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Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada, lies at the western end of the heavily-populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor and is the seat of Essex County. It lies across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan, to which Windsor is linked by the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel for vehicles, and by the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel for rail traffic. Windsor's motto is "The river and the land sustain us." Windsor is located south of Detroit and marks the only border crossing where entering the United States from Canada involves travelling north. The current mayor of Windsor is Eddie Francis.

History

Windsor was first settled in 1748 as a French agricultural settlement, making it the oldest continually inhabited city in Canada, west of the Quebec border. The area was first named Petite Côte (Little Coast), and the site later became known as La Côte de Misère (Poverty Coast) because of the sandy soils near LaSalle. Windsor's French heritage is reflected in many French street names, such as Ouellette, Pelissier, Marentette and Lauzon. There is a significant French speaking minority in Windsor and the surrounding areas. Many of them are in the Lakeshore area. The current street system of Windsor (grid with elongated blocks) reflects the French method of agricultural land division where the farms were long and narrow fronting along the river.

In 1794, after the American Revolution, the settlement of Sandwich was founded. It was later renamed to Windsor, after the town in Berkshire, England. The Sandwich neighbourhood on Windsor's west side is home to the oldest buildings in the city including Mackenzie Hall, originally built as the Essex County courthouse in 1855. Today, this building functions as a community centre. The oldest building in the city is the Duff-Baby House built in 1798. It is owned by Ontario Heritage Trust and houses government offices. The Francois Baby House, built in 1812, houses Windsor's Community Museum, dedicated to local history.

Windsor was established as a village in 1854, then a town in 1858, and ultimately gained city status in 1892.

Demographics

In the 2001 Canadian census, the city had a population of 208,402 and its official metropolitan area (consisting of Windsor, Tecumseh, Amherstburg, LaSalle and Lakeshore) had a population of 307,877. The 2005 projectory census indicated a population of 340,000 inhabitants growing at an average 1.4% annually. Windsor attracts many immigrants from around the world. It is the third most diverse city in Canada with over 20% of its residents being classified as foreign-born.

Although the Windsor area is not officially enumerated as part of Metro Detroit by either the Canadian or American governments, unofficial population figures for Metro Detroit in marketing materials may include the Windsor area.

According to the 2001 census, the Windsor metropolitan area had a population of 307,877 people, 49.3 % male and 50.7 % female. Children under five accounted for approximately 6.3 % of the resident population of Windsor, compared to 5.8 % in Ontario and almost 5.6 % for Canada overall. Persons of retirement age (65 and over for males and female) accounted for 14.1% of the resident population in Windsor compared with 13.2 % for Canada overall. The average age in Windsor is 36.0 years compared to 37.6 years for all of Canada

In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Windsor grew by 5.4 %, compared with an increase of 6.1 % for Ontario as a whole. The population density of Windsor is 1728 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6 for Ontario.

The racial makeup of the population in the city of Windsor: White:82.8%, Arab: 3.6%, Black: 3.5%, Asian: 3.1%, Chinese: 2.6%. *

The top 5 ancestries recorded in metropolitan Windsor are British Isles origin: 35.3%, French: 24.8%, Italian: 10%, German: 8.0%, and Polish: 3.7%.*

According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census, more than four out of five Windsor city residents self-identified as Christian. This breaks down to 79.7% Christian (48.3% Roman Catholic, 23.9% Protestant, and 7.5% other Christian mostly Orthodox)*, 12.3% stating no religion, and minor religions including 3.5% Muslim, 1.0% Buddhist, and 0.7% Hindu. The relatively high Roman Catholic population reflects the large numbers of persons of French, Irish, and Italian origin in the city. Lebanese (Mixed Catholic and Muslims), Iraqi, and Arab populations number around 4% combined.

Economy

Windsor competes with Oshawa, Ontario for the title of automotive capital of Canada, with Windsor housing Daimler-Chrysler's Canadian Headquaters, and Oshawa housing General Motors' Canadian Headquarters. Its industries include the DaimlerChrysler mini-van assembly plant, several Ford Motor Company engine and casting plants, General Motors' transmission plant and the Hiram Walker Canadian Club plant, along with a myriad of smaller manufacturers that supply the larger plants. Windsor is also well known as a global leader in the building of molds for the plastic injection industry. Windsor tourist attractions include Casino Windsor, a lively downtown, Little Italy, the Art Gallery of Windsor, the Odette Sculpture Park, Ojibway Park, and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Windsor was a major entry point into Canada for refugees from slavery via the Underground Railroad and a major source of liquor during American Prohibition.

Labour union membership is very high in Windsor, and both of the city's current federal Members of Parliament are members of the New Democratic Party. The Canadian Auto Workers Union has a strong and influential presence in the city. Windsor is also home to the Great Lakes Regional Office of the International Joint Commission.

Transportation

Windsor is the western terminus of both Ontario Highway 401, Canada's busiest highway, and of VIA Rail's Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. The city is served by Windsor Airport with regular, scheduled commuter air service and heavy general aviation traffic. The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is located across the river in Michigan. Windsor is also located on the St. Lawrence Seaway, and accessible to ocean-going vessels.

Local transportation is handled by Transit Windsor, the city-owned bus company, which shares its Downtown depot with Greyhound Lines.

Windsor has completed a municipal highway, E.C. Row Expressway, running from east to west through the city. Consisting of 15.7 kilometres (10 mi) of highway and nine interchanges, the expressway is the fastest way for commuters to travel across the city.

The city is also connected to Essex and Leamington via Highway 3, and is connected well to the other municipalities and communities throughout Essex County via its County road network.

Windsor is linked to the United States by the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, a Canadian Pacific Railway tunnel, and the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry. The Ambassador Bridge is North America's #1 international border crossing in terms of goods volume: 27% of all trade between Canada and the United States crosses the Ambassador Bridge.

A current issue in Windsor is traffic around the Ambassador Bridge. The number of vehicles crossing the bridge has doubled in the past 15 years and, since the September 11, 2001 attacks, travelling through customs on the U.S. side takes much longer. The only way to access the bridge is from two municipal streets: Huron Church Road and Wyandotte Street. A large portion of the traffic is 18-wheeler trucks. There have been at times a wall of trucks up to 8 kilometres (5 mi) long on Huron Church Road. Huron Church Road cuts through the west end of the city and the trucks are the source of many complaints about noise, pollution and pedestrian hazards.

Windsor paid world famous traffic consultant Sam Schwartz to produce a proposal for a solution to this traffic problem. The city councillors have overwhelmingly endorsed the proposal and it was presented to the federal government as the solution that the city officially approves. Unfortunately, not all of the surrounding residents support the plan the city paid for. The problem with the plan is that the proposed roadway would cut through protected green space such as Ojibway Park. The federal government wasn't expecting the city to be able to agree upon a proposal of any sort and are now pushing for short term, cheaper solutions.

On November 14, 2005, the joint Canadian-American committee studying the options for expanding the border crossing announced that its preferred option was to directly extend Highway 401 westward, using a new bridge or tunnel to cross the Detroit River and interchange with Interstate 75 somewhere between the existing Ambassador Bridge span and Wyandotte. The exact route of this new highway connection has not yet been determined. *

Attractions

Windsor's nickname is the "City of Roses" and is home to the University of Windsor and St. Clair College. The university is just east of the Ambassador Bridge, and the college is situated along the main artery between the Ambassador Bridge and Highway 401. Windsor is noted for its several large parks and gardens found on its waterfront. The Queen Elizabeth II Sunken Garden is located at Jackson Park in the central part of the city. This park is home to a mounted Spitfire replica and a Hurricane replica.

Of the parks along Windsor's waterfront, the largest is the 3 mile (5 km) stretch overlooking the Detroit skyline. It stretches from the Ambassador Bridge to the Hiram Walker Distillery. The western portion of the park contains the Odette 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 Peace Fountain which actually 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.

Every summer Windsor co-hosts the two-week-long Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, which culminates in a gigantic fireworks display that celebrates Canada Day and the American Independence Day. The fireworks display is among the world's largest and is held on the final Wednesday in June on the Detroit River between the two downtowns. Each year, the event attracts over a million spectators to both sides of the riverfront.

Windsor has also been the place where many Detroiters find what is forbidden in the United States. With the minimum legal drinking age at 21 in Michigan and 19 in Ontario, a number of 19- and 20-year-old Americans frequent Windsor's bars. The city also became a gaming attraction with Casino Windsor's opening in 1994, five years before casinos opened in Detroit. In addition, one can purchase Cuban cigars, less-costly prescription drugs, certain imported foods, and other items not available in the US.

Parks and Recreation

Windsor's Department of Parks and Recreation maintains 3,000 acres of green space, 180 parks, 40 miles (64 km) of trails, 22 miles (35 km) of sidewalk, 60 parking lots, vacant lands, natural areas and forest cover within the City of Windsor, as well as the Bike Trails, Bike Lanes, and Bike-Friendly Streets. The largest park is Mic Mac Park, which can accommadate many different activities including baseball, soccer, biking, playground for children, and even a couple of water slides. Windsor has numerous bike trails that cris-cross the city.

Climate

Windsor has a continental climate with four distinct seasons pronounced with high humidity year round as it is surrounded by fresh water. The winters are cold and wet with an average of 42 inches (107 cm) of snow and temperature consistently below 32°F (0°C, with temperatures dipping as low as -13°F (-25°C) a few times a year on average. Windsor receives the least amount of snow in Eastern and Central Canada*.

Summers are warm and humid with temperature regularly reaching highs of 86°F (30°C) and sudden, short term thunderstorms often occuring. Windsor is Canada's leader in lighting days, haze, humidity, and days over 86°F (30°C). The summer high temperature can reach as high as 95°F (35°C) a few times a year on average. The strongest tornado to hit Windsor was an F4, in 1946, and was also the deadliest. Windsor was also the only Canadian city to be hit by a tornado during the Super Outbreak of 1974, an F3 which killed eight people at the Windsor Curling Club. Windsor was also grazed in 1997 by the Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak, with one tornado (an F1) forming east of the city, and caused some local street flooding.

Crime

Windsor's crime rate is very similar to those of other Canadian cities. Neighbouring city Detroit, Michigan has suffered police killings over the years and has a higher general crime rate than Windsor. While Windsor does have a smuggling problem, serious crimes such as murder and rape are low by Canadian standards, despite its first-ever cop-killing of Senior Constable John Atkinson on May 5, 2006.

Media

Because of Windsor's proximity to the Detroit media market, radio and television broadcasters in Windsor are accorded a special status by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission exempting them from many of the Canadian content ("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 number one radio station not only in Detroit and Windsor, but also in the Toledo and Cleveland markets.

Windsor is also exempt from concentration of media ownership rules: all of its commercial broadcast outlets are owned by a single company, CHUM Limited.

Radio

See also Detroit AM and Detroit FM radio stations in the Detroit market.

Television

See also Detroit TV stations in the Detroit market.

Print

Windsor and its surrounding area is served by the Windsor Star, a daily newspaper operated by CanWest Global Communications.

Sports Teams

Windsor's sports fans tend to support the major professional sports league teams in nearby Detroit, but the city itself is home to the following minor league, post-secondary and youth teams:

In addition to these teams, Windsor has been lobbying for a Canadian Football League franchise. This franchise (if awarded) would play its regular-season home games in Windsor and possibly their playoff games in Pontiac, a suburb of Detroit (though this is extremely unlikely). Current CFL commissioner Tom Wright met with Windsor mayor Eddie Francis about possible expansion to Windsor during the run-up to Super Bowl XL, in which Windsor played a major role although the game itself was held in Detroit. Shortly thereafter, media in the Windsor Star and other local news sources criticized this as an unrealistic pipe dream.

Sister Cities

Windsor has several sister cities in the world, with dates in parentheses:

Detroit, Michigan

Famous people from Windsor

Sports

Culture

Politics

Sciences

External links

1748 establishments | Metro Detroit | Windsor, Ontario | Essex County, Ontario | Busking venues

Windsor (Ontario) | ویندزور | Windsor (Ontario) | Windsor (Canada) | ウインザー | Windsor (Ontario) | Windsor (Ontário) | Виндзор (Канада, провинция Онтарио) | Windsor, Ontario | Windsor (Ontario) | 温莎 (安大略省)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Windsor, Ontario".

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