To no one’s surprise, tourism and hospitality are the economic lifeblood of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and large swaths of the Southern Ontario region between Toronto and Western New York.
But, Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati thinks continuing rifts on trade from the White House doesn’t just impact the U.S. – but his own Canadian city as well.
“I don't ever want any American to feel uncomfortable coming here,” Diodati said.
In the Niagara Region alone, more than 40,000 people have a job that’s somehow connected to the tourism and hospitality industry. Niagara Falls, by itself, averages 14 million tourists annually with 25% coming from the United States. Americans account for just as much of the Niagara Region’s $5 billion-plus tourism-based economy.
That’s why Diodati is concerned about the fallout from President Trump’s trade war policies.
“We never saw the border until Trump started talking about it, and it became this elephant in the room,” Diodati remarked. “I know deep down, I know a lot more about the border than the President does, because I was born here. I grew up here. I live here, and I understand it in a way that someone who doesn't live here wouldn't understand it.”
Here’s more stats that weigh on Diodati and other Southern Ontario leaders.
Before Trump started his tariff-driven trade war with Canada, the Canadian Consulate said some $241 million each day in goods crossed over either the Peace Bridge or Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.
According to Statistics Canada, an estimated 30,000 people in the Niagara Region are employed by a manufacturer who exports goods to the United States.
“The worst thing you can do for the economy is to be uncertain and to destabilize because markets respond to stability and predictability, and then they will invest,” Diodati said. “The unfortunate situation of this is that everybody is going to suffer. Americans are going to suffer as much as Canadians.”
For now, Diodati and others are doing whatever they can to make sure Americans know that Niagara Falls and the Southern Ontario region are open and welcoming.
