Redekop highlights growth, business support at mayor’s breakfast

Andréa Jones
September 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM

Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop told a gathering of South Niagara leaders Tuesday that his community is seeing rapid growth and continuing to attract new businesses, but the expansion brings challenges with infrastructure, schools and health care.

Redekop was among five mayors who spoke at the Southern Tier Mayor’s Breakfast, hosted by the South Niagara Chambers of Commerce (SNCC) at the Italian Canadian Cultural Centre in Port Colborne. The annual event brings together municipal leaders and business representatives from across the region.

Mayor Wayne Redekop speaks from the podium at the Southern Tier Mayor’s Breakfast. Credit: South Niagara Chambers of Commerce | Facebook

“Fort Erie has been growing between 2022 and 2024, at a pace of three per cent per year,” Redekop said from the podium when it was his turn to speak.

“Since 2017, the town has grown by 20 per cent, which is above the provincial and national average. That creates problems in itself because we have to deal with the infrastructure.”

The mayor said more than 200 new businesses have opened in Fort Erie since the start of the pandemic, ranging from manufacturers and large retailers to family-owned restaurants and floral shops. About 85 per cent remain in operation.

Redekop credited the town’s economic development and tourism office, led by Caralee Grummett, with supporting new ventures through tax incentive grants, development charge exemptions and programs such as façade and signage improvements for downtown businesses.

He also pointed to the town’s work with the Border Mayors Alliance on trade issues, noting that tariffs on goods moving across the Canada-U.S. border have had a “significant impact” on local companies that both export and import.

In addition to business development, Redekop highlighted initiatives in housing, infrastructure renewal and education. He said every public elementary school in Fort Erie is currently over capacity, some by as much as 40 per cent, and that planning is underway for new schools.

He also referenced ongoing discussions with Niagara Health and Ontario’s health ministry to reimagine services at the Douglas Memorial urgent care site.

Mayor Wayne Redekop converses with attendees on Tuesday at the Italian Canadian Cultural Centre in Port Colborne. Credit: Andréa Jones | Fort Erie Radio

The event also featured remarks from Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele, Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin and Wainfleet Mayor Brian Grant.

SNCC executive director Dolores Fabiano told Fort Erie Radio that the breakfast plays an important role in connecting municipalities and the business community.

“It keeps us talking and communicating and sharing things that are going on so that we can learn from each other,” she said in an interview. “We want to make sure that everybody knows what’s happening and that we celebrate the good things that are happening.”

The SNCC is a coalition of chambers representing Niagara Falls, Port Colborne-Wainfleet, Welland-Pelham and Fort Erie. It works to provide advocacy, networking and business support across South Niagara.