The location of the Subtropical Front (STF), the boundary between Subtropical and Subantarctic Water in the Southern Ocean is proposed to be controlled by the strength and location of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. We use a hydrodynamic hindcast model and recent observations to test if changes in the westerly winds can cause meridional shifts in the STF over interannual to decadal time scales by modulating local Ekman transport. We find that increased, or northward, shifted westerly winds lead to an enhanced northward Ekman transport over large parts of the Southern Ocean, resulting in a northward shift in the STF. Conversely for weaker or southward shifted westerly winds. Regions with strong eddy variability, such as western boundary current systems of the Agulhas and East Australian Current behave differently, as the Sverdrup balance causes an opposite shift. In these regions an increase in westerly winds lead to a southward shift in the STF. A southward shift of STF has been observed between 2004-2019. However, the shift is smaller than the latitudinal shifts in the location of the zero wind stress curl and maximum westerly winds (-0.4° latitude/decade). This discrepancy is due to positive Ekman trends resulting from the intensification of the westerly winds, which oppose the southward migration. Changes in the Ekman transport and the overall southward shift of the STF have also resulted in an observed positive trend in chlorophyll-a concentrations south of the STF, which could have ramifications for the biological pump and carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean.