The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel is prepared to hand over a larger dividend to the City as part of the 2026 budget.
The draft document includes a one-time payment of $3.5-million, on top of the annual $1.5-million dividend, as part of efforts to secure a 0% property tax increase.
Tunnel CEO Tal Czudner says they have been able to secure greater market share.
"Let's be candid, we're mostly competing against our friends at the Ambassador Bridge and I think people have the decision to make and say hey, it takes a few more minutes to get downtown but you're going to save $5, it's going to cost you 5-minutes and at the end of the day, it's going to go back to the Corporation of the City of Windsor which is the City of Windsor taxpayers."
Czudner says the revenue comes from those crossing the border paying a toll.
"We have made some money from operations over the last few years, coming out of Covid so I want to reiterate that any dividend that we're paying to the City of Windsor is out out cash flow and will not impact operations in any way."
Czudner goes on to say that discretionary travel to the United States was down 10-12% in 2025 but they have been able to take away commuter traffic from the Ambassador Bridge so overall traffic was down 4%.
The city has scheduled a meeting for budget delegations on Jan. 12, 2026, beginning at 10 a.m.