Windsor, Ontario
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Windsor (Template:Coor dm; EST), the southernmost city in Canada, lies at the western end of the heavily-populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the county seat of Essex County, Ontario and lies across the Detroit River and Lake St Clair from Detroit, Michigan, to which Windsor is linked by bridge and tunnels. The 2001 Census put the population of Windsor at 208,402, and its metropolitan area's population at 307,877. Windsor's motto is "The river and the land sustain us." It is the only point along Canada's southern border where one enters the United States by heading north.
Windsor was first settled in the mid-1720s after farms started getting too far from the protection of a fort in Detroit making it the oldest continually inhabited European city in Canada, west of the Quebec border. The area was first named Petite Cote (Little Coast), the site later became known as la Cote de Misere (The Misery 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.
Windsor's nickname is the "City of Roses", and it has several large parks on the waterfront, extending uninterrupted from the Ambassador Bridge to Hiram Walker's Canadian Club plant. Of particular mention are the gardens at Jackson Park, where an actual Lancaster Bomber was mounted on a concrete pedestal. It was taken off its pedestal after 40 years on May 26, 2005. The plane will be restored and in its place will be mounted 2 Spitfires. It is also home to the University of Windsor and St. Clair College. The university campus is just east of the Ambassador Bridge, and the college campus is situated along the main artery between the Ambassador Bridge and the 401 Highway.
Windsor competes with Oshawa, Ontario for the title of automotive capital of Canada, due in large part to its proximity to Detroit. Its industries include DaimlerChrysler's minivan assembly plant, several Ford Motor Company engine and casting plants, General Motors' transmission plant and Hiram Walker's Canadian Club plant, along with a myriad of smaller manufacturers that supply the larger plants. Windsor tourist attractions include Casino Windsor, a lively downtown, 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.
Every summer Windsor participates in the 2-week long Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival that culminates in a gigantic fireworks display that celebrates Canada Day and the American Independence Day. The fireworks display is among the worlds largest and is held the Wednesday, before Canada Day, on the Detroit River between Detroit's Renaissance Center and Windsor's Festival Plaza, and each year attracts over a million spectators to Windsor's riverfront parks.
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.
Windsor is also home to the Great Lakes Regional Office of the International Joint Commission.
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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 requirements most broadcasters in Canada are required to follow.
Demographics
The racial structure of the city is:
- Caucasian: 81.4%
- Arab: 3.6%
- Black: 3.5%
- South Asian: 2.7%
- Chinese: 2.5%
- Aboriginal: 1.4%
- Southeast Asian: 1.3%
- Filipino: 1.1%
- Latin American: 1.0%
Religious denominations include:
- Catholic: 48.3%
- Protestant: 23.9%
- Christian Orthodox: 4.3%
- Other Christian: 3.2%
- Muslim: 4.8%
- No religion: 12.3%
The age break down:
- 0-14 years: 20.0%
- 15-64 years: 67.5%
- 65 years and over: 12.5%
Transportation
Windsor is the western terminus of Ontario Highway 401, Canada's busiest highway, and of VIA Rail's Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. The city is served by the Windsor Airport with regular, scheduled commuter air service and heavy general aviation traffic, and by the Detroit Airport across the river in the U.S. It is also located on the St. Lawrence Seaway, and accessible to ocean-going vessels.
Windsor is linked to the United States by the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and a Canadian Pacific Railway tunnel. 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.
Famous people from Windsor
- Oshiomogho Atogwe, NFL football player
- Bob Boughner, NHL hockey player
- Shaughnessy Cohen, former Liberal Member of Parliament
- Joe Comartin, NDP Member of Parliament
- Tie Domi, NHL hockey player
- Ernie Eves, former premier of Ontario
- Marty Gervais, poet and publisher
- Barbara Gowdy, novelist
- Herb Gray, former Liberal Member of Parliament and former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
- Blake Harper, erotic film actor
- Richie Hawtin, techno musician
- David H. Hubel, research scientist
- Ed Jovanovski, NHL hockey player
- Steven Langdon, former NDP Member of Parliament and NDP leadership candidate
- Mike Lazaridis, research scientist and CEO of Research in Motion
- Howard McCurdy, former NDP Member of Parliament and NDP leadership candidate
- Trevor Malcolm, former bassist for the Butthole Surfers
- Paul Martin, Canada's current prime minister
- Brian Masse, NDP Member of Parliament
- Steve Moore, NHL hockey player
- Oliver Platt, television and film actor
- Joel Quenneville, NHL hockey player
- Tamia, R&B singer
- Shania Twain, country/pop singer
- Ron Wilson, NHL hockey coach
External link
- Windsor City Home Page (http://www.citywindsor.ca/)
| North: Detroit, Michigan | ||
| West: Detroit, Michigan | Windsor | East: Tecumseh |
| South: Lasalle |