Bert Weeks

Albert Howard Weeks (July 1, 1917 – December 10, 1990) was the 28th mayor of the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, from 1975 to 1982 and considered by many to be its best in recent memory. An apprenticed watch repairman, he initially set up a watch repair shop, which later grew to become a jewellery and watch repair business (Bert Weeks Jewellers) which stood on Ouellette Avenue for many years.

When Weeks ran against incumbent mayor Frank Wansbrough in 1974, the initial vote count had him 300 votes behind Wansbrough. However, as there had been a vote counting error, the final tally had Weeks the winner by 749 votes. In February 1982, near the end of his third term, Weeks announced that he would not run for reelection later that year.

As a long-time humanitarian, Weeks was involved in various local efforts to provide safe haven for refugees including those from the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and most notably, he opened Windsor's doors to the Vietnamese boat people following the end of the Vietnamese War and the Communist takeover in 1975. Because of his efforts, Windsor became the first city in Canada to take in Vietnamese refugees, which encouraged other cities to follow suit. Weeks was also chair of the Windsor branch of UNICEF for many years.

The Bert Weeks Memorial Gardens and Fountain (at the foot of Parent Avenue on the Detroit Riverfront) was opened in September 2005 to honour his memory. This riverfront plaza, waterfall and reflecting pool was built with private donations by friends, colleagues, and local auto unions, as well as a donation from the City of Windsor.

In August 2014, Weeks's son, Howard William Weeks, announced that he would run for a seat on Windsor city council in the election held in October, but did not succeed. Howard subsequently joined in one of the failed lawsuits against the City alleging election impropriety following his failed bid for City Council.