The City of Windsor has signed an agreement in principle with Parks Canada to officially establish the Ojibway National Urban Park.
During an in-camera meeting on Monday, councillors unanimously voted on the agreement that includes clauses on boundaries, land acquisition, operations, costs, and expenses.
"The next step will be a more final agreement for council's review, and hopefully we can have a more public discussion about that because I know members of the public do want to be part of that, and as a councillor I want to hear from members of the public about this," said Ward 1 Councillor Fred Francis.
Other stakeholders in the creation of the National Urban Park include the Province of Ontario, the Windsor Port Authority, and the Caldwell First Nation.
"We're working with a lot of different stakeholders and everyone is trying to achieve the same goal, a National Urban Park. We're getting there, step-by-step, inch by inch and what we did in-camera on Monday is another step in that process," said Francis.
A timeline for the establishment of the park has not been finalized.
In March 2025, the federal government committed $36 million over five years for the establishment of the park, with an additional $4.6 million expected annually.
On Tuesday, the federal government announced a $3.8 billion plan to protect nature in Canada. The government re-committed to creating 15 national urban parks across the country as part of the plan.
