Location and Proximity to Markets

Windsor-Essex is situated at the heart of the richest consumer market in the world, with more than 200 million people located within a 13-hour drive.

The busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing

As the gateway to North America, our region hosts four Canada-U.S. surface crossings:

We also have a fifth crossing, the Gordie Howe International Bridge set to be completed in 2024. The Windsor-Detroit crossing is the busiest commercial border crossing between Canada and the U.S., handling approximately one-third of all trade between the two countries (about $1 billion per day).

Unparalleled market access

Windsor-Essex's strategic location provides unparalleled market access to dozens of major metropolitan areas, with millions of consumers. It's a true gateway to North America.

Distance to major centres
City	Distance to centre (km)	Driving time (hours)	Population
Detroit	1.6	0.1	672,662
Toledo	95	1.0	274,975
Cleveland	300	3.0	383,793
Toronto	340	4.0	2,731,571
Chicago	460	4.5	2,706,000
Buffalo, NY	420	4.5	256,304
Washington, DC	850	8.5	684,498
Ottawa	810	8.5	934,243
New York	990	9.0	8,399,000
Montréal	885	9.5	1,704,694
Philadelphia	940	9.5	1,584,000

Source: Yahoo Maps, Statistics Canada (2016 Census), US Census Bureau (2018)

Your multimodal transportation centre

Windsor-Essex is a multimodal transportation centre, featuring:

Cross-border infrastructure
Western terminus of Highway 401 ("Ontario's Main Street"), and road and rail connections to the U.S. Interstate system and rail networks
$1.4 billion Herb Gray Parkway
High-speed fiber-optic links, with bandwidth in excess of optical carrier 3 (OC3) speeds

Windsor International Airport (YQG)

Windsor International Airport (YQG) offers the following benefits:

Aviation fees, handling charges, fuel costs and leasing rates among the lowest in Canada
24/7 Canada Customs services and bonded warehousing for international cargo
Adjacent to a CN intermodal facility, two major Canadian and U.S. highway corridors (401 and I-75, respectively) and the St. Lawrence Seaway for ocean going vessels

Windsor Airport 360-Degree Video

Port of Windsor

The Port of Windsor provides the following benefits:

Third-largest deep-water Great Lakes port
Handles a wide range of products, such as aggregates, salt, grain, fluorspar, lumber, steel, petroleum, vehicles and heavy lift equipment
Reliability, capacity and connectedness to more than 40 international and regional ports
More than 4,888 m of berthing space, 89 ha of open storage and over 40,000 sq m of covered storage

Port of Windsor 360-Degree Video

Rail

Rail connections support local businesses and provide access for goods on their way to North American markets through a rail tunnel connecting Windsor-Essex and Michigan. Windsor-Essex is also at the western terminus of Highway 401 providing a direct link to interstate highways in the U.S.

The Essex Terminal Railway (ETR) tracks extend from Windsor, ON to Amherstburg, ON, serving lumber transfer yards, major agricultural and chemical plants, machinery, steel, grain, salt and scrap industry. A Great Lake marine terminal accommodates ocean vessels, and large automotive parts production center. Because of the connections to CN, CP, Norfolk Southern and CSXT, the customers of the ETR can access any point in the rail networks of Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Rail traffic to and from the U.S. is accommodated in a twin track tunnel that provides the fastest, most uncongested, easiest grade, lowest cost method of moving rail cars from Chicago to New York City via Niagara Falls.