No matter the tariffs, trade wars or political threats of the day, when the sun sets every night, Canada and America’s shared Niagara Falls will continue to be lit up as one.
“I hope it symbolizes that these two countries really do have so much in common, so much to share and that our mutual respect and admiration of the falls is a reflection of how we should really be with one another,” Niagara Falls, N.Y., Mayor Robert Restaino told CBC Hamilton.
He and his across-the-river counterpart, Niagara Falls, Ont., Mayor Jim Diodati, are two of 18 members of the Niagara Falls Illumination Board.
The century-old, Canadian-American collaboration ensures the continent’s most powerful and iconic waterfalls are awash in bright, colour-changing lights 365 days of the year.
Together, Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side, and American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls make up the Niagara Falls.
Following months of U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats, jabs about making Canada a 51st state and the uncertainty it’s all caused, Diodati said the cross-border community is feeling the strain.
“We have so much history, so many intertwined relations and economics that when something like this happens, it’s hurtful. It cuts,” said Diodati.
600 Niagara business export to U.S.
Fort Erie, Ont., Mayor Wayne Redekop said residents in the Niagara region are afraid what U.S. tariffs would mean for jobs and costs.
He spoke to Ramraajh Sharvendiran, host of CBC’s Here and Now, earlier this week. He said there’s about 600 businesses in the region that export to the U.S., employing 30,000 people, who could be impacted by Trump’s tariffs. But they also have friends and family living nearby, on the other side of the border.
“More than anything, we don’t want people to be pitted against each other,” Redekop said.
Watch | Niagara Falls, Ont., response to tariff threat:
Starting Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on most imported Canadian goods. The city of Niagara Falls is one of many regions that sit along the Canadian-U.S. border that are worried about the economic and personal impacts. CBC’s Naama Weingarten has the story.
Diodati told CBC Hamilton on Friday the message he’s heard from from his American counterparts on the illumination board, and in other offices, has been resounding.
“This is not the American people, this is the president doing politics,” he said.
“The lights will continue to shine brightly on the falls, and these two great nations will continue to be close friends and allies.”
Tradition dates back to 19th century
Niagara Falls was first lit up in 1860 with 200 lights strung along the rocks below to honour the visiting Prince of Wales, becoming a tradition for special occasions.
To make the practice official, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board was formed on Feb. 24, 1925.
The board is made up of representatives from both Niagara Falls cities, local power authorities and New York and Ontario parks’ departments, who meet quarterly. They’re responsible for financing, operating and maintaining the lights.
Their work is often done quietly. Diodati said he wasn’t even aware the board existed until he was first elected mayor a decade ago.
“I just thought the lights on the falls miraculously went on every night, you know?” he said.
Behind the scenes, the board — composed of half Americans, half Canadians — is busy reviewing illumination requests from charitable organizations.
“It is tremendously refreshing to see government at so many levels on both sides of the river work together to do what’s best,” Restaino said. “We should write [Trump] a letter and say, ‘Hey, come to a meeting, see how we get along.'”
The requests range from marking awareness days to holidays to global events.
For 15 minutes on March 15, the falls will be teal to recognize the impacts of long COVID and on March 17, they’ll be green for St. Patrick’s Day, says the Niagara Park’s website. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the falls were lit up in yellow and blue in support of Ukraine, Diodati said.
Next time the board meets, Restaino and Diodati both said they’ll pitch a Canada-U.S. theme as a statement of solidarity.
“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” Diodati said.
