An American daredevil's dream to walk a 550-metre tightrope over Niagara Falls may not be dead yet.

Nik Wallenda has a meeting scheduled Friday with Ontario Tourism Minister Michael Chan to talk about his desire to walk a tightrope above the world famous falls.

Chan's office confirms the meeting has been set at Wallenda's request, but declined any comment.

The Niagara Parks Commission has already turned down the 32-year-old acrobat, a seventh-generation descendent of the famous Flying Wallenda family of high-wire performers.

But Wallenda is appealing to the Ontario government for permission to perform his high-wire act over the Niagara River.

A dozen people have walked a wire across Niagara Falls, but the last one was 125 years ago.

Wallenda wants to run his tightrope from the Goat Island lookout on the U.S. side of the river, across the Horseshoe Falls to a paved terrace below the visitor's centre on the Canadian side.