A member of city council is pleading to Parks Canada to make funding available to purchase the remaining land that's up for sale near the proposed Ojibway National Urban Park.
Ward 1's Fred Francis says this is an opportunity of a lifetime and is asking the federal agency to free up some of the $36 million set aside to acquire land for the Ojibway park.
Four parcels of land totaling 43.39 acres, or 17.5 hectares, were listed on November 14, 2025, with all four available for $17 million, but the listing by CBRE said the property could be acquired as a consolidated land assembly, or each parcel can be purchased individually.
One of the properties has recently been sold, a 1.45-acre piece of land directly behind McDonald's.
The lands are located along Ojibway Parkway, Sprucewood Avenue, and Matchett Road and border the proposed national urban park but do not include the former raceway track property.
The remaining three parcels of land are still for sale, including the largest one, a 34.75-acre property at the corner of Sprucewood Avenue and Matchett Road.
"We've done it before, and we're asking to do it again. I'm pleading; I'm pleading with the Parks Canada folks. I know they have a meeting with the city this week to see if we can get this done. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and no one expected it; no one planned for it, but it's in front of us," he says.
Francis says we need to seize this opportunity, and he hopes Parks Canada sees this as a great opportunity.
"To make the Ojibway National Urban Park even better than it currently is. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. It's not entirely the City of Windsor's call, so that's why I'm doing everything I can publicly to encourage, advocate, and plead with the decision-makers in Ottawa to get this done," he says.
Aprivate member's bill to form the Ojibway National Urban Park was put forward by former Windsor West New Democrat MP Brian Masse. Bill C-248 had passed the third and final reading but was stuck at the committee level before the federal election was called in March 2025.
In March 2025, the federal government had pledged $36.1 million over five years to establish the park, along with $4.6 million in annual operating funds.