'We want that helicopter on deployment, fabricated, manufactured as soon as possible, and in the sky.'
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Windsor police will still get the helicopter promised to them in Ontario’s 2025 budget, the province’s solicitor general says.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
“Helicopters play a vital role,” Michael Kerzner said during a visit to Windsor on Tuesday. “We will have a helicopter that will help Windsor Police Service and LaSalle and be used right here in the area.”
Premier Doug Ford first floated the sky-high idea of giving Windsor police a helicopter in December 2024 following a national border-security meeting with the prime minister, when he told reporters he’d ask the solicitor general to focus on procuring the aircraft. At the time, he suggested the force could patrol the Detroit River from above, since Canada Border Services Agency doesn’t have a boat.
Months later, in May 2025, Ontario’s 2025 budget included $57 million for two new H-135 helicopters: one for the Niagara Regional Police Service and one for Windsor police to support “increased patrols, security and enforcement at key entry points at the U.S. border,” according to the budget document.
Not much has been stated publicly about the helicopters since the border-security meeting, until Tuesday’s media event, when Kerzner announced $32.5 million in grant funding for municipal and First Nations police services. Law enforcement agencies can apply for the funding to purchase specialized equipment related to border security, including drones, marine vessels, radar, thermal imaging cameras, and more, and to support investigations into illegal firearms trafficking, drug smuggling, organized crime, and other illegal cross-border activity.
Kerzner also brought up the previously approved helicopters, which “will come as soon as we can get Airbus to manufacture them,” he said, referring to Airbus Helicopters Canada in Fort Erie.
“They will come here as a tremendous asset for LaSalle, Windsor, and the OPP, but they’re ours. They aren’t going to be used for the RCMP or CBSA — but we will work collaboratively, as we have,” he said.
“We want that helicopter on deployment, fabricated, manufactured as soon as possible, and in the sky. We’ve got a great partner in the OPP, because they are our co-ordinating partner.”
Ontario Provincial Police Supt. Mark Lucas said the OPP has already implemented “increased proactive patrols in the air, on land, and on waterways” as part of a broader provincial initiative along the Canada-U.S. border.
Lucas called the helicopters for both Windsor and Niagara police “game-changing in our mission to provide operational support.”
“We remain committed to working collaboratively with our policing partners,” he said. “The addition of this aircraft will enhance regional policing capabilities and strengthen our collective commitment to public safety. Aviation is a critical tool used during time-sensitive incidents, such as locating vulnerable missing persons, tracking suspects, and supporting frontline operations.”
