rents for 16 […]
Niagara Regional Council has passed its 2026 operating budget after some last-minute changes by Regional Chair Bob Gale that lowered the overall property tax increase from a proposed 6.98 per cent to 6.3 per cent. Councillors gathered for a budget review meeting Feb. 12 that lasted for over three hours. After adopting most of Gale’s […]
Niagara’s post-secondary institutions are welcoming a significant new funding commitment from Queen’s Park, saying it will help stabilize the sector and support students entering the workforce. The Ontario government has announced a new long-term funding model that will bring an additional $6.4 billion into the postsecondary sector over four years, raising annual operating funding to […]
Regional Chair Bob Gale will soon reveal his priorities and proposed changes to the Niagara Region operating budget. Should none of Gale’s proposed changes be adopted, Niagara Region’s property tax hike for 2026 will be 6.98 per cent. In his first meeting as Chair, Gale thanked Councillors Sandra Easton (Lincoln) and Tom Insinna (Fort Erie) […]
Pelham drivers will soon be forced to drive slower in some areas, as Councillors voted last week to reduce the maximum speed limit to 40 km/h on several urban and rural roads, following a staff report that made such recommendations. The speed limit changes include urban areas and villages of Fonthill, Fenwick, Ridgeville and North […]
Home sales held relatively steady in the Niagara Region in January compared to December, according to the Niagara Association of Realtors. The total number of homes sold in Niagara Region in January was 318 units, compared to 332 in December. The benchmark price for homes in Niagara Region fell slightly, coming in at $573,900, a […]
Niagara College is entering the rapidly expanding field of defence robotics with the launch of two new programs that will have students designing and building operational drones for air, land, and sea applications. The new Defence Systems Engineering Technology (three-year) and Defence Systems Engineering Technician (two-year) programs are built around hands-on, project-based learning rather than […]
Councillor Leanna Villella (Welland) put forward a motion at Niagara Regional Council last week that would have frozen the hiring of non-essential staff at the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The motion was ultimately set aside, with Chief Administrative Officer Ron Tripp pushing back on Villella’s proposal, and her fellow councillors choosing to refer the motion […]
Niagara Falls City Council has adopted its operating budget for the 2026 fiscal year. The operating levy increase will be 2.43 per cent, which is 0.5 per cent lower than what Mayor Jim Diodati had originally proposed, after some amendments proposed by councillors were accepted to help get the tax increase down. For the average […]
Niagara Regional Housing’s (NRH) Board of Directors have elected a new Executive Committee to lead the board for 2026. As was the case in 2025, St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe will serve as Chair. Before serving as chair in 2025, Siscoe served as Vice-Chair from 2023 to 2024. The new Vice-Chair will be Grimsby Mayor […]