About Lasalle

LaSalle is a town in Essex County, Ontario. It is located on the Detroit River, south of the City of Windsor. Named after French explorer, Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French settlers were the first to establish roots in the area in the mid 1700s.  A mission was established in the Town of Sandwich, resulting in people settling in the Turkey Creek area.  LaSalle’s history and that of Essex County were very much entwined when they were officially identified as part of Upper Canada in 1792.  In 1991, residents of LaSalle opted to define themselves as a Town and in turn, immediately became one of the larger communities of Essex County with a population of almost 30, 000.

The Town of LaSalle was originally located on the bank of the Detroit River on what is known as the “Nautical Mile” in Essex County.  Today the Town of LaSalle is a rapidly urbanizing municipality situated in the northwest quadrant of Essex County, bordered by the Town of Amherstburg to the south, the town of Tecumseh to the east and the City of Windsor to the north.  The Detroit River forms the westerly boundary of the town.  Approximately 50% of LaSalle’s total land area of 6,500 hectares is urban in nature.  The remaining lands are rural, comprising cash-crop farming, rural residences and natural heritage features.

LaSalle, along with Windsor, is the oldest French settlement area in Southwestern Ontario, and the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Canada west of the Quebec border. Now considered to be a bedroom community of Windsor, LaSalle is often cited as an example of urban sprawl where tracts of Canada’s most valuable agricultural land have been developed. It is a part of the Windsor Census Metropolitan Area and includes Fighting Island, in the Detroit River at its western side, an island that is privately owned by the world’s largest chemical company, BASF.

One of LaSalle’s biggest events is the annual Strawberry Festival, which takes place on the first weekend in June.

In LaSalle, most teenagers attend either Sandwich Secondary School or St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School. The attendance to both is relatively close in numbers.

LaSalle also has its own small but growing bicycle trail network, named the “LaSalle Trail”, which links up to neighbouring Windsor, Ontario’s own “Windsor Trail” network, allowing people to ride from Sandwich Secondary School all the way to Windsor’s Riverfront Trail. The town has also expressed interest and intentions to connect LaSalle (and indirectly, Windsor) to the Chrysler Canada Greenway by wanting to construct a link to the Trans-Canada Trail near Oldcastle, Ontario.

Click the link to view the most recent Town of Lasalle Tax Rates.

Lasalle Urban Planning

Click the link to see Town Of Lasalle Official Plan