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Our Unique Location

1/2 of North America Within An 8 Hour Drive

One of the most obvious advantages of the Windsor-Essex Region is our location, at the heart of the richest consumer market in the world, where more than half of the North American population lives within an 8-hour drive. In fact, the 10th largest market in the U.S., Metropolitan Detroit with its 4.5 million people, is less than one mile away across the Detroit River.

Distance to Major Centres

Metropolitan Area Centres Distance (km) Driving Time (Hours) Population
Detroit 1.6 0.1 4,468,966
Toledo 95 1.0 653,695
Cleveland 300 3.0 2,114,155
Toronto 340 4.0 5,113,149
Chicago 460 4.5 2,833,321
Buffalo-Niagara Falls 420 4.5 1,137,520
Washington DC 850 8.5 5,290,400
Ottawa 810 8.5 1,130,761
New York 990 9.0 18,818,536
Montreal 885 9.5 3,635,571
Philadelphia 940 9.5 5,826,742

Source: Yahoo Maps, Statistics Canada, US Census Bureau Note: U.S. population figures are estimates for 2006, Canadian population figures are from the 2006 Census.

The Busiest Canada - U.S. Border Crossing

The United States and Canada have the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world. Total trade between the US and ONLY Ontario was US$407 billion in 2004, of which 28% (or US$113.3 billion) crossed the Detroit-Windsor border. That's over US$300 million per day, making Windsor-Detroit the busiest border crossing along the entire Canada-U.S. border.

There are five surface border crossing points in Windsor-Detroit:

  • The Ambassador Bridge (which handles the majority of the truck traffic),
  • The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (which runs under the Detroit River),
  • The Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry (which handles hazardous materials that are prohibited from crossing via the Bridge or Tunnel),
  • A Railway tunnel, and
  • The Port of Windsor

In the Windsor-Essex Region, you will enjoy the safety and security of a small community, with big city amenities just a few miles away. Furthermore, all major league sports and concert events are just a few minutes away in Detroit.

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