It’s a two-nation destination: The business partnerships, friendly relationships, and tourism between Detroit and Windsor date back more than a century.
Both Detroit’s Mayor Mike Duggan and Windsor’s Mayor Drew Dilkens agreed during the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s 2025 Fall Forum that these fruitful partnerships continue today, and, despite recent political challenges like Canadian tariffs, are likely to continue for decades to come.
The two mayors highlighted how both Detroit and Windsor meet the event’s theme of celebrating connections and forging a future together. Duggan noted how the U.S.-Canadian border that connects Detroit and Windsor feels like a part of metro Detroiters’ daily lives.
“I’m the kid who grew up here, going back and forth across the border,” Duggan explaining how his family would go to Windsor for barbecues and, on the other side, meeting Canadian family who came to Detroit to watch the Red Wings play hockey.
Throughout his career, positive border relations have been key to organizations Duggan has headed, including helping Canadian nurses work at the Detroit Medical Center, where he was Chief Executive Officer before becoming Detroit’s mayor in 2013.
While leading the Detroit Medical Center, about 300 of the 2,000 nurses that worked there were from the Windsor area, and over time restrictions made it challenging for the nurses to come to work in Detroit.
“We’re so much better off when we reduce barriers and work together.”
– Mike Duggan, Mayor, City of Detroit
Duggan also highlighted the successful partnership that led to the Gordie Howe International Bridge’s location in Detroit’s historic Delray neighborhood. Residents on both sides of the border benefited from the mutual aid that helped longtime residents stay and improve their homes or relocate.
Duggan says he is proud of the work and relationships between his city, state, and country with Canada.
Dilkens also pointed to the Gordie Howe Bridge project as an example of how Detroit and Windsor always keep an eye on long-term goals. He said it took 25 years, or what might be the length of someone’s career, to get that span from idea to completion, and it is a true link between the two countries.
Colin Bird, Consul General of Canada in Detroit (third from left), and Eric Larson, Chief Executive Officer of the Detroit Downtown Partnership (fourth from left), look on during the Fall Forum.
Dilkens added that he is hopeful to work with Detroit again on many events, including the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. He paused Windsor’s sponsorship of the 2025 race because of U.S. tariff concerns.
“We celebrate our two-nation destination,” Dilkens said. “We’re looking forward and we’re willing to create partnerships between Windsor and Detroit that have been so successful for so many years. We ought not stop now. Let’s continue to build our economies together because we’re really darn good at it.”