CEA in the News

Citizens Environment Alliance
628 Monmouth Rd., Windsor, Ontario, Canada N8Y 3L1

CEA in the News

'Too good to pass up' — Windsor leaders push for $17M land purchase to expand national park

Parks Canada asked to acquire former Windsor Raceway lands adjacent proposed Ojibway National Urban Park.

By Madeline Mazak
Windsor Star · Published Nov 19, 2025

With the final stages underway towards creation of an Ojibway National Urban Park, some large parcels of adjacent private lands have just gone on the market — and local political and environmental leaders are pushing for them to be included.

The four parcels, listed on Friday and being offered for a combined total of $17 million, cover nearly 43.5 acres and surround the former Windsor Raceway site next to the Ojibway Complex.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis told the Star Wednesday.

“If the city can purchase them through the funds that are allocated through the federal government and then fold them into the existing nature reserve, that’d be fantastic.

“It’s an opportunity that’s too good to pass up.”

The properties owned by Coco Paving are currently zoned for commercial development and lie between Ojibway Parkway, Sprucewood Avenue, and Matchett Road.

The largest parcel, roughly 34.75 acres off Matchett Road, is listed for $11.3 million and directly abuts the proposed park boundary.

Francis said the city reached out to Parks Canada shortly after the lands were listed to ask whether federal dollars could be used to make the purchase. He pointed out that federal funds committed to Canada’s second national urban park have already been used by the city to purchase a house on Matchett Road to include in the park’s footprint.

Francis said it is uncommon to see land of this kind listed publicly.

“There have been times when a private owner would approach the city or the city would approach a private owner. To see lands like these go on the open market, I can’t remember it happening too often in the last 20 to 25 years,” he said.

Others are joining the calls to grab this opportunity.

Brian Masse, who pushed hard for creation of the national park when he was Windsor West’s member of Parliament, said the available lands would strengthen the future of Ojibway National Urban Park.

“The opportunities are only limited by political will,” Masse told the Star. “The land could be acquired for a number of different parts of the national urban park.”

With an eye to strengthening the park’s long-term ecological health, Citizens Environment Alliance executive director Derek Coronado said his group would also “hope to see that these are acquired for use by the future national urban park.”

Given the properties’ past use as racetrack lands, he said some remediation would likely be needed before restoration efforts could begin.

“That would take some time in terms of integrating them back into the national urban park,” he said.”

Ojibway National Urban Park was originally slated to open this fall. Park Canada told the Star in October that it was still progressing toward the set date.

However, Mike Fisher, chair of the Friends of Ojibway Prairie National Urban Park committee, said his discussions with Parks Canada officials in Ottawa earlier this month suggest the park will more likely not open until the new year.

But in an emailed statement in October, a Parks Canada spokesperson said that “while timelines may evolve based on partner engagement and progress, all parties are actively working toward achieving this important milestone in fall 2025.”

Parks Canada did not respond to a request for comment. MP Harb Gill (C — Windsor West), who defeated Masse in last spring’s federal election, did not provide comment before the Star’s Wednesday print deadline.

“The federal government and the opposition have failed this area with regards to providing an urban park as promised,” said Masse.

“They could make this up by acquiring that land for environmental works and supportive works for the national urban park”

Masse said the federal government already has funding set aside to acquire new lands for proposed parks. The Liberals earmarked $130.9 million in their 2021 budget for a national urban park program.

Of that, $36.1 million, distributed over five years, was announced for the Ojibway National Urban Park in Windsor.

“Federal money is available through the original allotment … that is still sitting unused,” said Masse, who had championed Bill 248 to protect the park in legislation. The bill stalled in the Senate and ultimately died when Parliament was prorogued ahead of the 2025 federal election.

“There’s definitely two pots of funding there. There’s other funding, because there’s always acquisition monies available through Parks Canada. There’s no shortage of funding to be drawn from.”

Coronado said such an acquisition would help further protect what little natural space remains in Windsor-Essex.

“Ninety-five per cent of the green space, forests and wetlands of this area have been developed,” he said.

“What we’re talking about is just fragments now. So, any additional lands that can be included and protected is important.”