We’ve heard the stories and seen the picture of how the center of Detroit is being hit hard by the economy and is being almost abandoned in some areas.
How is Windsor Ontario, just across the river doing? Is it being hit as hard? If not, any information on what is different there? If it is being hit as hard, is there anything different that is being done there vs in Detroit?
Windsor has been doing badly the last few years. It’s been hit hard by the collapse of the auto industry, and with an unemployment rate of 14.3%, has the highest unemployment rate in Canada. Here’s an article from just a few weeks ago about Windsor’s unemployment.
Windsor has always been a hot cold city. When the auto industry is good, it booms. A few years ago, unemployment was below 5%.
The downtown core suffered terribly when a several large malls opened on the outskirts of town. It has never really recovered
The opening of the casino years ago has also been great for the city. Over the past few years, auto plants have started to close. A lot of spinoff industries are affected. Just last week the casino laid off 500 people.
This city has a lot of spirit. Last year the Spitfires hockey team won the Canadian championship. Housing is at rock bottom and their are plenty of skilled labourers. Don’t be surprised if Windsor bounces back as quickly as it fell.
Windsor’s not in great shape by Ontario standards, but to be clear, it’s not remotely similar to the hellhole that is parts of Detroit.
There’s two differences, really. One is that Windsor just isn’t a very big city; in an economic sense it’s really not comparable to Detroit, but should be compared to SUBURBS of Detroit, like Livonia, Novi, or Dearborn.
The other, of course, is that Windsor is in Canada, which unlike the USA did not have a rash of bank failures adding to the auto woes.