Fort Erie is where Ontario meets Buffalo, at the foot of the Peace Bridge. It is the natural place for a foothold on the Niagara River, and the place we most want to learn how the border really works for a small maker.
Aspirational. We have no presence in Fort Erie yet. This page says why we want relationships, partnerships and resources there, and what we hope to build with them.
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, which runs the Peace Bridge, calls it “the premier Canada/U.S. international border crossing”. On the American side of it sits a gateway that Invest Buffalo Niagara says handled nearly $79 billion in U.S.–Canada freight in 2025, across seven international ports of entry. For a small maker moving parts, prototypes or finished goods in either direction, the border is not abstract. It is brokers, paperwork and timing, and most of us have never been shown how it works.
| Reason | What it means for us |
|---|---|
| Facing Buffalo | The shortest path between an Ontario network and a New York one. A place where people from both sides can meet halfway. |
| Cross-border know-how | Customs brokers, carriers and the Bridge Authority carry knowledge that small makers rarely see: how goods are classified, what paperwork moves them, how long it takes and what it costs. We would like to learn it and share it plainly. |
| Incentives that exist | The Niagara Gateway Community Improvement Plan covers Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Port Colborne, Thorold and Welland. It offers property-tax-based grants of 40% to 100% for five or ten years, depending on location, plus relief on development charges for high-scoring projects. Whether a given project qualifies is a question for the municipality. |
| Land for logistics and light industry | The Gateway zone has roughly 2,000 hectares of designated employment land across those five municipalities, and Niagara’s own materials point to Fort Erie for cross-border trade, warehousing, logistics and light industry. |
| A reason to plan for change | The three countries’ trade agreement, CUSMA, went into its joint review on 1 July 2026 without being renewed in its current form; it stays in force, with annual reviews. Terms will keep moving. A region that shares a river and a supply chain will still be a region. |
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority | Operates the Peace Bridge, and keeps a list of the customs brokers that serve it. |
| Town of Fort Erie | The municipality: planning, employment lands and local incentives. |
| Niagara Region and Niagara Economic Development | Regional economic development, sites, and the Gateway incentive programs. |
| Customs brokers and carriers | The people who move goods across, and know what it takes. |
| Border agencies | The Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who set the rules at the crossing. |
If you ship across the border, work in customs or logistics, own or know a suitable building, or work in municipal development, we would like to hear from you. See also Greater Buffalo, on the other side of the bridge, and Hamilton, where we begin.
All places: Hamilton · St. Catharines · Niagara Falls · Fort Erie · GB · WNY · Dunkirk, NY · Rochester · Erie, PA.
Know someone, a building, a program or a partner we should meet? Write to office@niagaraassembly.com, or post it on the Board.
Please note: organizations are named here to describe the landscape. None has agreed to anything with Niagara Assembly, and naming an organization implies no involvement, partnership or endorsement. Figures come from the sources listed above and change over time; check them before relying on them. Trade terms between Canada and the United States keep changing. The geography does not.