Windsor’s Mayor applauds Ontario budget’s talk of new hospital, 401 interchange

Drew Dilkens. (CTV News file image)

The release of Ontario’s 2026 budget comes with reason to be optimistic, according to Windsor’s Mayor.

Drew Dilkens told CTV News he was glad to see Windsor pencilled beside multiple items in the budget.

“For the provincial budget, it’s just important to be mentioned to have it included there,” Dilkens said on Thursday evening.

Across the 254-page document, Windsor is mentioned 13 times, in reference to healthcare spending, road projects, and education infrastructure; however, most of these items have already been announced in recent months.

For Dilkens, the most notable inclusion is the mention of how large the planned Fancsy Family Hospital will be.

According to the budget, once built, the site will feature 594 beds, which includes 101 net new beds.

“The new takeaway in the budget, announced today, was really the fact that the hospital has additional beds being added to it,” the mayor said.

“I expect there’s going to be some construction and some things starting this particular year. But now we know there are more beds that are included in this new hospital that’s being built in Windsor-Essex.”

Dilkens added that the additional information is important as the project progresses towards getting shovels in the ground.

Elsewhere in the budget, the province pointed to funds for the planning and design of a new interchange connecting the 401 to an extended Lauzon Parkway.

“So the fact that there’s continuing to talk about it reinforces the importance that this project has to the province,” Dilkens said.

Dilkens said talk of a funding strategy, which will include the Lauzon Parkway interchange, is expected at the city’s next council meeting.

“A Sandwich South financing plan that actually aligns our financing to make sure that we can connect Lauzon Road to that interchange once it’s built,” he said.

“That project’s $125 million just to build a cloverleaf at Lauzon and 401. So, the fact that we’re still there is great news we’ll continue to push for that.”

Outside of Windsor-specific projects, Dilkens applauded the expansion of the HST rebate to now apply to all purchasers of new homes under $1 million, and added tax relief for small businesses.