Tariff Turbulence at the Bridge
Trade tensions, late-winter chills, and two cities sharing one very famous waterfall — welcome to Tuesday.
🌊 Tuesday, February 24, 2026
All the news that's fit to get wet
☁️ Weather — NY Side
Current conditions as of Tuesday morning, Niagara Falls, NY:
It's a classic late-February "why do I live here" morning on the American side. Temperatures are hovering in the upper 20s °F with a wind chill that is doing its absolute best to make you question every life choice. Skies are grey, which is fine because the Falls are grey too, and honestly, consistency is a virtue.
| Day | Condition | High °F | Low °F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Feb 24 | Cloudy, flurries possible | 32° | 22° |
| Wed Feb 25 | Mostly cloudy | 35° | 25° |
| Thu Feb 26 | Partly sunny | 38° | 27° |
| Fri Feb 27 | Chance of rain/snow mix | 36° | 28° |
| Sat Feb 28 | Cloudy, breezy | 33° | 24° |
Pro tip: Yes, that is a 32°F high on Tuesday. No, it is not ironic that the city named for a waterfall is frozen. This is just February being February.
🔗 National Weather Service Buffalo
🍁 Weather — Ontario Side
Current conditions as of Tuesday morning, Niagara Falls, ON:
Over on the Canadian side, it is also cold — but Canadians are legally required to say "it's not that bad, really" while wearing three layers and a toque they refuse to call a hat. Sitting around -3°C this morning with the windchill dragging things down to -10°C or so, which in Niagara Falls, ON terms means "light jacket weather" for at least half the population.
| Day | Condition | High °C | Low °C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Feb 24 | Cloudy, flurries | 0° | -6° |
| Wed Feb 25 | Mostly cloudy | 2° | -4° |
| Thu Feb 26 | Partly cloudy | 4° | -3° |
| Fri Feb 27 | Rain/snow mix likely | 3° | -2° |
| Sat Feb 28 | Cloudy and breezy | 1° | -5° |
The Horseshoe Falls are still thundering impressively despite the cold, because unlike the rest of us, the waterfall does not take snow days.
🗽 NY Side News
Rainbow Bridge Traffic Snarls as Cross-Border Trade Tension Bites
The ongoing U.S.-Canada tariff standoff is being felt very personally at the Rainbow Bridge, where commercial crossing volumes have reportedly shifted and some travelers are rethinking their weekly Tim Hortons runs across the border. Local businesses that depend on cross-border tourism and Canadian day-trippers are watching the situation nervously, hoping cooler heads (and not just the February temperatures) prevail before the spring tourist season kicks in. Nobody who has ever tasted a Timbits box wants that supply chain disrupted.
(WGRZ)
Niagara Falls City Council Eyes Budget Pressures Heading Into Spring
The City of Niagara Falls, NY is facing the perennial spring ritual of staring at a budget spreadsheet and making pained noises. With infrastructure costs — including the region's beloved, legendary, award-winning potholes — continuing to climb, council members are trying to balance service demands against a tax base that, let's be honest, has seen better decades. Public comment sessions are expected to draw the usual crowd of passionate residents, three people who will mention the potholes on Pine Avenue specifically, and at least one person with a very long printed document.
Niagara Falls Culinary Scene Gets a Late-Winter Boost
A couple of local restaurant and small business stories have been circulating in the Niagara Gazette orbit this week, with a handful of eateries on the American side working through the slow-season doldrums by launching new menus and events to keep locals coming through the door in February — statistically the hardest month to get anyone to leave their couch. If you haven't been downtown on the NY side lately, some folks are working hard to give you a reason. Support them before the tourists show up in May and you can't get a table.
Niagara County Legislature Monitors State Budget Fallout
With New York State budget season in full swing in Albany, Niagara County legislators are keeping close tabs on what trickles (or doesn't trickle) down to municipalities like, well, Niagara Falls and Lockport. State funding formulas for education, infrastructure, and social services are all on the table, and local officials are doing that thing where they write letters to Albany and hope someone reads them. Historically, the success rate of this strategy is "mixed," but optimism is free.
Artpark Announces Early 2026 Programming Teasers
Artpark in Lewiston is beginning to tease its 2026 warm-weather season, and the mere mention of an outdoor concert season is enough to make any Niagaran tear up a little in February. While a full lineup hasn't dropped yet, the anticipation of lawn chairs, cold drinks, and live music with the Niagara Gorge as a backdrop is the only therapy many locals need right now. Mark your calendars for the gorge view alone — the music is a bonus.
(Artpark)
🏒 Buffalo Sabres: Still Trying, Bless Their Hearts
The Sabres continue to navigate a season that has been, let's say, "a journey of growth and character building." As of this week, Buffalo is working through the back half of their schedule with the kind of gritty determination that Sabres fans have learned to admire because they frankly have no other option. If you are a Sabres fan, you already know the score — sometimes literally before the game ends — and you are watching anyway, which makes you a saint.
🍁 Ontario Side News
Ontario Premier Ford Pushes Back Hard on Federal Tariff Response
The trade war between Canada and the U.S. is very much a local story here, and Premier Doug Ford has been vocal about protecting Ontario industries — including the manufacturing and tourism sectors that matter enormously to the Niagara region. Niagara Falls, ON sits at one of the busiest border crossings in the country, and anything that slows that flow hits hotels, restaurants, attractions, and the guy selling Mountie hats on Clifton Hill right in the wallet. Local business groups on the Ontario side are urging both governments to sort it out before tulip season, which is non-negotiable.
Fallsview Casino Resort Keeps the Lights On (and the Slots Spinning)
Fallsview Casino continues to be one of the few places in Niagara Falls, ON where the energy of tourist season never really leaves — even in February, when the parking lot is half ice and the shuttle buses are operating with heroic determination. The casino's entertainment programming through the winter has been keeping locals and visitors entertained, and OLG Stage has shows lined up that give people a reason to put on real pants and leave the house.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Prepares for Shaw Festival Season
Over in the prettiest town in Ontario (NOTL's words, but nobody is really arguing), the Shaw Festival is beginning its pre-season preparations as the 2026 theatrical season approaches. The heritage buildings, the charming main street, the wineries — all of it starts buzzing again as the festival machinery cranks up. If you haven't booked your Shaw tickets yet and you wait too long, you will be That Person who says "we should have gone" every weekend from May through October.
Niagara Region Pushes Forward on Housing Development Files
Niagara Regional Council and area municipalities continue to wrestle with housing affordability and development approvals — a saga that has more chapters than a Victorian novel and roughly the same number of subplots. With growth pressure continuing and the province pushing for more units faster, local planners are busy trying to thread the needle between heritage preservation, infrastructure capacity, and the basic human need for somewhere to live. Progress is being made, apparently, though as with all municipal planning, "progress" is measured in fiscal quarters, not news cycles.
Niagara Falls (ON) Looks at Tourism Recovery Metrics for 2025
City staff and tourism bodies on the Ontario side have been reviewing 2025 visitation data as they plan for 2026, and the picture is cautiously optimistic — arrivals were solid, but the cross-border American visitor numbers are the wild card heading into this year given the current trade and diplomatic climate. Nobody wants to say it out loud, but the hospitality industry is watching the Canada-U.S. relationship the way a maitre d' watches a table that might not leave a tip: very, very carefully.
Grimsby and West Niagara: Commuter Rail Dreams Persist
The ongoing conversation about expanded GO Transit service into West Niagara — covering communities like Grimsby, Lincoln, and beyond — continues to generate both excitement and the particular kind of skepticism that comes from having heard this promise before. Advocates are pushing, Queen's Park is nodding, and commuters are continuing to sit in QEW traffic in the meantime. One day, possibly, a train. Until then, a podcast and a Tim Hortons travel mug.
📅 Events — Both Sides of the Border
Tue Feb 24 | Open Mic Night — The Exchange, Niagara Falls, NY. Evening. Local talent takes the stage at one of the Falls' best small venues. A great excuse to get out of the house and maybe finally play that set you've been practicing since 2020. (The Exchange)
Wed Feb 25 | Fallsview Casino – OLG Stage Entertainment — Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, ON. Check venue for show times and ticket pricing. The casino's entertainment calendar runs through the shoulder season, so check the OLG Stage schedule for whatever's on this week — it's reliably a good time. (OLG Stage at Fallsview)
Thu Feb 26 | Niagara Falls Illumination — Niagara Falls (both sides). Nightly. The iconic illumination of the Falls runs every evening — American Falls, Bridal Veil, Horseshoe — and it is free to watch from either shore. In February, you'll basically have the best spots to yourself, which is a genuine perk of off-season living. (Niagara Falls Illumination Board)
Fri Feb 27 | Friday Night at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino — Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, Niagara Falls, NY. Evening. Live entertainment and gaming on the American side — check the Seneca events calendar for this week's specific acts and show times. (Seneca Niagara)
Sat Feb 28 | Shaw Festival – Pre-Season Events / Box Office Open — Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. The festival grounds and box office are accessible for 2026 season ticket purchases and inquiries. Worth a drive to NOTL even just for the excuse to wander the main street and eat a good meal. (Shaw Festival)
Sat Feb 28 | Winter Weekend at Niagara's Fury / Journey Behind the Falls — Niagara Parks, Niagara Falls, ON. Hours vary — check Niagara Parks for current winter operating schedules. Yes, you can still go behind the Falls in February. Yes, it is spectacular. Yes, you will be damp. Worth it. (Niagara Parks)
Sun Mar 1 | Buffalo Sabres Home Game (TBC) — KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY. Check schedule for exact puck drop. If the Sabres are home this Sunday, there's no better way to end the weekend than watching them with 18,000 fellow believers. (Buffalo Sabres)
Ongoing | Artpark Winter Gallery & Grounds — Artpark, Lewiston, NY. The grounds remain open for walking and the gorge views are genuinely stunning in winter — fewer people, more drama. Check for any gallery programming. (Artpark)
🌉 Across the Border
This week, the story that ties both sides of the Niagara together isn't the waterfall — it's the border crossing right next to it, and the very grown-up conversation two countries are having about trade, tariffs, and whether being good neighbours means anything when politics gets loud. For a region that has literally built its identity on the idea that a river can connect rather than divide, the current climate is uncomfortable in a way that goes beyond February wind chills. But here's the thing about Niagara: it has seen a lot. The Falls predate the border, predate the bridge, predate every political squabble that has ever played out on its banks. Locals on both sides have family across the water, favourite restaurants across the water, hockey rivalries and shared sunsets across the water. Whatever happens in the capitals, the Rainbow Bridge will still be there in the morning, and so will the sound of the Falls — loud enough, as always, to drown out most of the noise. We'll be back tomorrow with more news, more weather complaints, and the abiding belief that two cities sharing one waterfall is a pretty good arrangement, tariffs or not.
🌊 The Falls — "We cover both sides so you don't have to cross in this weather."
📸 Feature photo by Manuel Silva on Unsplash
