Windsor West

Windsor West encompasses the western portion of the City of Windsor in southwestern Ontario, including downtown Windsor and the historic Sandwich Town neighbourhood near the Ambassador Bridge. The riding has deep roots in organized labour and the automotive industry. Incumbent NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky had held the seat since 2014, winning convincingly in 2018 with over 50 percent of the vote. However, heading into 2022, the Progressive Conservatives had made significant inroads in the broader Windsor-Essex region, making this a closer contest than the previous election.

Candidates

Lisa Gretzky (NDP) — A former school trustee for the Greater Essex County District School Board, first elected in 2008 and serving as vice-chair in 2012. She is the cousin-in-law of Wayne Gretzky through her husband Tyler Gretzky. Gretzky first won the Windsor West seat in 2014 by defeating Liberal incumbent Teresa Piruzza. At Queen's Park, she served as the NDP's critic for Education and later for Mental Health and Addictions, and Poverty and Homelessness Reduction.

John Leontowicz (Progressive Conservative) — The retired Chief of Police for the LaSalle Police Service, where he served for 21 years before retiring in January 2021. Prior to leading the LaSalle police, Leontowicz was a member of the RCMP.

Linda L. McCurdy (Liberal) — A criminal lawyer and community advocate who is the daughter of former federal MP Howard McCurdy. She holds degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Windsor, and the University of Detroit Mercy. McCurdy is also the co-owner of North Star Cheer Inc., a competitive cheerleading gym in Windsor-Essex.

Other candidates included Jeremy Palko (Ontario Party), Krysta Glovasky-Ridsdale (Green), and Joshua Griffin (New Blue).

Local Issues

Healthcare and addiction services were the top issues identified by Windsor West voters heading into the 2022 election. The riding's downtown core had been grappling with a visible increase in homelessness and substance use challenges. The city's Homelessness and Housing Help Hub, opened in 2020 at the former Water World on Wyandotte Street East, served thousands of individuals in its first years of operation. Candidates debated the shortage of residential treatment beds, with local advocates noting that residents needing addiction treatment often had to leave the city at great expense.

The planned new mega-hospital for Windsor was a particularly charged issue in Windsor West. The Liberal candidate called for a west-side hospital or urgent care centre, arguing that with over 120,000 people living in west Windsor, the area needed its own facility for non-life-threatening injuries. The provincial government's cap on nurses' pay increases under Bill 124 was widely criticized across party lines, with candidates and voters alike calling for better compensation to attract and retain healthcare workers.

The broader economic transformation of the Windsor region also figured in the race. While the NextStar EV battery plant announcement was centred in the neighbouring Windsor—Tecumseh riding, the implications for jobs and economic renewal rippled across all of Windsor, and candidates debated how the transition to electric vehicle manufacturing would affect the riding's working-class communities.