Since the very beginning, Windsor-Essex has been a community forged in cultural and ethnic
diversity, a place where people from different parts of the world came together to live, work and thrive.
As that diversity grew, locals slowly but surely found a way to honour and sustain their own traditions
while sharing and exploring the ethnicities of others.
The first arrivals to Windsor and Essex County came as part of a Jesuit Mission. The region then
came under British colonial rule in 1760. Moving forward, our region was the end point of two
railways: the Great Western Railway in 1854 and then the Underground Railway in the nineteenth
century. At the beginning and middle of the twentieth century, arrivals from eastern Europe were
plentiful. And in the five-year span between 2006 and 2011 our inclusive community became home to
10,000 more immigrants, many from the Middle East. Each one brings their own story, each one brings
culture to share. Like generations before them, they bring a piece of the world for us to experience if we
are willing to learn.
No matter why newcomers past and present chose Windsor and Essex County as a place to call
home, Current Ward 2 councillor John Elliott believes those choices are a good thing. He says having a
diverse landscape is part of what makes our city wonderful.
Elliott also sees the different cultures coming to our region in the faces of the young people who
attend the Sandwich Teen Action Group where he is the director. They have come from many regions
across the globe since he started with STAG in 1993, giving him a unique perspective.
“When I first came to the centre I had the Cambodian and Vietnamese kids, then it was the Iraqi
and Lebanese kids. A couple of years later it was the Somali kids and then there were pockets of kids.
Sri-Lankin, Congo, Liberian… now predominantly it’s Sudanese. What I’ve seen with the kids - they all
get along no matter what,” says Elliott. “The world is here... I think it’s a good thing, we’re all under the
same moon.”
For anyone who hasn’t grown up in Windsor-Essex, or who’s come from any part of the world
(including many places in Canada) where diversity is lacking, arriving in Windsor and choosing to stay
here can be overwhelming at times. Taking a walk along different parts of Wyandotte and Erie St. or
seeing the diversity of food options available in the downtown core could take you off guard. If what you
knew growing up was your 1950s’ style Main Street with burger joints and diners along it, this world is
vastly different. Instead of a single Chinese food joint or pizza place, in a matter of five blocks in
Windsor you can have food from all over the world.
Instead of streets named Main and First, we’ve got First Nations, French, Polish, Ukranian and
Italian names identifying our roads and avenues. Within blocks of one another, we’ve got a Catholic
high school, a mosque and a Jewish temple. A walk through one of our area’s markets can leave you
wishing for a Babel fish to catch the French, Arabic, Mandarin and Greek conversations that surround
you.
June 2015 - The HUB 11