An EXCLUSIVE JimMayor A Sit Down With

By Martine Mackenzie

The City of Niagara Falls website says it best: “Jim Diodati is the mayor of the City of Niagara Falls, Canada. He is a life-long entrepreneur and leads with a passion that is relentless. Having established, owned, and operated several successful businesses before being elected mayor in 2010, he has used his unrivaled innovative style of ‘politainment’ as he calls it, as he reinvents what it is to be mayor. He has been at the helm for critical change-driving projects which have forever transformed the face of the Niagara Falls and will leave a legacy for generations of people.

Prior to the last election in 2018, Mayor Jim was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and underwent extensive chemotherapy over the course of that year. His strong track record of past achievements, a dedicated team, close knit family & friends and overwhelming support from the community saw him through to another term, in which he found himself leading the community through the challenging and critical times of the COVID pandemic. In the face of adversity, Jim has been known to carve a path where there wasn’t one before. He believed so strongly in things like GO Train coming to Niagara Falls, building a new South Niagara Hospital, and putting a University Hub in downtown Niagara Falls, that he just kept leading the way and bringing people together until they became a reality. His unparalleled zest for life is no more evident than when in the company of his family. He has three children - Olivia, Mya, and Jimmy.”

During your tenure as Mayor, what are some of the accomplishments that you are most proud of achieving with your team?

For sure at the top of the list is the new hospital. It’s a 3.6-billion-dollar center of excellence for healthcare because that will touch everybody in the community. We may not all go to the library, we may not all do different things, but everybody at some point will be touched by that hospital. I’m also very excited about the new university campus that will be in our downtown because we are going to have 10 000 to 15 000 students living and studying in our downtown and when you look at what happens to any community where there is a university or a college, it brings in new blood, it brings in new money, and it brings in a new energy and I believe that along with the Go Train is going to completely electrify our downtown and it’s going to turn it into the coolest area of the city where you’re going to go to see really neat shops, really neat entertainment places and the place is going to really come alive. It will attract and retain the youth.

I’m also thrilled about something that took years to accomplish and that is the building and opening of the OLG Stage – the new theatre at the Fallsview Casino with 5000 seats. It’s big enough to bring in some of the top acts in the world. I was thrilled to go see Rod Stewart and Billy Joel there and I’m hoping to see some other big acts, like Jerry Seinfeld. The other theatre was great but it’s just not big enough to be able to accommodate those big acts. This theatre has one of the top reputations in North America because of how it was designed with spectacular sightlines and sound acoustics which makes it as exciting for the performer as it is for the spectator. I think it adds that cachet to come to Niagara Falls and one more reason for it to be on people’s bucket list of places to visit. These are my top ones.

You’ve lived and worked in Niagara your entire life. You earned a bachelor’s degree from Western University in London, Ontario. You could easily have left the area for any big Canadian city and made a name for yourself there. What brought you back here? What is it that makes Niagara such a great place to settle down and raise a family?

That’s a good question. Originally, the reason I came back, because I didn’t have intentions of coming back, but I started a business in first-year university which was a College Pro Painters franchise. When most of my friends were doing Spring Break and going away on reading week, I was coming home doing estimates and my area was St. Catharines to Grimsby. I did that and it turned out to be a really good business for me and I ran that through university. Then I started another business in my last year at Western which I ended up running for several years. One thing led into the next. I was here, and I was committed for a number of years to run my businesses but then I took time to look around and I realized what was right and what was wrong.

I made a pledge that I’m going to get involved. I’m not going to just complain but I’m going to try and make things better. I started volunteering and started getting engaged. Volunteering led me to the elected official arena, and I made a decision after doing a SWOT Analysis of the area. I had to be brutally honest about why people were leaving; why weren’t they coming back; what was good, what was wrong; where were our opportunities. And I made a decision, that if

I’m going to stick around, I’m going to make it better for my kids which means I’m making it better for everybody’s kids and grandkids. I wanted it to be a legacy. It wasn’t about me. It was about Niagara Falls and the Niagara Region. I made a commitment. I’ve had other opportunities presented to me, but they never presented me with the opportunity of a legacy and that’s much bigger than me. It’s something that I feel passionate about and it drives me every day to jump out of bed and I never feel like I’m working. I’m working on a strategic initiative plan for the city so that we will be sustainable into the future. This is what floats my boat and pumps my tires. It’s about making things better. It’s making some tough decisions but filling in where we need filling in. That’s what is really driving me and gets me excited.

Niagara Falls, Ontario is synonymous with a great place to summer vacation. Tourists don’t often think of Niagara as a place to holiday during the fall and winter months. What does Niagara offer during this time? What are some its best kept cold-weather secrets?

This is great! I bring greetings to hundreds of conferences every year from all over the world and I turn it into a little bit of a commercial for Niagara Falls. I’ve only got them for a few minutes and they’re already here, so I don’t have to sell them on Niagara Falls. I have to sell them on the other parts of Niagara Falls that maybe they don’t know about. You know, it’s funny because when I was away at school (Western) and people would say, “Where are you from,” and I’d say, “Niagara Falls,” – they would snicker! And I could never understand, so I finally asked someone, “What’s so funny about that?” They answered, “I don’t know. Where do you live? Clifton Hill?” Some people just don’t realize that we are a regular city with schools and churches, and parks. I can’t believe how misunderstood we are because we are so famous for tourism. I’ve been many places around the world, and I’ve never met a person who didn’t instantly recognize us. I refer to us as the Coca-Cola of municipalities, but the main thing about it is because we are only 100,000 people, but we attract 14 million, we get the benefits of the big city that other places don’t. And because of those millions of tourists, we have great attractions, amazing restaurants and wineries and golf courses. There is so much shopping and people can cross over the river (into Niagara Falls, NY). We are the kind of community that still pulls over for funerals and where your neighbour will snowblow your driveway too.

When I’m on the stage, I tell people who ask, “when is the best time of year to come?” that it’s really a tough decision. Obviously, the majority of people come in the summer. The flowers are in full bloom, it’s warm and it’s sunny and kids are off school. But then, in the fall – autumn – when the leaves are fiery red and bright yellow and orange. Take the Zip-Line down the gorge or the helicopter ride. Those colors in the gorge are a mosaic – or a beautiful painting. Then in winter, come back again and you will see the mist freezing on the trees and on the fences and the buildings. Come after a dusting of snow and see the 3 million lights and the 75 animated displays for the Festival of Lights which is free. We had a tradition when my kids were young – we’d get a box of Timbits and drive through the park and really get into the Christmas and winter festive spirit. Come spring, the earth wakes up and you see all the cherry blossoms, and beautiful budding trees. Everything is in full bloom.

My suggestion is to come back for all four seasons because the four faces of Niagara Falls are uniquely different. They’re all exciting and beautiful, so I struggle to pick the best time.

We offer a buffet of fun and excitement! There is something here for everyone whether it’s a bridal party coming for their bachelorette, whether it’s a family looking for a vacation that’s affordable with some fun things like waterparks; whether it’s a romantic getaway and you want to catch some entertainment and dine, and stay in falls’ view rooms and take in some natural attractions as well – year round, we offer so much within a day’s drive from so many places. We’re affordable, we’re accessible, we’re safe and we’re fun! I can’t think of a better destination to bring your friends and your family.

Thank you so much, Mayor Jim!

You are welcome to join Mayor Jim on social media for daily updates and community information!