Niagara Centre (french: Niagara-Centre; formerly Welland) is a federal electoral district in the Niagara Region of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1988 and since 1997.

Demographics

:''According to the

Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...

; 2013 representation'' Ethnic groups: 87.1% White, 5.4% Aboriginal, 1.9% Black, 1.5% Chinese, 1.2% South Asian
Languages: 82.7% English, 6.7% French, 2.9% Italian
Religions: (2011) 76.6% Christian (40.4% Catholic, 8.5% Anglican, 7.3% United Church, 3.3% Presbyterian, 1.9% Baptist, 1.8% Lutheran, 1.3% Pentecostal, 12.1% Other), 21.8% No religion
Median income (2015): $30,072
Average income (2015): $38,460

Geography

Niagara Centre consists of the cities of

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first s ...

, and

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed afte ...

, and the part of the City of St. Catharines lying south of a line drawn from the southern city limit north along First Louth St, east along St. Paul Street West, northeast along St. Paul Crescent, east and south along Twelve Mile Creek, and east along Glendale Avenue to the eastern city limit.

History

Welland was originally created in 1867 by the British North America Act. It consisted initially of the Townships of Bertie, Crowland, Humberstone, Stamford, Thorold, and Willoughby, and the Villages of Chippawa, Clifton, Fort Erie, Thorold and Welland. In 1892, the riding was redefined to exclude reference to the Village of Clifton, and include the villages of Niagara Falls and Port Colborne, and the town of Niagara Falls. In 1903, it was redefined to consist of the county of Welland. In 1952, it was redefined to consist of the townships of Pelham, Thorold, Crowland, Humberstone and Wainfleet, including the city of Welland and the towns of Port Colborne, Thorold, Fonthill and Humberstone. In 1966, it was redefined to consist of: * in

Welland County Welland County (area, excluding cities was 226,970 acres) is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county was formed in 1845 from Lincoln County. The county was named from the Welland River. The river got its name from J ...

, the City of Welland and the Townships of Crowland, Humberstone and Wainfleet; and * in

Haldimand County Haldimand County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Despite its name, it is no longer a county by definition, as all mu ...

, the Townships of Canborough, Dunn, Moulton and Sherbrooke. In 1976, it was redefined to consist of the City of Welland, the Town of Thorold, and the part of the City of St. Catharines lying south of the Canadian National Railway. The electoral district was abolished in 1987 when it was redistributed between Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold, St. Catharines and

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

ridings. A new riding, named Niagara Centre was created in 1996 from parts of

and Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold ridings. It existed only for the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

elections. It consisted of the Town of Pelham, the City of

, the southern part of the City of St. Catharines, and the part of the City of

lying west of the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines ...

. The electoral district was abolished in 2003 when it was redistributed between

Niagara West—Glanbrook Niagara West—Glanbrook was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that existed from 2004 to 2015. The riding was created in 2003 from parts of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot, Erie—Lincoln, Hamilton Mountain, Niagara ...

, St. Catharines and Welland ridings. In 2003, a new Welland riding was created from parts of

Erie—Lincoln Erie—Lincoln was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was a provincial electoral district represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 ...

, Niagara Centre,

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

and St. Catharines ridings. Welland was abolished in 2013, and was largely replaced by a new riding named Niagara Centre. The riding lost Wainfleet and the rural southwestern corner of St. Catharines.

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Election results

Niagara Centre, 2015–present

Welland, 2003–2015

Niagara Centre, 1996–2003

Note:The 2000 Alliance vote is compared to the 1997 Reform vote

Welland, 1867–1987

Note: NDP vote is compared to CCF vote in 1958 election. "Final Standings in By-Elections", ''Toronto Daily Star'', February 10, 1942 Note: "National Government" vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election. Note: Conservative vote is compared to Government vote in 1917 election, and Liberal vote is compared to Opposition vote. Note: popular vote is compared to redsult in 1891 general election.

References

*
1867-1987 Riding history from the

Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Otta ...

2003-2008 Riding history from the

2011 results from Elections Canada

Campaign expense data from Elections Canada

External links

* Website of th
Library of Parliament: Niagara Centre federal riding information
{{Ridings in Ontario Ontario federal electoral districts Politics of St. Catharines Thorold Welland 1867 establishments in Ontario 1987 disestablishments in Ontario 2013 establishments in Ontario