'Changing the narrative': More people coming to Windsor than leaving, report says

In Windsor, more people are moving in than moving out, according to a recent report from Workforce WindsorEssex.

That's a shift from previous trends.

According to the report, which describes migration patterns in the city, between 2011 and 2016, for every two working people with a university education who moved to Windsor-Essex, three people left.

For every 10 working people between ages 25 and 44 who came to Windsor-Essex, 13 people left.

But around 2016, something shifted, and those numbers have been trending upwards, with more people between ages 18 and 44 coming to Windsor instead of moving away.

Julian Villafuerte, project coordinator and researcher with Workforce WindsorEssex, took a look at census and employment data from Statistics Canada to dig into why people are leaving and why they're coming.

"We look at a combination of data sets, looking at the flow of the workforce between census years," Villafuerte said about the project.

"Overall we had net loss, but a lot of smaller regions we had net gains."

The majority of migration to Windsor-Essex from elsewhere in Ontario was from Chatham-Kent and Toronto. Similarly, the majority of people leaving Windsor-Essex moved to Toronto and to Middlesex.

Villafuerte is one of the people who left within the 2011 to 2016 time frame. He went to university elsewhere.

"I definitely perceived, at that time, that there were more opportunities for me out of the region," said Villafuerte."I wanted to go experience something new."

After university, Villafuerte reconsidered.

"I looked back at my hometown and I said 'Wow, there's a lot of things that are changing,'" Villafuertesaid."People were saying positive things, so I moved back here."

The picture has changed

Though there is less data to analyze, Villafuerte's project shows migration gains in all categories starting in 2015.

"The new numbers, coming from the annual demographic estimates and Statistics Canada tax filer data, show us that since 2015, migration in all categories is positive," said Villafuerte. "Between 2011 and 2015, we saw net losses from ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 44, but now we're seeing net gains."

Workforce WindsorEssex's project aims to eventually answer questions about strategies that will bring even more workers to the region.

In evaluating who the region is already attracting, Villafuerte said the picture has changed.

"Changing the narrative, changing the story and recognizing there are opportunities for us to move forward in diversifying the economy," he said, adding that it's important to attract young people.

"The 25 to 44 age range is your early workforce, the people who can help address the wave of retirements coming to the economy," Villafuertesaid.

"They're integral to succession planning."

Overall, Villafuerte has no regrets about coming back to Windsor-Essex and he hopes the positive migration trend continues.

"I'm encouraged by the fact that people are starting to take action and people are involved in these kinds of conversations."