Government Relations and Advocacy Efforts

Supporting a prosperous region

Working to create strong partnerships with government and community to provide the Region with a unified voice when advocating for Niagara's priorities

Niagara is home to over 525,000 residents living in a mix of urban and rural communities. Our population is estimated to grow by over 200,000 people and 85,000 jobs by 2051, offering significant social and economic opportunity over the coming years.

Increasing Niagara’s housing supply, investing in safe and reliable infrastructure, and ensuring programs meet changing community need remain top priorities as we continue to welcome new residents and businesses.

The Government of Ontario and Government of Canada are important partners in welcoming growth across Niagara. Funding from upper levels of government support the Region in providing world-class programs, services and amenities to residents and businesses, both now and in the future.

Niagara Region continues to advocate for increased partnership and co-investment from upper levels of government for the following core growth-related priorities.

Priorities

• One-third funding for the South Niagara Wastewater Treatment Solutions Project

  Regional wastewater infrastructure located within the City of Niagara Falls does not have the capacity to service population and economic growth forecasted by 2051.

  A $400 million South Niagara Wastewater Treatment Solutions project is underway that will support 108,000 new homes, 9,200 new jobs and development around the South Niagara Hospital once complete.

  In the absence of long-term, sustainable funding for municipal infrastructure, upper levels of government must provide immediate support for critical projects that require co-investment to move forward.

  Niagara Region continues to advocate that the provincial and federal governments each provide one-third funding for this critical growth enabling project.

• Enhanced partnership and investment in Niagara's Consolidated Housing Master Plan

  By 2045, approximately 20,700 community housing units will be required to meet resident need.

  To bridge the supply gap, Niagara Region has developed a Consolidated Housing Master Plan that details opportunities for the (re)development of existing Niagara Regional Housing, non-profit and co-operative housing provider sites to support a range of housing options.

  Timelines for the Consolidated Housing Master Plan forecast the construction of 4,243 units over 25-years. Niagara Region continues to advocate that upper levels of government co-invest $150,000 per unit to support shovel ready projects in moving forward.

• Two-way, all day GO train service between Union Station and Niagara

  Niagara is home to world class tourism destinations, post secondary institutions and is within commuting distance to the GTA.

  Based on Statistics Canada data, there are potentially 130,072 additional student and workforce commuters travelling between our region and Hamilton, Halton, Peel and Toronto.

  In 2024, Niagara GO had approximately 1 million riders. Niagara also remains a tourist destination of choice, welcoming more than 12 million visitors annually, which is four times the population of Toronto.

  With a number of projects underway to increase the number of GO Train stations across Niagara , the Region continues to advocate that the provincial government introduce two-way, all day GO train service between Union Station and Niagara.

• Building Service Review

  Niagara Region and the 12 area municipalities are continually exploring ways to reduce redundancies and innovate customer focused services for our residents.

  Through this work, Niagara's Chief Administrative Officers have created a workplan detailing which shared service initiatives can move forward without delay versus larger-scale opportunities that require external support.

  Conducting a Building Service Review is a large-scale priority item that aims to reduce red tape in permit processing to speed up timelines and enhance consistency within building and inspection processes.

  Provincial co-investment would support one-time implementation costs associated with this project.

• Introduce a sustainable and predictable funding framework for municipalities

  As Ontario welcomes new residents and businesses, the demand for local services continues to rise. Due to changing community need, municipalities are also facing increasingly complex challenges without the financial tools to solve them.

  Ontario's municipalities are planning for capital expenditures between $250 and $290 billion over the next 10 years. Around $100 billion of this is growth related. In 2023, Ontario municipalities subsidized health services, housing and social and family services by over $5 billion, program areas that have traditionally been the responsibility of the province.

  While service demands continue to rise, municipalities only collect 9 per cent of total tax revenue in Canada, and the ability to increase revenue streams and take on debt is limited. Outdated financial arrangements are not meeting modern community realities.

  Niagara continues to advocate that the provincial and federal government implement a New Deal for municipalities, creating a long-term and sustainable funding framework for all levels of government.

  This work aligns with advocacy efforts underway by the following municipal associations:

  • Association of Municipalities of Ontario: call for a Social and Economic Prosperity Review
  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities: call for a National Prosperity Partnership
  • Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario: call to reverse cost downloading on municipalities