St Catherines - Canadian CRB Program

St. Catharines, commonly referred to as the “Garden City”, is set on the shores of Lake Ontario and is nestled below the Niagara Escarpment in the heart of wine country.

While St. Catharines, with its population of 131,400, is only about an hour away from Toronto and 30 minutes from the United States, there’s plenty to see and do right in St. Catharines. A vibrant arts community, outstanding recreation and leisure amenities are all bundled together in a warm, friendly community making St. Catharines a great place to call home.

Public Transit

Looking for an alternative to a car for getting around? St. Catharines Transit provides bus service across all corners of the city. It also travels into the neighbouring City of Thorold.

All conventional buses are equipped with bike racks and all buses are accessible, with low kneeling entry and fold-out ramps. The St. Catharines Paratransit System is an extension to conventional city buses and operates to assist persons with mobility difficulties who cannot board a regular city bus.

All major routes converge at the St. Catharines Bus Terminal, downtown at 70 Carlisle St. between King & St. Paul.

The Brock Hub, a co-operative service provided by St. Catharines, Niagara and Welland Transit Commissions and Coach Canada is the HUB for bus travel in the Niagara Peninsula. From this hub located in front of the Schmon Tower, individuals can travel to any point in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland or Thorold or you can take a longer trip to Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Mississauga or Toronto. This service is available not only to students, but to citizens of each community.

Niagara Region Transit operates an inter -municipal, region-wide transit system, with stops in St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls, Port Colborne, Thorold and Fort Erie.

Trains & Busses

Both VIA Rail and Amtrack provide passenger train service to St. Catharines through the VIA Rail Station located on Great Western Street near downtown St. Catharines.

GO Bus service is available from Fairview Mall in St. Catharines to Niagara Falls, as well as eastbound to a host of stations between St. Catharines and Toronto throughout the year. Seasonal Go Train Service is available to and from St. Catharines on weekends and holidays between July and September. This service operates from the from the Via Train Station at Great Western Street.

St. Catharines is easily accessible by coach bus. Coach Canada, Megabus and Greyhound Canada all make regularly scheduled stops in St. Catharines.

Roads

Major highways link St. Catharines with Toronto and other Canadian cities, as well as to Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and other centres in the U.S.

The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is the main highway that links St. Catharines to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, as well as to Toronto.

Hwy. 406, – Highway 406 is the primary north-south route though the central portion of the Niagara Peninsula, connecting Welland, Thorold and downtown St. Catharines to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW).

Hwy 405 also known as General Brock Parkway, connects the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) near St. Catharines with the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge and the border to the US.

Through the QEW, access can be made to highway 403 and the 401. These highways provide access to points west such as London and Windsor and east to Kingston and beyond.

Air

There are a number of airports within an hour’s drive of St. Catharines including Hamilton International Airport, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Toronto Island Airport and Buffalo International Airport. Niagara District Airport in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake is primarily for private and charter aircraft.

Niagara Airbus provides shuttle between St. Catharines and Toronto International Airport, as well as to other airports in the area.

Health Care in St. Catharines

Residents of St. Catharines have ready access to a hospital, a rehabilitation centre, urgent care centres, and numerous walk-in clinics to meet their health care needs.

St. Catharines is home to a new, state-of-the-art, 375-bed acute care hospital which opened in 2013. The St. Catharines Site, located at 1200 Fourth Ave., is part of the Niagara Health System (NHS). The Walker Centre for Cancer Care and specialized mental health inpatient services both operate out of the St. Catharines site.

Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre is a specialty healthcare facility that provides rehabilitation, complex care and geriatric services to patients from the Niagara Region. It is located at 541 Glenridge Ave., in St. Catharines.

There are two Urgent Care Centres in St. Catharines. The first is at Niagara Health System – St Catharines Site – Hospital at 1200 Fourth Avenue. The second is the Prompt Doc Urgent Care Clinic located at 532 Lake Street, St Catharines.

Looking for a Walk-in Clinic? Check out the links for a location near you.

Need a family Doctor? The City of St. Catharines website contains a list of clinics that are accepting new patients.

The City of St. Catharines formed a partnership with McMaster University to establish the McMaster Niagara Family Health Centre (22 Ontario Street, St. Catharines). The centre is a clinical teaching unit designed to educate future doctors while helping to meet the needs of residents without a family doctor.

Education in St. Catharines

There are four boards of education with elementary and secondary schools in St. Catharines, offering instruction in English, French or French immersion. These include:

• The District School Board of Niagara
• The Niagara Catholic District School Board
• Conseil scolaire Viamonde (French public school board)
• The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud (French Catholic schools)

There are also a host of private schools and specialty schools to support the learning needs of children and youth.

Interesting in furthering your post-secondary education? St. Catharines is home to 3 public post-secondary educational institutions: Brock University; Niagara College; and McMaster University Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Niagara Campus.

Brock University, situated atop the Niagara Escarpment in St. Catharines, offers a multitude of undergraduate and graduate degree options and also has the fifth-largest university co-op program in Canada. Faculties include: Applied Health Sciences; Goodman School of Business; Education; Humanities; Mathematics and Science; Social Sciences; and Graduate Studies. According to the Globe and Mail Canadian University Report, Brock was one of Canada’s top medium-size institutions in terms of quality of education, quality of teaching and most satisfied students.

Niagara College, with campuses near St. Catharines in neighbouring Niagara-on-the-Lake and Welland, offers more than 100 post-secondary diploma and post-graduate certificate programs, skills and apprenticeship training programs and bachelor’s degree programs. It leads the way in hospitality and tourism education and is home to the Niagara Culinary Institute.

McMaster University Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Niagara Campus.

Looking for continuing education opportunities? Check out opportunities at Brock University Continuing Education; Niagara College Continuing Education; and Continuing Education at the District School Board of Niagara.

THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY

Whether you just love to spend time in the great outdoors or you are an avid athlete, St. Catharines’ wide range of recreation and leisure opportunities are sure to please. Take a leisurely stroll or go for a dip at one of the city’s three beaches. For walking, cycling and hiking enthusiasts there are many beautiful parks to explore and more than 90 kms paths and trails that criss-cross the “Garden City” and link to the Bruce Trail and Short Hills Provincial Park.

Visit Lock 3 of the Welland Canal to watch the ships navigate the locks and climb the Niagara Escarpment. While you are there explore the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre where you can get up close and personal with the Welland Canals, learn about the story of slaves in the U.S. as they traveled the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada and much more.

Want to experience more of St. Catharines rich heritage? Just a few of things you can do is ride the century old carousel in Lakeside Park or check out Morningstar Mill and get a glimpse back in time to when moving water was used to mechanically grind grain into flour.

Looking to shop? Enjoy the bounty of the Niagara area by making a visit to St. Catharines Farmers’ Market a weekly tradition. Visit downtown St. Catharines and its many shops and boutiques or check out the many stores at The Pen Centre, the largest mall in the Niagara Region, or the Fairview Mall.

Looking to celebrate? St. Catharines is home to special events and festival like the Folk Arts Festival, the S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival, the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and Canada’s oldest and largest wine festival, “The Niagara Wine Festival” which takes place in September in Montebello Park.

Check out the full range of events and activities at: Tourism St Catharines or the City of St. Catharines.

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