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Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario
Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario
	— Region —
	; Flag
	; Flag
	Motto: Unity, Responsibility, Loyalty
	Location of Niagara within Ontario
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Formed	1970 (from Welland and Lincoln Counties)
	Government
- Chair	Peter Partington
- Governing body	Niagara Regional Council
- MPs	Dean Allison, Rick Dykstra, Malcolm Allen, Rob Nicholson
- MPPs	Jim Bradley, Kim Craitor, Tim Hudak, Peter Kormos
	Area
- Total	1,852 km2 (715.1 sq mi)
	Population (2006)
- Total	427,421
- Density	223.5/km2 (578.9/sq mi)
	[1]
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Website	Regional Niagara

The Regional Municipality of Niagara (2006 population: 427,421), also known as the Niagara Region, or, colloquially, "Regional Niagara", is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada.

The region occupies most of the Niagara Peninsula. Its eastern boundary is the Niagara River, which is also the border with the United States. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario and on the south by Lake Erie.

Unique natural landscapes make the Niagara Region an important centre for agriculture and tourism in Canada. The most important agricultural enterprise in Niagara is viticulture, or winemaking. The Niagara Wine Route, which connects visitors to dozens of wineries, is a growing tourism draw while the internationally-renowned Niagara Falls is one of Canada's major tourist attractions. Along with Shaw Festival, held annually in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the Welland Canal, the Regional Municipality of Niagara receives up to 12 million visitors each year.

[edit] Geography

Cities

Towns

Townships

Villages

Chippawa

In total, the region has an area of 1850 square kilometres. The regional seat is in Thorold, where the Niagara Regional Council meets.

[edit] Demographics

Data from the Canada 2001 Census.

Racial Groups

White: 349,390 or 95.9%
Black: 2,990 or 0.8%
Multiracial: 2,665 or 0.7%
Chinese: 2,345 or 0.6%
Other Asian: 2,320 or 0.6%
(based on single responses)

Religious Profile

43.2% Protestant
36.4% Roman Catholic
3.8% other Christian
0.9% Muslim
14.6% non-religious

Top Ten Largest Ethnicities

Canadian - 121,660 (those who are most likely of British/French origin whose ancestors have been in Canada for many generations)
English - 108,425
Scottish - 66,385
Irish - 56,640
German - 49,435
French - 48,155
Italian - 44,645
Dutch - 23,805
Ukrainian - 16,735
Polish - 16,295