Demographics Selected Ethnic
Origins, 2001 |
|---|
| Ethnic origin | Population |
| French | 75,780 |
| English | 62,210 |
| Irish | 42,645 |
| Scottish | 38,545 |
| Italian | 30,730 |
| German | 24,580 |
| Polish | 11,545 |
| Ukrainian | 9,190 |
| Visible minorities | 39,325 |
| multiple responses included |
In the 2006 Canadian census, the city had a population of 218,473 and its official metropolitan area (consisting of Windsor, Tecumseh, Amherstburg, LaSalle and Lakeshore) had a population of 323,342.[6] In March 2007, Statistics Canada released the latest census information and metropolitan Windsor's population had grown 7.3% since 2001.[7]
Windsor attracts many immigrants from around the world. Over 20% of its residents are foreign-born - the fourth-highest proportion for a Canadian city.
According to the 2001 census, the Windsor metropolitan area had a population that was 49.3% male and 50.7% female. Children under five accounted for approximately 6.3% of the resident population of metro Windsor, compared to 5.8% in Ontario and 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 metro Windsor compared with 12.9% for Canada overall. The average age in metro Windsor is 36.0 years compared to 37.6 years for Canada. The population density of metro Windsor is 1728 people per square kilometer compared with an average of 12.6 for Ontario.
Religion In 2001, there were 160,525 Roman Catholics (52.63 percent), 72,950 Protestants (23.92 percent), 10,825 Orthodox Christians (3.54 percent), 10,745 Muslims (3.52%), and 8,600 other Christians (2.82%). No other religions totaled more than 1 percent of the total population. A total of 33,730 residents (11.06 percent) identified themselves as atheist, agnostic, or did not respond, a low proportion for a large city in Ontario.
Transportation
- See also: Roads in Windsor, Ontario, and Bike trails in Windsor, Ontario.
New bus terminal opened in 2007. 
Interior of bus terminal. 
A VIA train at Windsor Railway Station.
Windsor is the western terminus of both 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 by Air Canada Jazz and heavy general aviation traffic. The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is located roughly 20-30 minutes across the border in Romulus, Michigan and is the airport of choice for many Windsor residents as it has regular flights to a larger variety of destinations than Windsor Airport [4]. Windsor is also located on the St. Lawrence Seaway, and is accessible to ocean-going vessels.
Local transportation is handled by Transit Windsor, the city-owned bus company, which shares its newly-constructed $8-million downtown depot with Greyhound Lines. The new depot was opened in late June to correspond with the Summer 2007 Transit Schedule.
Main article: E.C. Row Expressway
Windsor has completed a municipal highway, E.C. Row Expressway, running from east-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. E.C. Row Expressway is actually in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest freeway that took the longest time to build. It is only 16 km (11 miles) long but took more than 15 years to complete, hence the popular local saying "it's 16 kilometers long, took 16 years to build, and fell apart in 16 seconds". The expressway stretches from Windsor's far west end at Ojibway Parkway east to Banwell Road on the city's border with Tecumseh.
As Windsor's development has sprawled out along the banks of the Detroit river and Lake St Clair, the city is wider than it is deep meaning that the majority of development stretches along the water instead of in-land. Due to this trend, there is a severe lack of east-west arteries compared to north-south arteries. Only Riverside Drive (even though it is meant to be a scenic route rather than a commuter thoroughfare), Wyandotte Street, Tecumseh Road and the E.C. Row Expressway serve the almost 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the west end of Windsor eastward. All of these roads are already over-burdened with east-west commuter traffic from the booming development in the city's eastern end and suburbs.
CN 5588 the Spirit of Windsor on display at the riverfront.
The construction of the E.C. Row Expressway split the city in half. There are eight north-south roads (and expressway interchanges) of Huron Church Road, Dominion Boulevard, Dougall Avenue, Howard Avenue, Walker Road, Central Ave, Jefferson Boulevard and Lauzon Parkway. Including three bike trails that cross E.C. Row Expressway, the total increases to 11 north-south arteries. Traffic backups on some of these north-south roads at the E.C. Row Expressway are common, mainly at Dominion, Dougall, Howard, and Walker Roads as the land south of the expressway east of Walker is occupied by Windsor airport and there is 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 is currently under review at Howard Avenue and the CP Rail line. In both cases, the road will travel under the rail line and both will have below grade intersections with an east-west street. These plans are both parts of the "Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving" project funded by the Province of Ontario to improve local transportation infrastructure.
The city is connected to Essex and Leamington via Highway 3, and is well connected to the other municipalities and communities throughout Essex County via the county road network. Nearly 17,000 vehicles travel on Highway 3 on a daily basis. It is the main route to work for many residents of Leamington, Kingsville and Essex.
Tunnel entrance on Goyeau St.
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 at the Ambassador Bridge.
Windsor has an extensive bike trail network. Three trails have been built and extended (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.
Port Windsor is located on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System, on the Detroit River opposite Detroit, Michigan. The port is the third largest Canadian Great Lakes port in terms of shipments.[17]
[edit] Ambassador Bridge & Potential Third Crossing
Main article: Ambassador Bridge
Sports teams
The WFCU Centre is the current home of the Windsor Spitfires.
Windsor's sports fans tend to support the major professional sports league teams in either Detroit or Toronto, but the city itself is home to the following youth, minor league, post-secondary and professional teams. Many Windsor sports teams at the amateur level are sponsored by the AKO Fraternity.
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. Former 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.
