Business View Magazine | December 2020

275 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 NI AGARA FALLS , ONTAR IO Falls. That’s going to be a very important aspect of our infrastructure and it will become more important with environmental concerns and congestion on the highways.” BVM: Why are people migrating to Niagara Falls from larger centers? Mayor Diodati: “Our population has been exploding. People are seeing Niagara Falls as a great place to live because their dollar goes much further here than in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). Toronto is the fastest growing urban center in North America and as their growth continues, so will ours. Our quality of life is outstanding, with 130 wineries, 35 golf courses, great restaurants and attractions, cross-border shopping – and now we’re going to be connected with the GO Train, and you can also take a 12 minute flight with GT Air and be in downtown Toronto. With COVID, and the advent of working remotely, a lot of people have decided to move to Niagara and work from home here. “We’ve got a great school system, a very low crime rate, and Niagara Falls was just recently ranked one of the top 10 cities in the world to live. People realize it’s a good place to raise a family or retire, and as a result there’s been a major boom in house construction and new residents moving to the area. We’ve become much more multi-cultural as well, with a lot of different demographics coming into town.” BVM: Is your business sector growing as well? Mayor Diodati: “We’ve been selling at a record pace and struggling to keep up with demand in our industrial parks. In fact, we’ve had to put sunset clauses in all land purchases down there that if they don’t build and develop within a certain period of time, we buy the land back at the same price. We don’t want to tie up property for speculators and land banking, we only want people who are serious about building their