Over the next three weeks, this column will provide background on the development of Regional Government, how it has operated over the past half-century-plus, and what amalgamation may portend for the citizens of Niagara in the years ahead.
PART ONE – Lincoln & Welland County
When regional government came to the Niagara area in 1970, it promised more efficient use of resources, the combining of needs to help smaller communities bear the burden of costs, and a technocratic answer to the predicted growth the province would absorb in the coming years. The PC government of Premier John Robarts began looking at ways to help the villages, hamlets, and small towns that dotted the rural landscape of Ontario. As Ontario’s natural governing party since before mid-century, the Tories wanted to continue their dynasty even as the population changed and moved. Seeking a solution to the challenges of these isolated areas, Robarts and his government began reform efforts in 1961 (almost immediately after Robarts took office) to prepare for rapid urbanization and its implications for municipalities across Ontario. Beginning with the Beckett Committee (Hollis Beckett chaired it; its original name was the Select Committee on the Municipal Act and Related Acts), the committee reviewed provincial and municipal relationships. The Committee released its findings between 1963 and 1965, urging more efficient jurisdictions of government because of the “blurring of rural and urban” responsibilities. The findings formed the basis for the political and structural changes in Ontario that led to “regionalization” in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The province ordered the formation of a local committee in 1963 to study the inefficiencies of the 26 municipalities that made up Lincoln and Welland Counties. Many of the local mayors and reeves sat on the initial committee, but certain individuals played key or prominent roles in the committee’s work. These members included Franklin J. Miller, Mayor of Niagara Falls (1959-64) and his successor, Robert Keighan (1965-66), Reeve Mitchelson (Mitchelson Park near St. Paul High School) of Stamford Township (who sat on the Merger Committee), Robert Speck from Toronto, an active supporter of regionalization, and Dr. Henry Mayo, the academic lead commissioned in 1965 to conduct the formal restructuring study for the province, building on the committee’s preliminary research. The entire operation answered to J. W. Spooner, the Minister of Municipal Affairs in the Robarts government. It was the Mayo Report of 1966 that recommended founding the Region of Niagara to replace the two-county system.
In an effort to confront the difficulties smaller communities were encountering, the committee actively pursued strategies to enhance the provision of essential services, including police and fire protection, waste management, and public health and education. Created in 1849, the counties serving the people of Niagara no longer made sense as the region grew, its workers changed vocations, and the demographics suggested greater urban growth. By 1966 there were 26 official towns, townships, cities, and villages making up Welland and Lincoln County (Beamsville, Bertie Township, Caistor, Chippawa, Clinton, Crowland, Crystal Beach, Fonthill, Fort Erie, Gainsborough, Grimsby, Grimsby North, Grimsby South, Humberstone, Louth, Niagara, Niagara Falls, Pelham, Port Colborne, St. Catharines, Thorold, Township of Niagara, Township of Thorold, Wainfleet, Welland, and Willoughby). Many others had signs welcoming them to their community: St. David’s, Virgil, Fenwick, Ridgeway, Stevensville, Snyder, Clifton, and others, with a significant portion of the local population maintaining a deep sense of belonging to these smaller settlements. The conundrum of allowing these folks to maintain their connection to these traditional locations while accessing modern technology and equipment forced the inevitable recommendation from Dr. Mayo and his team.
The report proposed ending the two-county setup, reducing the number of municipalities to 12, and centralizing police, waste management, and health services. Mayo basically argued that the consolidation would support the delivery of services more effectively regionally as opposed to the fragmented boundaries that made up the 26 separate units. He also advanced the idea that urban sprawl demanded coordination of water lines, sewer systems, and roads to be built across the Niagara corridor. He also asserted that eliminating duplication would streamline decision-making and save money. Finally, he claimed that fiscal stability would create tax bases to support large infrastructure projects and joint efforts to bargain with police forces or other large employee groups.
BACKLASH TO MAYO REPORT
Many in Lincoln and Welland County opposed the recommendations, including people from all walks of life, different socio-economic backgrounds, and varied educational training. Some objected to the loss of local identity. They did not want to give up their unique characteristics and feared being swallowed up by larger entities like Niagara Falls or St. Catharines. Many felt that rather than saving money, larger government jurisdictions would lead to greater costs and more inefficiency. Some folks doubted that smaller areas would receive proper representation and that larger regional issues would overwhelm smaller community problems, resulting in the outer areas being ignored, forgotten, or dismissed. Finally, a theme that would return in the 2020s, with talk of amalgamation, a sense of “top-down” imposition developed. Local councils felt “ambushed” by a provincial government that they perceived was ignoring their expertise and history in favour of academic models provided by Dr. Mayo.
Growing up in Fort Erie during this era, this author recalls a strong resistance to the 1970 regional amalgamation. The umbrella of Greater Fort Erie covered Crystal Beach, Ridgeway, and Stevensville, not to mention some other smaller communities. The resistance was palpable in many areas, especially in athletics. Over time, some of the younger people accepted the changes, but it has been a long road and has required tangible efforts, such as building sewers in Crescent Park, the old Bertie Township, or where my family once lived near the Old Fort.
Tensions were high in Welland, especially since it served as the local seat of government in Welland County. First, the city council argued that the county government was working well and did not need a drastic overhaul. The council proposed a “County Plus” initiative, a strategy designed to update the county’s governing authorities while ensuring that individual municipalities, such as Welland, could maintain their jurisdiction over essential local services, thus preventing the consolidation of these responsibilities into a single, centralized regional entity located in St. Catharines. Welland also fought against the weighted voting system that favoured St. Catharines and Niagara Falls since it was population-based.
In the end, and despite the opposition, the provincial government under Robarts enacted the legislation on June 26, 1969, and the regional government officially replaced the former county structure on January 1, 1970. As David Siegel reported in 2019, “The new regions were given significant powers that the counties had not had. Their mandate was to engage in the kind of planning and infrastructure development that would be needed to accommodate the large influx of new residents in the area,” (Under the Knife and Under the Gun: Regional Government in Niagara.)
Part two of this report will examine the Regional Era, beginning in 1970.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
