With a plentiful and inexpensive source of hydroelectric power via the waterfalls, many electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical industries located here in the early to mid-20th century.
Industry began moving out of the city in the 1970s and 80s because of economic recession and increasing global competition in the manufacturing sector. Tourism increasingly became the city's most important source of revenue. Generally speaking, Niagara Falls, Ontario is a more popular destination than Niagara Falls, New York, in part due to the better view of the falls from the Canadian side of the river, combined in the past with a favourable exchange rate when comparing Canadian and U.S. currencies, and a greater focus on tourism. Also, Ontario's legal drinking age of 19, in comparison to a legal drinking age of 21 in the U.S., attracts 19 and 20-year-old potential alcohol consumers from across the border.
In the mid-1990s the Ontario government introduced legal wagering to the local economy with Casino Niagara. The late-1990s witnessed an economic boom as numerous luxury hotels and tourist attractions were built. The first casino was followed in 2004 by the larger Niagara Falls view Casino Resort. Upon launching, the casino business was successful in attracting American tourists due to the then lower Canadian dollar. The presence of these casinos has made Niagara Falls the "Las Vegas of Canada". The casino business is still very successful, but now competes with the new Seneca Niagara Casino on the American side. Closer to parity, currency has not seriously affected tourism due to the difference in overall offerings between the two countries, with Niagara Falls, Ontario having more attractions and a more vibrant downtown, compared with a prolonged economic downturn and an empty downtown in Niagara Falls, New York.
The recent development has been almost completely centred on the Clifton Hill and Falls view areas. The Niagara Falls downtown (Queen Street) is
