St. Catharines has an estimated population of 134,000, which makes it the largest city in the Niagara Region, and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada. The city of St. Catharines is located 51 km to the south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is only 19 km inland from the U.S. international boundary along the Niagara River.
Strategically located between the GTHA (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area) and the U.S.-Canada border, St. Catharines was an industrial city specializing in manufacturing and heavy industry, but the trend has shifted to services. At one point, the Canadian subsidiary of General Motors was the biggest employer in the city, but today that role is held by the District School Board of Niagara.
What’s available in St. Catharines?
St. Catharines is not just the economic core of Niagara, it’s the perfect location for entrepreneurs seeking to get access to Canada’s industrial centre and the American metropolitan northeast. The city’s location on one of the primary telecommunication’s backbones between the United States and Canada has led to the setting up of multiple call centres. St. Catharines is considered an Urban Growth Centre, and is expected to deliver a minimum of 150 jobs and residents per hectare by the year 2031, as per the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
With affordable homeownership in a warm, friendly community, it’s no surprise that so many newcomers to St. Catharines love it here. Among other things, St. Catharines is home to many exciting festivals and events that bring residents and visitors together throughout the year.
Economy and Development
There’s no other mid-sized urban core in Canada that has seen the sheer level of infrastructure investment, business development, and cultural uplift that is reimagining downtown St. Catharines. The city’s downtown core is the only area in Niagara that has been identified as an Urban Growth Centre by the provincial government, making it a focal point for investment and transit infrastructure.
Downtown St. Catharines marks a new route for the Wine Council of Ontario’s official Wine Route, as wine aficionados are guided along St. Paul Street, connecting Niagara’s three main wine areas:
- Twenty Valley,
- Bench Wineries in Lincoln,
- and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
This new course allows access for culinary and wine tourists, a thriving culture of 1.8 million people annually, to a distinctive town experience by inviting them to the boutiques, pubs, and restaurants unique to downtown St. Catharines.
As the commercial hub of the Niagara Region, St. Catharines has seen a flurry of economic activity in recent years from both the private and public sectors. St. Catharines offers a great standard of living and doing business at a very competitive cost and with a huge market access.
St. Catharines thrived on transportation in the 19th century and heavy industry in the 20th century:
- Manufacturing – Numerous primary and advanced manufacturers call St. Catharines home and represent the backbone of the city’s economy. St. Catharines has a talented and experienced workers’ pool with a great scope of skilled trades.
- Health and wellness – St. Catharines boasts an excellent expert health and wellness network operated by public organizations and private companies at research and academic locations.
- Bioscience – Brock University’s Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex, involving BioLinc, is providing the platform for a new age of progress and discovery. St. Catharines offers a strong base of advanced manufacturing knowledge and skill to support bioscience innovation.
- Digital media – St. Catharines has quickly become a digital media hub, attracting an encouraging array of digital and interactive media business. KPMG identifies St. Catharines/Niagara as 5th among all major Canadian cities for competitiveness in the digital sector.
Business Internet: Fiber Connectivity
The telecommunications industry has evolved significantly over the past several decades, with many business communications and technologies becoming obsolete and disappearing. On the other hand, the advent of cloud-based services and applications has not only boosted productivity, but also disrupted business communications. That said, one thing that seems to remain constant through the years is the need for more bandwidth.
Fortunately, St. Catharines is supported by a leading fibre optic service, offering high-speed data access to both the east-west and north-south trunk lines. Dozens of communication and digital media companies—many located in downtown St. Catharines—are able to reach customers across North America efficiently and conduct business activity around the world seamlessly.
Home Internet for St. Catharine Residents
Our cable internet options for your household come with unlimited bandwidth, so whether you work from home or enjoy playing online games, our high-speed Internet packages are customized to the needs of your household. Residents of St. Catharines trust Netfox to deliver internet connectivity that you can rely on.
At Netfox Communications, we realize that high-speed internet is the technological cornerstone of modern businesses and homes in St. Catharines. That is why we strive to provide you with reliable data connections to enhance your communications, collaboration, and profitability. So, whether you’re looking to unlock more opportunities from connectivity solutions or transition your communications to the cloud, we believe that we are the right business internet service and provider to guide you through this stage of your business. Contact us today to explore your business internet connectivity options.
