Current Time in Windsor, Canada

Windsor stands at the extreme southern tip of Ontario, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly opposite the American city of Detroit. It is the southernmost city in Canada, lying further south than parts of northern California, and its flat, fertile surroundings between Lake St Clair and Lake Erie enjoy one of the mildest climates in the country. From the riverfront parks, the towers of Detroit rise across the water in a view unlike any other in Canada, where the neighbour to the north is in fact the United States.

Around two hundred and thirty thousand people live in the city, with more than four hundred thousand in the wider region. Windsor is the automotive capital of Canada. Assembly plants have built cars and minivans here for over a century, engine factories and hundreds of tool, die and mould shops supply the North American industry, and the sector shapes the rhythm of local life. Agriculture is also important, with the greenhouse belt nearby producing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers on an enormous scale, and cross-border trade, health care, education and tourism round out the economy.

French settlers established farms along the river in 1749, making the Sandwich district one of the oldest continuously inhabited European settlements in Canada west of Montreal, and narrow ribbon farms running back from the water still shape the street pattern. The area saw fighting during the War of 1812 and served as a terminus of the Underground Railroad, where thousands of people escaping slavery in the United States crossed to freedom. Distilling, shipbuilding and then the motor industry drove growth, and during American prohibition Windsor became notorious as a centre of rum running across the river.

Visitors enjoy a beautifully landscaped riverfront with sculpture parks, gardens and a long walking and cycling path facing the Detroit skyline. Caesars Windsor is a large casino and entertainment complex, and the historic Walkerville district, built around the distillery that produces Canadian Club whisky, offers tours, Victorian architecture and independent restaurants. The Art Gallery of Windsor, the Chimczuk Museum and sites commemorating Black history are all downtown. Outside the city lie Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost mainland point in Canada and a world-renowned spot for bird and monarch butterfly migration, and the wineries of Essex County and Pelee Island.

Windsor is strikingly multicultural, with long-established Italian, Lebanese, Chinese, Indian and Serbian communities among many others, reflected in an excellent and inexpensive food scene. Its cultural calendar includes summer festivals along the river and a famously enthusiastic hockey following.

The Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the new international bridge together form the busiest commercial border crossing in North America, and rail, bus and a regional airport provide further links. The University of Windsor and St Clair College bring a large student population, including many from abroad.

Windsor is important as a border gateway, an industrial centre and a warm, welcoming corner of Canada.