NPCA warns Stevensville residents of door-to-door donation scam
October 20, 2026 at 4:47 AM
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is warning Stevensville residents about a man going door to door asking for money he says will help stop a housing development at the local conservation area.
The NPCA confirmed the man is not authorized by or affiliated with it, and the NPCA has not been involved in any discussions or proposals related to housing development at the conservation area.
NPCA communications specialist Jennifer McQuillan told Fort Erie Radio the NPCA and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation “do not conduct door-to-door fundraising or solicit donations in person.”
The Fort Erie Conservation Club, whose clubhouse is located at the Stevensville Conservation Area, first raised the alarm in an October 15 Facebook post, saying the NPCA had verified the collection was a scam.
The 50-hectare Stevensville Conservation Area on Ott Road is owned and managed by the NPCA.
The Town of Fort Erie’s Stevensville Secondary Plan, adopted in 2014 to guide development until at least 2031, maps where about 400 new homes can be built in the village but does not mention the conservation area. The plan designates the provincially significant wetlands along Black Creek, which winds through the conservation area, as environmental protection land.
A new Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority would take ownership of the Stevensville Conservation Area and the NPCA’s other land when the province merges the NPCA with three other conservation authorities starting in 2027.
Premier Doug Ford’s government tabled Bill 97, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act, in March 2026 to let the province merge Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into nine. The government’s 2022 housing law, Bill 23, required conservation authorities to identify land they own that could support housing development.
McQuillan said the NPCA received similar reports earlier this year and issued a public advisory reminding residents to “exercise caution.”
Niagara Regional Police Constable Jessica Martin said police found no calls matching the description since the start of October.
“It is possible no one reported,” Martin said in an email.
Neither the NPCA nor police said whether any Stevensville resident had donated money to the man.
The NPCA asked residents not to give money or financial details to anyone collecting in its name. Anyone approached can report the encounter to police or confirm whether a fundraiser is legitimate by emailing info@npca.ca.
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Andrew Hawlitzky
Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"
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