Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of Ontario and is the only town in Canada that has a lord mayor.[3] It had a population of 19,088 as of the 2021 Canadian census.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Canada
1781
1792
Gary Zalepa
Town Council
132.81 km2 (51.28 sq mi)
82.3 m (270.0 ft)
19,088
131.8/km2 (341/sq mi)
NOTLer
Niagara-on-the-Lake is important in the history of Canada: it served as the first capital of the province of Upper Canada, the predecessor of Ontario. It was called Newark from 1792 to 1797. During the War of 1812, the town, the two former villages of St. David's and Queenston, and Fort George were the sites of numerous battles following the American invasion of Upper Canada, and the town was razed. Niagara-on-the-Lake is home to the oldest Catholic church, the second-oldest Anglican church in Ontario, and the oldest surviving golf course in North America.
Today, Niagara-on-the-Lake draws tourists with its colonial-style buildings, the Shaw Festival, Fort George, wineries, an outlet mall on the highway, and its proximity to Niagara Falls.[4] The Niagara Region has the second-highest percentage of seniors in Ontario.[5]
Government[edit]
Niagara-on-the-Lake is within the federal electoral district of Niagara Falls, currently represented in the House of Commons of Canada by Tony Baldinelli, and the provincial electoral district of provincial electoral district of Niagara Falls, represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by Wayne Gates.
It is the only municipality in Canada whose elected leader is designated as lord mayor, a title most common in the United Kingdom.[3] Popular legend suggests Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn bestowed the title on the mayor of Niagara during a visit to the town in the early 19th century, in recognition of the town's history as the first capital of Upper Canada;[3] however, there is no record of a mayor using it until Jerry Mussen in the early 1920s, and even afterward the title was used only irregularly until the Regional Municipality of Niagara Act of 1969 legislated that "The mayor of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake shall be known as the Lord Mayor."[3] The town's current lord mayor is Gary Zalepa, as of the 2022 municipal election.[35] Previous lord mayors have included Betty Disero, Patrick Darte, Dave Eke, Gary Burroughs, Art Viola, Mike Dietsch, Stan Ignatczyk, Jim Marino, Wilbert Dick, Jake Froese and Fred Goring.[3]
In addition to the primary town site of Niagara-on-the-Lake (the Old Town), the town also includes the settlements of Colemans, Homer, McNab, Mississauga Beach, Queenston, St. Davids, and Virgil.[38]
Glendale is located near the junction of the Queen Elizabeth Way QEW, Highway 405, and Highway 55, and adjacent to the Welland Canal. It is home to the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus of Niagara College and a large outdoor shopping mall.
Virgil, just southwest of the Old Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, is the area most visited by tourists. The community has a large Mennonite community, who settled in the area from Russia in the early to mid-20th century. Virgil has a large sports park, serving as the centre of Niagara-on-the-Lake's bustling hockey, softball, lacrosse and soccer leagues, two arenas, three baseball diamonds and a skate park. Once a year, on the Victoria Day weekend in May, the community holds its "Virgil Stampede." The festival includes rides, attractions and its annual soccer start-up tournament. Virgil's educational institutions are St. Michael's Elementary School and Crossroads Public School, which opened in September 2011, amalgamating the now-closed Virgil and Colonel John Butler Public Schools. The town's only secondary school, Niagara District, was closed by the District School Board of Niagara in 2010.
The Old Town also had an elementary school on King Street: Parliament Oak Public School. It was on the site of the signing of the Act Against Slavery of 1793, by the first legislative session of the parliament of Upper Canada.[39] The school was closed on June 25, 2015.[40]
Transportation[edit]
Niagara-on-the-Lake can be reached by the Queen Elizabeth Way, a highway that stretches to Fort Erie to the south, Hamilton to the west and curves around Lake Ontario to Toronto. Public transportation is served by Niagara-on-the-Lake Transit.
Awards and recognition[edit]
The Town of Niagara was the site of the 8th World Scout Jamboree in 1955. Over 11,000 Scouts from 71 countries attended the Jamboree. It was the first to be held outside Europe and had the theme "Jamboree of New Horizons." Niagara-on-the-Lake was named the Prettiest Town in Canada in 1996 by Communities in Bloom, a nationwide beautification programme.[50] The town is now a popular tourist destination, located at the northern terminus of the Niagara Parkway, a scenic drive and biking/walking path.