A video released this week touting the benefits for Amazon should it decide to take Windsor-Detroit up on its offer to locate its new second headquarters here appears to have missed a key selling point, Windsor.
The 3:35-minute video shows much of what Detroit has to offer, from its cultural significance to its large manufacturing base, but the only mention made of its partner in the bid is one line in the narrative, "a whole other country is just a bridge away." Windsor is not even mentioned by name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO4J_PC1b5M&feature=youtu.be
Last month, Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation CEO, Stephen MacKenzie told BlackburnNews.com one of the key selling points in the joint bid was its bi-national nature.
“A lot of tech companies that voiced their concern that some of the immigration policies being considered would cause the pipeline of international talent to cease. Well, Canada doesn’t have that kind of problem,” said MacKenzie.
Submissions were due Thursday, and with over 100 cities submitting, it is evident competition to land the investment is stiff.
In Canada, several cities have also made bids including Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.
On Thursday, Forbes Magazine published its list of the most likely top five candidates, but Windsor-Detroit did not make the list. It suggested the competition would be narrowed down to Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Boston, Massachusetts, and Toronto.
Amazon says it will invest $5-billion in the host city and create 50,000 new jobs.