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The Windsor area’s population is growing at a rate not seen for about two decades.

According to Statistics Canada’s estimates, based on figures in their monthly labour surveys, the Windsor CMA has added 400 to 500 people in 15 of the past 16 months and 300 or more for 25 straight months.

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“I haven’t seen this level of activity in the area since the early 1980s, after the recession, when GM and Ford expanded their plants,” said Tecumseh mayor Gary McNamara, who is also the Warden of Essex County.

“It feels like that again. I’ve never seen our planning department this busy.”

We definitely have been discovered in the rest of the province and even the country

The Windsor CMA includes Windsor, Tecumseh, LaSalle and Amherstburg.

McNamara points out the numbers should be even rosier with the expansion of the agricultural industry in the Leamington area and the growth in residential activity being experienced in Kingsville and Essex.

It’s a stark contrast from the dark days between July, 2006 and July, 2009 when the population decreased or remained the same for 36 consecutive months.