Statistics Canada: 8,519 left Windsor 2006-7
By Justin Bondy
Lance Writer
October 15, 2008
 According to the 2006-07 Canadian census released by Statistics Canada, the city of Windsor has taken a sharp decline in population with a net drop of 1,744 residents: the worst in the country.
With so much of the city’s population on the out, the question to be begged is why?
Local candidates, up for election and re-election, cite each other’s party platforms as possible push factors for emigration.
Many residents have moved west, to cities like Calgary and Edmonton. Others have left due to job loss, and because of the perception that Windsor’s opportunities for stable work are dwindling.
It is this perception that students here at the University of Windsor claim to be the fire at their coattails after they graduate.
John Esposito, Green Party candidate for Windsor West and a UWindsor graduate, sees a fundamental lack of basic city services as partly to blame for the student exodus.
“I think the lack of employment opportunities definitely takes a toll on why people are leaving Windsor. The lack of investment in infrastructure has a role to play as well. People can no longer afford to drive in this city, and we have a highly inefficient public transportation system,” Esposito explained.
Esposito suggested that a shift in thinking is necessary in order to be noticed. “We need to diversify our local economy to transition into the economy of the future with green manufacturing opportunities.”
Indeed, green-collar jobs may well make up for losses in local manufacturing, especially with the auto industry closing assembly lines across the province. Windsor’s preexisting tool and dye plants could not be better poised for such a shift.
Esposito, though hopeful, maintains a solemn outlook on the situation if things do not change. “Until we become noticed, I unfortunately feel more and more Windsorites, especially students, will continue to leave in order to find employment opportunities elsewhere.”
The news, however, is not all bad for Windsor. The city’s art scene is nothing if not on the rise. The reopening of the Capitol Theatre seems to have hardened the community, and given it new life.
“Before I left I had noticed more and more small art galleries popping up throughout the city, and I was fairly disappointed these things were happening so late in the game for me,” said Bachelor of Arts graduate, Cara Giancavo.
“If the city kept up an effort like that in the future, only on a grander scale, I would have reconsidered leaving,” she added.
The city may very well keep up the effort. BookFestWindsor is due to hit the Art Gallery of Windsor on Oct. 30 for its seventh year. The event features authors and artists from around the world, and is free for university students who want to go.
The Red Bull air races may return to the riverfront—this time with the epicenter on Windsor’s side of the Detroit River—due largely to Mayor Eddie Francis’ efforts.
The future remains uncertain for Windsor, as always. Yet, even with the lively, upcoming federal election, the economic crises, and a newly declining Canadian dollar, recent UWindsor graduate, Heather Burnett says, “I personally think Windsor is as good a city as any to live in.”
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