Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services operates out of the Greater Toronto Area in Southern Ontario, Canada. Although Global Alliance provides services around the world through our network of affiliates, the core of our services are performed in Toronto and its surrounding region. In this continuing feature, we will detail notable locations and communities in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario where we often provide limousine service. Today, we visit the gateway to Niagara, the city of St. Catharines.

With a  population of over 133,000, St. Catharines is Ontario’s sixth-largest urban area. Known as the Garden City for its 1,000-plus acres of park, trails (including the city’s largest, Montebello Park, designed in 1887 by Central Park landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted) and other green spaces, St. Catharines is located between Hamilton and the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area, on the south shore of Lake Ontario. The northern entrance to the Welland Canal is in the city.

First settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1780, St. Catharines became a key regional transportation, shipping and manufacturing centre due to its location on the lakeshore and the later canal system. Incorporated as a village in 1845 with a population of 3,500 by the next year, St. Catharines was later incorporated as a city in 1876. Prior to the American Civil War, St. Catharines was a center for abolitionist activity and one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad for African-American slaves, making the city an important center for Black Canadian history to this day.

St. Catharines is home to Brock University, Canada’s fifth-largest university with an annual enrollment of over 18,000 students. Downtown St. Catharines, which includes such sites of note as the Old Courthouse and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, has undergone extensive refurbishment and redevelopment in recent years. St. Catharines’ downtown area is also on the Wine Route, a popular driving tour of Ontario wine-producing region. In addition to its extensive parks system, St. Catharines has active arts, music, and cultural festival scenes. St. Catharines is home to the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara IceDogs, who play home games at the Meridian Centre downtown.

Please feel free to contact Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services for all of your transportation needs in and around St. Catharines, Ontario.