Fort Erie is located in the southeastern portion of the province along the Canada/U.S. border in the Niagara Region.
The city covers 166.27 square kilometres near the communities of Port Colborne, Welland, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo (in New York, which is directly across the border from Fort Erie).
Fort Erie has a population of over 30,000 people, and this will likely continue to grow, as the city is one of the Niagara Region’s fastest growing communities.
The eastern edge of Fort Erie is situated where the Niagara River meets Lake Erie, and the city is on the site of Old Fort Erie, which had a prominent role in the War of 1812.
Country: Canada
Province: Ontario
Population: 30,710
Area: 166.27 km2
The northern section of Fort Erie includes residential areas, a creek, numerous park spaces, conservation areas, a zoo, churches, schools, a marina, and small pockets of commercial space with restaurants, shops, and service providers.
Residential areas can also be found in the central section, along with creeks, parks, churches, a country club, a paintball park, schools, a racetrack, a railway museum, a hospital, Canada Border Services Agency offices, a library, and the Fort Erie Airport.
In the southern section of the city, there are parks, a conservation area, beaches, a golf course, an arena, schools, churches, accommodations (bed and breakfasts, hotels, inns), the Old Fort Erie National Historic Site, the Ridgeway Battlefield National Historic Site, and commercial areas with restaurants and shops.
Safari Niagara is a 150-acre privately-owned park with more than 1,000 animals, including lions, camels, leopards, tigers, apes, bears, monkeys, snakes, tortoises, deer, birds, rhinos, zebras, hippos, ostriches, kangaroos, porcupines, and jaguars. The park also has large inflatable jumping pillows, a catch and release fishing pond, a children’s play area, a tram, paddleboats, a family farm, a pedal bike go-cart track, a ropes course, a splash pad, and a walk-through budgie exhibit. Many shows and tours are held at the park throughout the year, and several concession areas provide places to rest and snack.
Old Fort Erie is located on the edge of the Niagara River and offers visitors an opportunity to step back in time to 1812. The fort is a National Historic Site and includes tours of the grounds, musket demonstrations, and annual reenactments of the Siege of Old Fort Erie. The siege involved American soldiers attacking the fort during the War of 1812, and it is considered one of the bloodiest battlefields in Canadian history.
Fort Erie’s largest industries include manufacturing, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, healthcare and social assistance, public administration, arts/entertainment/recreation, construction, educational services, and accommodation and food services. The city’s largest employer is Airbus Helicopters Canada, which manufactures parts for helicopters sold internationally. Many residents also commute to Niagara Falls, Welland, or St. Catharines for work.
The Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corporation offers new and existing businesses assistance with site location studies/analysis, marketing and promotion, alliance matchmaking, crisis management, export market development, investment, lobbying, and referral to other government programs and assistance.
The northern section of Fort Erie has numerous mid-priced single-family homes on large lots, as well as some luxury homes with higher price tags. Vacant land is also available here at various prices, as is commercial space.
Affordable single-family homes can also be found in the central section, normally on large, rural-style lots. There is plenty of commercial space available in this section, as well as some vacant land that tends to come at a higher price.
Newer single-family homes are more common in the southern section, and often have higher price tags than the older single-family homes that are found in other sections of the city. Commercial space and vacant land are also common here.
Examples of schools in Fort Erie include Fort Erie Secondary School, Garrison Road Public School, Peace Bridge Public School, Niagara Christian Collegiate, St. Philomena Separate School, Our Lady of Victory Catholic Elementary School, Bertie Public School, Stevensville Public School, John Brant Public School, and Saint George Catholic Elementary School.
There are no post-secondary options in the town, so residents must travel to Niagara Falls, Welland, or St. Catharines to access options such as Niagara College, Transitions College of Business and Career Studies, Niagara University, Trillium College, Academy of Learning College, Summit College, and Brock University.
