Niagara, Ontario’s Largest Local Chamber Of Commerce Merges With ‘Greater Niagara Chamber’

By Doug Draper

The largest local Chamber of Commerce in Niagara, Ontario has merged with a region-wide chamber in a bid to build a stronger voice for business in the region.

From left to right, Nancy Diamond, chair of the St. Catharines - Thorold Chamber of Commerce), Al Simpson, treasurer of the St. Catharines - Thorold Chamber, Steven Megannety, co-founder and director of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Watt co-Founder and chair of the Greater Niagara Chamber signing the official documents to complete the merger.

The merger of the St. Catherines-Thorold Chamber of Commerce with the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce occurred at a joint meeting of the two chamber’s board of directors with the signing this March 1 of a joint agreement that integrates  all of the more than 1,100 members of the STCC into a year-old GNCC that now represents more than 1,300 businesses across Niagara.

“Our goal is to establish the strongest business voice possible to advocate for business and prosperity in Niagara with all levels of government,” Mike Watt, chair of the Greater Niagara Chamber, told Niagara At Large following the signing of the merger agreement. “We have some issues here as a community that we need to deal with to prosper and GNCC wants to wants to wade into these debates,” Watt, who is also a senior executive at Niagara, Ontario-based Walker Industries, added.

Those issues include economic development, something Niagara’s regional government is has been wrestling to find a better way of addressing, taking better advantage of the border with the United States, reforming municipal governance in Niagara, advocating for a new business school at Brock University and other issues Watt says are key to the future welfare of the region.

Nancy Diamond, chair of the STCC, stated in a March 1 media release that her chamber’s members “provided clear direction with a resounding vote in November to proceed forward with a merger with the GNCC. … We believe that we have an agreement in place that reflects the rich history of our chamber, and at the same time, positions the Greater Niagara Chamber for tremendous long term growth.”

The merger agreement means all current members of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber will become members of the GNCC with current membership rates remaining in effect for a two-year period. Four members of the current St. Catharines – Thorold Board will succeed onto the GNCC board, and Chair Diamond has been appointed for a one-year term. 

“This is a historic milestone for Niagara’s business community,” added Watt, and “we applaud the members of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber for their vision – and we thank the Board of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber for their leadership.”

“As the final Chair of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber of Commerce, I take great pride in knowing that we did something as a board – and as an organization – that will have a lasting legacy on business in Niagara,” said Diamond. “It takes courage and conviction to do what our members asked us to do – and now businesses have a truly regional chamber that can focus on building a stronger Niagara.”

The history of the St. Catharines Chamber goes back to 1867 and Thorold Chamber was founded in 1889. Those two chambers merged in 2006. There are nine other local chambers left in Niagara in Niagara Falls, Port Colborne, Welland and six

The Greater Niagara Chamber recently held a binational summit with business leaders in Erie and Niagara Counties, New York to discuss opportunities for working more closely together for the benefit of communities on both sides of the Niagara River, and it is now s partnering with business organizations across the region to hold a Niagara Economic Summit on Wednesday, May 9th at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

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 From left to right, Nancy Diamond, chair of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber of Commerce), Al Simpson, treasurer of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber, Steven Megannety, co-founder and director of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Watt co-Founder and chair of the Greater Niagara Chamber signing the official documents to complete the merger.