Mayor Drew Dilkens says Windsor will join Detroit in its bid for Amazon's headquarters and thousands of jobs.
The multi-media giant announced it will invest close to $5-billion over 15 years in a new home, and major cities throughout Canada and the US are throwing their hats in the ring.
Dilkens reached out to Quicken Loans and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. The billionaire has invested heavily in the Detroit area over the years and is leading the group courting Amazon.
He says Gilbert was receptive to the venture, the pair will meet later in the week, but teams from both sides of the border have already sat down together.
"We're meeting sometime this week to further the conversation, in the meantime the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation has been over to Detroit to meet with his team," Dilkens says. "They like what we're talking about, they like the idea, they think the bid will actually be stronger when you include Windsor as a component."
Dilkens told AM800 News the border cities will have an advantage over bids from larger Canadian cities such as Ottawa and Toronto.
"Amazon can get the best talent in the US in the city of Detroit, and of course we can get the best talent right here in the city of Windsor that we have in Canada," he says. "It's an idea that's in flux in terms of exactly how it would look, but things are coming together very quickly simply because the bid is due in the early part of October."
With the investment comes 50,000 jobs. He says even a small percentage of that number would be a boost for the city.
"They're looking for someplace they can continue to grow," says Dilkens. "We're not the biggest piece of this puzzle in terms of the size of our city, or the resources put behind this, but we know working with Detroit and getting a piece of this pie would be quite meaningful for Ontario, for Canada, and certainly the city of Windsor."
Dilkens says the bid is still in the preliminary stages, but he says the province will back the venture if it moves forward.
The deadline is Oct. 19.