Windsor ( ) is a city in

southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

directly across from the U.S city of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southernmost city in Canada and marks the southwestern end of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city's population was 229,660 at the 2021 census, making it the third-most populated city in Southwestern Ontario, after

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Kitchener. This represents a 5.7 percent increase from Windsor's 2016 population census of 217,188. The

Detroit–Windsor The Detroit–Windsor region is an international transborder agglomeration named for the American city of Detroit, Michigan, the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, and the Detroit River, which separates them. The Detroit–Windsor area acts as ...

urban area is North America's most populous trans-border

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

. Linking the Great Lakes Megalopolis, the

Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border cros ...

border crossing is the busiest commercial crossing on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, carrying about one-quarter of the two countries' trade volume. Windsor is a major contributor to Canada's automotive industry and is culturally diverse. Known as the "Automotive Capital of Canada", Windsor's industrial and manufacturing heritage is responsible for how the city has developed through the years.

History

Early settlement

At the time when the first Europeans arrived in the 17th century, the Detroit River region was inhabited by the Huron,

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

and

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

. The land along the Detroit River was part of the Three Fires Confederacy between the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, Potawatomi, and Odawa and was referred to as ''Wawiiatanong'' or ''Wawiiatanong Ziibi'' meaning "where the river bends" in Anishinaabemowin.

Later settlement

A French agricultural settlement was established at the site of Windsor in 1749. It is the oldest continually inhabited European-founded settlement in Canada west of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The area was first named ''la Petite Côte'' ("Little Coast"—as opposed to the longer coastline on the Detroit side of the river). Later it was called ''La Côte de Misère'' ("Poverty Coast") because of the sandy soils near LaSalle. Windsor's

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

heritage is reflected in French street names such as Ouellette, Drouillard, Pelissier, François, Pierre, Langlois, Marentette, and Lauzon. The current street system (a grid with elongated blocks) reflects the ''Canadien'' method of agricultural land division, where the farms were long and narrow, fronting along the river. Today, the name of the north–south street often shows the name of the family that farmed the land where the street is today. The street system of outlying areas is consistent with the British system for granting land concessions. There is a sizeable French-speaking minority in Windsor and the surrounding area, particularly in the Lakeshore,

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and LaSalle areas. Duff Baby House

In 1797, after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the settlement of "Sandwich" was established. It was later renamed Windsor, after the town in Berkshire, England. The Sandwich neighbourhood on Windsor's west side is home to some of the city's oldest buildings, including Mackenzie Hall, originally built as the Essex County Courthouse in 1855. Today, this building is a community centre. The city's oldest building is the Duff-Baby House, built in 1792. It is owned by Ontario Heritage Trust and houses government offices.

19th century

The François Baby House in downtown Windsor was built in 1812 and houses Windsor's Community Museum dedicated to local history. Windsor was the site of a battle during the 1838

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

. It was attacked by a band of 400 Americans and rebels from Detroit who burned a steamboat and two or three houses before being routed by the local militia. Later that year, Windsor also served as a theatre for the

Patriot War The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and Decemb ...

. In 1846, Windsor had a population of about 300. Two steamboats offered service to Detroit. The barracks were still in operation. There were various tradespeople and other occupations, including bank agencies and post offices. The city's access to the Canada–US border made it an essential stop for refugee enslaved people gaining freedom in the northern United States along the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. Many went across the Detroit River to Windsor to escape pursuit by slave catchers. There were estimated to be 20,000 to 30,000 African-American refugees who settled in Canada, with many settling in

Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Ontario, Kingsville, Lakeshore, Ontario, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Ontario, LaSalle, Leamington, Ontario, Leamington, Tec ...

. Windsor was incorporated as a village in 1854 (the same year the village was connected to the rest of Canada by the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

), then became a town in 1858, and gained city status in 1892. The Windsor Police Service was established on July 1, 1867. A fire consumed much of Windsor's downtown core on October 12, 1871, destroying over 100 buildings. The ''Windsor Star'' Centennial Edition in 1992 covered the city's past, its success as a railway centre, and its contributions to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighting efforts. It also recalled the naming controversy in 1892 when Windsor aimed to become a city. The most popular names listed in the naming controversy were ''South Detroit'', ''The Ferry'' (from the ferries that linked Windsor to Detroit), ''Windsor'', and Richmond (the runner-up in popularity). ''Windsor'' was chosen to promote the heritage of new English settlers in the city and to recognize

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

in Berkshire, England. However, ''Richmond'' was a popular name used until World War II, mainly by the local post office.

20th century

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

, Ford City and Walkerville were separate legal entities (towns) until 1935. They are now historic neighbourhoods of Windsor. Ford City was incorporated as a village in 1912; it became a town in 1915 and a city in 1929. Walkerville was incorporated as a town in 1890. Sandwich was established in 1817 as a town with no municipal status. It was incorporated as a town in 1858 (the same year as neighbouring Windsor). Windsor annexed these three towns in 1935. The nearby villages of

Ojibway The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

and Riverside were incorporated in 1913 and 1921, respectively. Both were annexed by Windsor in 1966. During the 1920s, alcohol prohibition was enforced in Michigan while alcohol was legal in Ontario. Rum-running in Windsor was a common practice then. On October 25, 1960, a massive gas explosion destroyed the building housing the Metropolitan Store on Ouellette Avenue. Ten people were killed, and at least one hundred were injured. The ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'' commemorated the 45th anniversary of the event on October 25, 2005.

Climate

Windsor has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfa'') which closely borders a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

''Cfa'') using the isotherm for the Riverside weather station due to a January mean temperature being right about that temperature, with four distinct seasons. Among cities in Ontario, Windsor has the warmest climate. The mean annual temperature is at the Airport, Downtown, among the warmest in Canada primarily due to its hot summers. Some locations in coastal and lower mainland

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

have a slightly higher mean annual temperature due to milder winter conditions there. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Windsor was on January 29, 1873, and the warmest was on June 25, 1988. Riverfrontwalk windsor

Winters in Windsor are cold. The January mean temperature averages Airport, Downtown. Occasional bitter cold outbreaks do occur, often accompanied by

wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

s exacerbating the feel to exposed skin, these tend to be short-lived. The city occasionally sees lake-effect snow that originates from distant Lake Michigan. Snow cover is intermittent throughout the winter; on average, there are 46 days each year with at least some measurable snow falling. There are typically three to five major snowfalls each winter. Summers are very warm to hot and humid, with a July mean temperature of Airport, Downtown (with the highest climatological Summer mean temperature average in Canada). The humidex (combined feel of temperature and humidity) reaches or higher on over 70 days in an average summer; the highest recorded humidex in Ontario of , occurred on June 20, 1953 in Windsor. Thunderstorms are common during summer and occur on average 32 days per year, some of them severe with high winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, intense lightning, hail and less often, tornadic activity Windsor has the highest number of days per year with lightning, haze, and daily maximum humidex over of cities in Canada. Windsor has Canada's warmest climatological Fall season, with the highest mean temperatures for September, October and November. Precipitation is generally well-distributed throughout the year, on average driest in February, wettest in July. There are 2,261 sunshine average sunshine hours per year, or 52% of possible.

Flooding and other emergencies

Windsor experienced historic flooding in 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2016, the mayor of Windsor, Drew Dilkens, declared a state of emergency because of the disastrous flooding that occurred. In spring of 2019 Windsor applied for disaster mitigation funding following widespread flooding. A previous state of emergency in Windsor was called in 2013 when a fire broke out at a

plastic recycling Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. Recycling can reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling rates lag beh ...

warehouse. This state of emergency was called due to poor air quality caused by the fire. In 2017, Windsor was noted on Environment Canada's top 10 list of weather events. In late August 2017, Windsor faced a storm that left of rain in 32 hours.

Tornadoes

As the Canadian city with the highest number of days that experience severe thunderstorms and

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, Windsor has historically been subject to

tornadoes A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

and severe weather. Notably, Windsor is located in the middle of "Tornado Alley". The strongest and deadliest tornado to touch down in Windsor was an F4 in 1946. Windsor was the only Canadian city to experience a tornado during the

1974 Super Outbreak The 1974 Super Outbreak was one of the most intense tornado outbreaks on record, occurring on April 3–4, 1974, across much of the United States. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. It was also the most violent t ...

, an F3 which killed nine people when it destroyed the Windsor Curling Club. The city was grazed by the 1997 Southeast Michigan tornado outbreak, with one tornado (an F1) forming east of the city. Tornadoes have been recorded crossing the

(in 1946 and 1997), and waterspouts are regularly seen over Lake St. Clair and

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

, especially in autumn. On April 25, 2009, an F0 tornado briefly touched down in the eastern part of the city, causing minor damage to nearby buildings, most notably a CUPE union hall. Two tornadoes (an F1 and an F2) touched down in the evening of August 24, 2016, causing damage in parts of Windsor as well as LaSalle.

Cityscape

Ouellette Avenue is the historic main commercial street in downtown Windsor. It runs north–south, perpendicular to the Detroit River, and divides the city into east and west sections. Roads that cross Ouellette Avenue include the directional components East and West after their names. Address numbers on east–west roads in Windsor increase by 100 for each block travelled away from Ouellette Avenue and address numbers on north–south roads increase by 100 for each block travelled away from the Detroit River. In areas where the river curves, some numbers on north–south roads are skipped. For consistency across the city, all address numbers on north–south roads reset at either 600 for streets west of Walker Road or 800 for those to the east, where the road crosses Wyandotte Street (which roughly parallels the Detroit River). Downtown Windsor Ontario

Windsor's Department of Parks and Recreation maintains of green space, 180 parks, of trails, of sidewalks, 60 parking lots, vacant lands, natural areas and forest cover within the city of Windsor. The largest park is Mic Mac Park, which can accommodate many activities, including baseball, soccer, biking, and sledding. Windsor has numerous bike trails, the largest being the Ganatchio Trail on the city's far east side. In recent years, the city council has pushed for adding bicycle lanes on city streets to provide links throughout the existing trail network. The Windsor trail network is linked to the LaSalle Trail in the west end and is to eventually be connected to the Chrysler Canada Greenway (part of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

). The current greenway is a former railway corridor converted into a multi-use recreational trail, underground utility corridor and natural green space. It begins south of Oldcastle and continues south through McGregor, Harrow, Kingsville, and Ruthven. The Greenway is a fine trail for hiking, biking, running, birding, cross-country skiing and, in some areas, horseback riding. It connects natural areas, rich agricultural lands, historically and architecturally significant structures, and award-winning wineries. A separate landscaped trail traverses the riverfront between downtown and the Ambassador Bridge. Part of this trail winds through Windsor Sculpture Park, which displays various modern and post-modern sculptures. Families of elephants (see picture), penguins, horses, and many other themed sculptures are found in the park. Some other popular exhibits include the Chicken and Egg, Consophia, and Eve's Apple.

Economy

Windsor's economy is primarily based on manufacturing, tourism, education, and government services. The city is one of Canada's major automobile manufacturing centres and is home to the headquarters of

Stellantis Canada Stellantis Canada (formerly, FCA Canada, Inc. and Chrysler Canada) is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell ...

. Automotive facilities include the Stellantis Canada minivan assembly plant, two

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

engine plants, and several tool and die and automotive parts manufacturers. As of 2025, automotive manufacturing industries accounted for 7.3% of total jobs in the Windsor – Sarnia Corridor. The city's leaders warned the public of potential "catastrophic" repercussions to the economy, due to its reliance on the auto sector. Windsor has a well-established tourism industry. Caesars Windsor, one of the largest casinos in Canada, ranks as one of the largest local employers. It has been a significant draw for U.S. visitors since opening in 1994 (as Casino Windsor). Further, the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor contains 18 million people, with 51% of the Canadian population and three out of the five largest metropolitan areas, according to the 2011 Census. The city has an extensive riverfront parks system and fine restaurants, such as those on Erie Street in Windsor's Little Italy, "Via Italia". This is another popular tourist destination. The Lake Erie North Shore Wine Region in Essex County has enhanced tourism in the region. Both the

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

and St. Clair College are significant local employers and have enjoyed substantial growth and expansion in recent years. A full-program satellite medical school of the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

at the University of Windsor opened in 2008. In 2013, the university completed construction of a $112 million (~$ in ) facility for its Faculty of Engineering. Windsor is the headquarters of Hiram Walker & Sons Limited, now owned by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

. Hiram Walker founded its historic

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

in 1858 in what was then Walkerville, Ontario. The diversifying economy is also represented by companies involved in

pharmaceuticals Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

, alternative energy, insurance, internet, and software. Windsor is also home to the Windsor Salt Mine and the Great Lakes Regional office of the International Joint Commission.

Technology

There are a few established tech companies that have been in the region for years. Among them are Cypher Systems Group, a computer-based hardware wholesaler and software developer; AlphaKor Group, a technology company that provides IT services, custom software and mobile apps; and Red Piston, a media solutions company. There are also a few successful startups in area, including Sirved, a tech company that is building a restaurant discovery app; and Hackforge, a tech company that has built an app to compare hospital drive times, and has hosted a variety of tech-focused community events, such as a Wikipedia Hackathon. The non-profit WEtech Alliance provides startups and local entrepreneurs with resources to get new technology companies started in the city. In 2019, Dan Gilbert and Quicken Loans bought a building in Windsor with a plan to restore it. Once completed, Quicken Loans will employ 50–100 people, mainly in the technology sector. Many are hoping that this is a catalyst for more companies to establish tech business in Windsor. LG and

Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automaker formed in 2021 through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group, PSA (Peugeot S.A.) Group. The company's hea ...

have broken ground on a new alternative energy plant called Nextstar Energy.

Largest private-sector employers

Source: *

(approx. 3,500 employees) * Caesars Windsor (approx. 2,100 employees) *

(approx. 1,880 employees) *Sutherland Group Canada (approx. 1,350 employees) *AP Plasman Corp. (Build a Mold) (approx. 950 employees)

Poverty

Due to a strong reliance on the manufacturing sector, Windsor has experienced high levels of poverty and unemployment -- the highest in Southwestern Ontario. According to a study by an advocacy organization, Windsor West (one of Windsor's electoral districts) ranks 13th highest in poverty rates amongst the 338 federal ridings of Canada and 33% of its children live below the poverty line. Another researcher reported that Wards 2 (Sandwich/University District/West End) and 3 (City Centre) register some of the highest poverty rates at 44.65% and 44.94%, while wards 4 (Walkerville) and 8 (East Windsor) also register high poverty rates at 28.78% and 28.74% respectively.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Windsor had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. At the

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

(CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Windsor CMA had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Windsor attracts many immigrants from around the world. In 2016, in the city, 27.7% of the population was foreign-born, while in the metropolitan area, 22.9% was foreign-born; this is the fourth-highest proportion for a Canadian metropolitan area.

Visible minorities In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada ...

makeup 25.7% of the population, making it the most diverse city in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

outside of the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

. In 2016, Windsor's population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. Children under 15 accounted for 16.3% of the city population compared to 16.6% for Canada. Persons of age 65 years and over accounted for 17.6% of the population in Windsor compared to 16.9% for Canada. The median age in Windsor is 41.4 years compared to 41.2 years for Canada.

Ethnicity

Language

The population of Windsor is primarily English-speaking, with 88.5% of residents knowing only English and 8.8% of residents knowing both English and French.

Religion

Crime

Windsor has a low violent crime rate and one of the lowest murder rates in Canada. In 2017, the Crime Severity Index for the Windsor Metropolitan Area was 71.7, compared to the Canadian national rate of 72.9. Of the five safest communities in Canada, four of them are in the Windsor Metropolitan Area (Amherstburg, LaSalle, Tecumseh, and Lakeshore). Windsor has made national headlines for its lack of homicides. There were no homicides in the city for a 27-month period ending in November 2011. Since 2016, reports of sexual assaults within Windsor, have increased by 20%, reports of robbery by 23%, reports of breaking and entering by 3% and reports of motor vehicle theft by 13%.

Government

Windsor's history as an industrial centre has given the New Democratic Party (NDP) a dedicated voting base. During federal and provincial elections, Windsorites have maintained their local representation in the respective legislatures. The

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

also has a solid electoral history in the city. Canada's 21st Prime Minister,

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

, was born in Windsor. His father, Paul Martin Sr., a federal

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in several portfolios through the Liberal governments of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, was first elected to the House of Commons from a Windsor riding in the 1930s. Martin Sr. practised law in the city and the federal building on Ouellette Avenue is named after him. Eugene Whelan was a Liberal cabinet minister and one-time Liberal party leadership candidate elected from Essex County from the 1960s to the early 1980s, as well as

Mark MacGuigan Mark Rudolph MacGuigan (17 February 1931 – 12 January 1998) was a Canadian academic and politician. Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the son of Mark Rudolph MacGuigan and Agnes Violet Trainor, he was educated at Saint Du ...

of Windsor-Walkerville riding, who also served as External Affairs, and later Justice minister in the early 1980s.

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Herb Gray represented Windsor as an MP from 1962 through 2003, winning thirteen consecutive elections, making him the longest-serving MP in Canadian history. A bust of Herb Gray is at the foot of Ouellette Avenue near Dieppe Park in downtown Windsor. The Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway is named after him.

Current representation

The current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Windsor is Drew Dilkens. Windsor is governed under the Council-Manager form of local government and includes the elected

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, mayor, and an appointed Chief Administrative Officer. The city is divided into ten wards, with one councillor representing each ward. The mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer and functions as its ceremonial head. In August 2009, Windsor City Council approved a 10-ward electoral system for the 2010 civic election, with one councillor elected in each ward. Previously, there were two councillors elected in each ward, and there were only five wards. The plan doubled the number of wards, which had been unchanged for 30 years. At the provincial and federal levels, Windsor is divided into two ridings: Windsor West and Windsor—Tecumseh. The city is currently represented in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

by NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West) and Progressive Conservative MPP Andrew Dowie (Windsor—Tecumseh). In federal Parliament, Windsor is currently represented by

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

MP Harb Gill (Windsor West) and

MP Kathy Borrelli (Windsor—Tecumseh).

Culture and tourism

Windsor tourist attractions include the Windsor International Film Festival, Caesars Windsor, a lively downtown club scene, Little Italy, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the Art Windsor-Essex gallery, the Odette Sculpture Park, Windsor Light Music Theatre, Adventure Bay Water Park, and Ojibway Park. As a border settlement, Windsor was a site of conflict during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, a significant entry point into Canada for refugees from slavery via the

and a significant source of liquor during American Prohibition. Two sites in Windsor have been designated as

National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

: the Sandwich First Baptist Church, a church established by Underground Railroad refugees, and François Bâby House, an important

site now serving as Windsor's Community Museum. The Capitol Theatre in downtown Windsor had been a venue for feature films, plays and other attractions since 1929 until it declared bankruptcy in 2007. The theatre is now used for live orchestral concerts, lectures and dance performances. The Tea Party is a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band which has been based in Windsor since its foundation in 1990. Windsor's nickname is the "Rose City" or the "City of Roses". The Liebeszauber (Love's Magic) rose has been designated as the City of Windsor Rose. Windsor is noted for the several large parks and gardens found on its waterfront. The Queen Elizabeth II Sunken Garden is at Jackson Park in the central part of the city. A World War II era

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

was displayed on a stand in the middle of Jackson Park for over four decades but has since been removed for restoration. This park is now home to a mounted

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

replica and a

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

replica. Of the parks lining Windsor's waterfront, the largest is the stretch overlooking the Detroit skyline. It extends from the

to the Hiram Walker Distillery. The western portion of the park contains the Windsor Sculpture Park, which features over 30 large-scale contemporary sculptures for public viewing, along with the Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The central portion contains Dieppe Gardens, Civic Terrace and Festival Plaza, and the eastern portion is home to the Bert Weeks Memorial Gardens. Further east along the waterfront is Coventry Gardens, across from Detroit's Belle Isle. The focal point of this park is the Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain, which floats in the Detroit River and has a coloured light display at night. The fountain is the largest of its kind in North America and symbolizes the peaceful relationship between Canada and the United States. Fireworks DetroitWindsorIntlFreedomFest

Each summer, Windsor co-hosts the two-week-long Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, which culminates in a gigantic fireworks display that celebrates

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

and the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

. The fireworks display is among the world's largest and takes place on the final Monday in June over the Detroit River between the two downtowns. Each year, the event attracts over a million spectators to both sides of the riverfront. Windsor and Detroit also jointly cohost the annual Detroit Windsor International Film Festival. At the same time, festivals exclusive to Windsor include the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County Carrousel by the River and Carrousel Around the City, Bluesfest International Windsor and Windsor Pride. Following the 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Championship in

, Windsor successfully put in a bid to become the first Canadian city to host the event.

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

touted the 2009 race in Windsor as one of the most exciting in the seven-year history of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, and on January 22, 2010, it was announced Windsor would be a host city for the 2010 and 2011 circuits, along with a select group of major international cities that includes Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Perth, Australia and New York City. The event attracted 200,000 fans to the

waterfront in 2009. The Red Bull air races were cancelled worldwide for 2011. Dubbed the Great Canadian Flag Project, Windsor erected a flagpole to fly a 60 feet by by nine metres) Canadian flag in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canada. Spotlights illuminate the flag at night, with a smaller flag to fly during periods of strong winds. As of January 14, 2017, $300,000 had been raised for the project, including $150,000 from the federal government. Windsor has often been the place where many metro Detroiters find what is forbidden in the United States. With a minimum legal drinking age of 21 in Michigan and 19 in Ontario, a significant number of 19 and 20-year-old Americans frequent Windsor's bars. The city also became a gambling attraction with Caesars Windsor's opening in 1994, five years before casinos opened in Detroit. One can also purchase

Cuban cigars Cuban cigars are cigars manufactured in Cuba from tobacco grown within that island nation. Historically regarded as among the world's "finest", they are synonymous with the island's culture and contribute over one quarter of the value of all expo ...

, Cuban rum, less-costly prescription drugs,

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...

, certain imported foods, and other items not available in the United States. In addition, some same-sex couples from the United States chose to marry in Windsor prior to 2015, when

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

was legalized in all 50 U.S. states.

Media

Windsor and its surrounding area have been served by the ''

'' since 1888. The regional newspaper is the only daily in Windsor and Essex County and has attracted the highest readership per capita in its circulation range of any Canadian metropolitan newspaper. The ''Windsor Independent'' is an alternative newspaper published once a month. It features reviews, news, politics, arts, culture, and entertainment. Windsor is considered part of the Detroit television and radio market for territorial rights. Due to this fact and its proximity to Toledo and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, radio and television broadcasters in Windsor are accorded a special status by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

, exempting them from many of the

Canadian content Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (inclu ...

("CanCon") requirements most broadcasters in Canada are required to follow. The CanCon requirements are sometimes blamed in part for the decline in popularity of Windsor radio station CKLW, a 50,000-watt AM radio station that in the late 1960s (prior to the advent of CanCon) had been the top-rated radio station not only in Detroit and Windsor but also in Toledo and Cleveland. Windsor has also been exempt from

concentration of media ownership In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...

rules. Except for

Blackburn Radio Blackburn Radio, Inc. is a Canadian radio broadcasting group, which owns several radio stations in Southwestern Ontario. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the company is owned by 2061302 Ontario Limited, which is majority owned by Cogent Investmen ...

-owned stations CJWF-FM and a rebroadcaster of Chatham's CKUE-FM in Windsor, all other current commercial media outlets are owned by a single company,

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

. The city is home to one

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station, CJAM-FM, situated on the

campus. Windsor is also served by a few informational news websites including windsoriteDOTca News, a local news site; Radio Betna, a Middle Eastern community-based web radio station; and YQG Rocks, which is one of the only media to review entertainment shows since the retirement of

critic Ted Shaw. ''The Windsor Local'' is a local site and mobile app.

Education

Windsor youth attend schools in the Greater Essex County District School Board (prior to 1998, the Windsor Board of Education), the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire catholique Providence and Conseil scolaire Viamonde. Independent faith-based schools include Maranatha Christian Academy (JK-12), Canadian Christian Academy (JK-12), Académie Ste. Cécile International School (JK-12, including

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

), First Lutheran Christian Academy (JK-8), and Windsor Adventist Elementary School. The non-denominational Lakeview Montessori School is a private school as well. The Canada South Science City serves the Elementary School Curriculum's Science and Technology component. Windsor is home to four

recognized schools: Assumption College School (a Catholic high school), Académie Ste. Cécile International School (a private school), École secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse (a francophone Catholic high school), and Riverside Secondary School (a public high school). Kennedy Collegiate Institute and Vincent Massey Secondary School are renowned in Southern Ontario for their notable accomplishments nationally in mathematics and computer science. Kennedy was built in 1929 in the central part of the city next to Jackson Park. It is sometimes called the castle because of the unique architecture of its gymnasium at the rear of the school.

Post-secondary institutions

The

is Canada's southernmost university. It is a research-oriented, comprehensive university with a student population of 16,000 full-time graduate and undergraduate students. Now entering its most ambitious capital expansion since its founding in 1963, the University of Windsor recently opened the Anthony P. Toldo Health Education & Learning Centre, which houses the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. With the help of $40 million in Ontario government funding, the university also has recently finished construction of a , $112-million Centre for Engineering Innovation; a structure that establishes revolutionary design standards across Canada and beyond. The university is just east of the

, south of the Detroit River. In Spring 2011, it was announced the University of Windsor would move its music and visual art programs downtown to be housed in the historic Armouries building and former Greyhound Bus Depot at Freedom Way and University Ave E. The move intended to bring an additional 500 students into the downtown core daily. The university also brought its School of Social Work to the old Windsor Star buildings on Ferry and Pitt Streets, bringing an additional 1,000 students into the downtown. Windsor is also home to St. Clair College that has a student population of 6,500 full-time students. Its main campus is in Windsor, and it also has campuses in Chatham and Wallaceburg. In 2007, St. Clair College opened a satellite campus in downtown Windsor in the former Cleary International Centre. In April 2010, St. Clair College added to its downtown Windsor presence with the addition of its MediaPlex school. Together, they bring over one thousand students into the downtown core daily. The college also opened the TD Student Centre on the corner of Victoria Avenue and University Avenue in 2012. Cleary StClaircollege Windsor

More recently, Collège Boréal opened an access centre and small campus to their Ouellette Avenue location. This small campus offers access to many Collège Boréal programmes as well as immigration and integration assistance for francophones in the area. Collège Boréal is Windsor's only francophone post-secondary institution, providing service for a small but notable population of

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, ther ...

s within the Windsor-Tecumseh-Belle River area. From 1995 to 2001, the city was home to a satellite campus of the defunct francophone Collège des Grands-Lacs."New college goes hi-tech." ''

'', August 28, 1995.

Public libraries

The Windsor Public Library offers education, entertainment, and community history materials, programs, and services. The main branch coordinates a

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

program for adults who need functional literacy upgrading. The local historical archives are here.

Health systems

There are two hospitals in Windsor: Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, formally Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital, and Windsor Regional Hospital. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is the result of an amalgamation of Grace Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu in 1994. The merger occurred due to the

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

's province-wide policy to consolidate resources into Local Health Integrated Networks, or LHINs. This was to eliminate duplicate services and allocate resources more efficiently across the region. The policy resulted in the closure of many community-based and historically important hospitals across the province. At this time, Hotel-Dieu Hospital does not do surgeries, nor does it have emergency room services. Its focus has moved away from traditional hospital services and provides more supportive healthcare. Windsor Regional Hospital has formal and informal agreements with Detroit-area hospitals. For instance,

pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

is no longer performed in Windsor. Leamington District Memorial Hospital in

Leamington, Ontario Leamington ( ) is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 29,680 in the Canada 2021 Census, it forms the second largest urban centre in Windsor-Essex County after Windsor, Ontario. It includes Point Pelee Nationa ...

serves much of Essex County and, along with the Windsor institutions, shares resources with the

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

Health Alliance. Over eighteen thousand Windsor residents are employed in the health care profession.

Transportation

Windsor is the western terminus of both

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

, Canada's busiest highway, and

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

's Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. Windsor's Via station is the nation's sixth-busiest in terms of passenger volumes. Windsor has a municipal highway, E.C. Row Expressway, running east–west through the city. Consisting of of highway and nine interchanges, the expressway is the fastest way for commuters to travel across the city. E.C. Row Expressway is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest freeway, which took the longest time to build, as it took more than 15 years to complete. The expressway stretches from Windsor's far west end at Ojibway Parkway east to Banwell Road on the city's border with Tecumseh. The majority of development in the city of Windsor and the neighbouring town of Tecumseh stretches along the water instead of inland. As a result, there is a lack of major east–west arteries compared to north–south arteries. Only Riverside Drive, Wyandotte Street, Tecumseh Road, County Road 42/Cabana Road and the E.C. Row Expressway serve the almost from the west end of Windsor eastward. All of these roads, especially the E.C. Row Expressway, are burdened with east–west commuter traffic from the development in the city's east end and suburbs further east. There are eight north–south roads interchanging with the expressway: Huron Church Road, Dominion Boulevard, Dougall Avenue, Howard Avenue, Walker Road, Central Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, and Lauzon Parkway. Traffic backups on some of these north–south roads at the E.C. Row Expressway are common, mainly at Dominion, Dougall, Howard, and Walker as the land south of the expressway and east of Walker is occupied by Windsor airport and there has been little development. Windsor's many rail crossings intersect with these north–south thoroughfares. In October 2008, the Province of Ontario completed a grade separation at Walker Road and the CP Rail line. Another grade separation was completed in November 2010 at Howard Avenue and the CP Rail line. In both cases, the road travels under the rail line, and both have below-grade intersections with an east–west street. These were planned as parts of the "Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving" project funded by the Province of Ontario to improve local transportation infrastructure. Windsor is connected to

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and Leamington via Highway 3 and is well connected to the other municipalities and communities throughout Essex County via the

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

network. Nearly 20,000 vehicles travel on Highway 3 in Essex County daily. It is the main route to work for many Leamington, Kingsville and Essex residents. Windsor is linked to the United States by the

, the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel, a

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, and the Detroit–Windsor Truck Ferry. In terms of goods volume, the Ambassador Bridge is North America's No. 1 international border crossing: 27% of all trade between Canada and the United States crosses at the Ambassador Bridge. Windsor has a bike trail network including the ( Riverfront Bike Trail, Ganatchio Bike Trail, and Little River Extension). They have become a blend of parkland and transportation, as people use the trails to commute to work or across downtown on their bicycles.

Airports

The city is served by Windsor International Airport, a regional airport with scheduled commuter air service by Air Canada Express,

Porter Airlines Porter Airlines (stylized in Letter case#All lowercase, all lowercase as porter) is a Canadian airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in Toronto. It is the third largest airline in Canada, behind Air Canada and WestJet. Owned ...

, WestJet, and Sunwing, along with heavy

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

traffic. The majority of destinations are within Ontario except seasonal routes to

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

and a variety of

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

destinations. The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is approximately across the border in

Romulus, Michigan Romulus is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Romulus is a western suburb of Metro Detroit and is also considered part of the Dow ...

and is the airport of choice for many Windsor residents as it has regular flights to a larger variety of destinations than Windsor Airport. Shuttle buses and cars are within driving distance to larger airports like London International Airport,

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport , or simply Hamilton Airport, is an international airport in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The airport is part of the neighbourhood of Mount Hope, southwest of Downtown Hamilton and southwest of Tor ...

and to Canada's busiest airport and international hub

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

Waterways

The Port of Windsor, which covers of shoreline along the Detroit River, is part of the Great Lakes/Saint Lawrence Seaway System. Accessible to both

Lake freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the ...

s and ocean-going vessels, the port is the third largest Canadian Great Lakes port in terms of shipments behind only

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

. Cargos include a wide range of products such as aggregates, salt, grain, fluorspar, lumber, steel, petroleum, vehicles and heavy lift equipment.

Transit

Bus

public transport bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications o ...

is provided by Transit Windsor, the city-owned bus company, operating 15 fixed bus routes with a fleet of 114 vehicles through the city as well as providing transportation for many of the city's secondary school students and a service to downtown Detroit. Transit Windsor shares its newly constructed $8 million downtown Transit Terminal with

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

. The new depot opened in 2007. The tunnel bus will no longer exist after August 2025.

Rail

Windsor has a long history with rail travel in both passenger service and freight due to the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel.

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

passenger railway service is provided by

throughout the region via the Windsor Railway Station. The region also used to have a second station, the Windsor Michigan Central Railroad Depot before it was destroyed in a fire which historically served the Canada Southern Railway,

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Bridges to Detroit

A major and controversial issue is the amount of traffic to and from the Ambassador Bridge. The number of vehicles crossing the bridge has doubled since 1990. However, the total volume of traffic has been declining since the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Access to the Ambassador Bridge is via two municipal roads: Huron Church Road and Wyandotte Street. A large portion of the traffic consists of tractor-trailers. There have been, at times, a wall of trucks up to long on Huron Church Road. This road cuts through the city's west end, and the trucks are the source of many complaints about noise, pollution and pedestrian hazards. In 2003, a single mother of three, Jacqueline Bouchard, was struck and killed by a truck at the corner of Huron Church and Girardot Avenue in front of Assumption College Catholic High School, a tragedy argued to be due to a lack of practical safety precautions. Windsor City Council hired traffic consultant Sam Schwartz to produce a proposal for a solution to this traffic problem. City councillors overwhelmingly endorsed the proposal and it was presented to the federal government as a "Made in Windsor" solution. Not all of the surrounding residents supported the plan. One problem with the plan is the proposed road would cut through protected green spaces such as the Ojibway Prairie Reserve. In 2005, the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC — a joint Canadian-American committee studying the options for expanding the border crossing) announced its preferred option was to extend

directly westward to a new bridge spanning the Detroit River and interchange with Interstate 75 somewhere between the existing Ambassador Bridge span and Wyandotte. On April 9, 2010, the City of Windsor, along with local cabinet ministers Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello of the Province of Ontario, announced a final decision had been made in the plans to construct the Windsor-Essex Parkway, the new Highway 401 extension leading to a future crossing. The announcement indicated the project would be the most expensive road ever built in Canada on a per kilometre basis. It included commitments to enhance green space design through the use of berming, landscaping, and other aesthetic treatments. As part of negotiations with the City of Windsor (who threatened legal action in pursuit of more tunnelling and green space of the route), the province agreed to additional funding to infrastructure projects in Windsor-Essex; this includes money for the improvement of the plaza of the Canadian side of the Windsor-Detroit tunnel, the widening and other improvements of Walker Rd between Division Rd and E.C. Row Expressway, and the environmental assessment and preliminary design of a future extension of Lauzon Parkway to Highway 401.

Twin towns – sister cities

Windsor has several

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

Sports

Windsor's sports fans tend to support the major professional sports league teams in either Detroit or

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Still, the city itself is home to one professional team, the Windsor Express of the Basketball Super League. The Express was an expansion team of the National Basketball League (NBL) that began play in the 2012–13 season, with home games played at the WFCU Centre. On April 17, 2014, the Express won their first championship of NBL-Canada against the Island Storm in the 7th game of their final series, 121–106. Windsor is also home for the following youth, minor league and post-secondary teams Windsor is also home to youth soccer teams like Windsor FC Nationals and other leagues like the Windsor Roller Derby league.

Former teams

* Windsor Bulldogs ( OHA Senior A Hockey League) 1953–1964, won 1963

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...

* Windsor St. Clair Saints (Major League Hockey Senior "AAA"/ CCAA) * Windsor Royals/Bulldogs (

Western Ontario Hockey League The Western Ontario Hockey League (WOHL) was a junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association from 1969 until 2007. In 2007, the league became a division of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junior Hoc ...

) now known as LaSalle Vipers * Windsor Bulldogs ( Canadian Professional Hockey League) 1920s and 1930s * Windsor Hornets (Canadian Professional Hockey League) 1920s * Windsor Gotfredsons ( International Hockey League) 1940s * Windsor Spitfires (International Hockey League) 1940s * Windsor Rockets/Royals ( Ontario Rugby Football Union) 1940s and 1950s * Windsor Warlocks (

Major Series Lacrosse Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league with 7 teams based in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The league championship team each year goes on to play against the champions of the Western Lac ...

) 2004 * Windsor Clippers ( OLA Senior B Lacrosse League) 1960s * Windsor Warlocks ( OLA Junior A Lacrosse League) 1970s * Windsor Warlocks ( OLA Junior B Lacrosse League) 1980s * Windsor Mariners ( Ontario Australian Football League) 2000s * Windsor and District Soccer League

Canadian Premier League

On the 10th of January 2022, it was announced Windsor would be the home of a new

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

team. The announcement saw the league's first commissioner, David Clanachan, step down from his position to focus on bringing a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team to his hometown.

International sporting events

* Windsor hosted rounds of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in 2009 and 2010 (Detroit hosted the race in 2008). The races took place on a course of pylons set up on the Detroit River, right over the border between Canada and the United States. * The 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) "Short Course Worlds" took place in Windsor. * Windsor hosted World Junior Baseball Championship in 1986, 1987 and 1993.

Notable people

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{Portal bar, France, North America, History, Ontario, Canada 1749 establishments in North America Busking venues Cities in Ontario Detroit River Ontario populated places on Lake St. Clair Catholic missions of New France Ontario populated places on the Detroit River Populated places established in 1749 Port settlements in Ontario Single-tier municipalities in Ontario