Is Windsor a family-friendly city? See where the city ranks in new list

A new ranking is out for Canada’s most child-friendly cities and Windsor has landed at number 17 on the list.

The un-official list, complied by Clever Canadian considers factors like cost of living, crime rates, population, and access to daycare.

“Once people get here they are shocked by how nice things are in Windsor, I think really we are such a hidden gem,” said James Chacko, the executive director of parks and facilities at the City of Windsor.

Chacko and a pair of city councillors were on hand in downtown Windsor Wednesday to unveil the city’s newest playground at Legacy Park, just west of Dieppe Park along the riverfront.

“Investments like these build up our city and improve the quality of life for all of our residents, especially those living downtown and close to our beautiful riverfront,” said Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino

It’s just one of 32 playgrounds being constructed in 2022 and 2023 alone for roughly $10 million.

“Windsor has great parks it's certainly something that we know we get great feedback from residents and visitors to the city alike and is certainly such an important component to the city.”

It’s one of the main reasons Windsor has landed at number 17 on the kid-friendly list, which ranked 51 Canadian cities.

Those behind the raking determined the order based on 10 factors, including population, number of families with kids, unemployment rate, safety index, average household income, average household monthly costs, median monthly daycare cost, number of daycares and number of parks.

Windsor is the third Ontario city on the child-friendly city list behind only Toronto and Ottawa.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” said Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis. “We're a big, small city. And, you know, that's something that we're working on.”

Windsor also ranked high for its strong safety index, number of families with kids and housing affordability.

“You can only factor in the cost of living of Toronto and Ottawa, compared Windsor. It literally is a drastic, dynamic night and day comparison,” said Francis.

Also the head of the Multicultural Council of Windsor-Essex, Francis added there are also intangibles, like the climate, proximity to Detroit, diversity and welcoming nature of Windsor that makes it a destination for new Canadians.

“It's the people that people of Windsor are very welcoming, very compassionate, very generous, you know, and that goes a long way and I hear that often,” said Francis.

Quebec City took top honours on the list, followed by Ottawa and Calgary.