Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces new construction for Winnipeg’s Centreport Canada initiative

April 14, 2009

Major Project at James Armstrong Richardson International Airport will encourage economic activity and create jobs

Winnipeg will expand its position as one of North America’s most important trading centres thanks to the CentrePort Canada initiative – a new job-creating investment contained in the Harper Government’s Economic Action Plan.

“With a central geographic location and skilled workforce, Winnipeg is well placed to be a major trading centre for decades to come,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was joined by Manitoba Premier Gary Doer at the announcement.  “This building project will help create jobs today, while ensuring that Manitobans can take full advantages of these opportunities and create even more jobs for the future.”

The CentrePort Canada initiative involves using the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport and surrounding land as a hub to import goods from Asia and Europe and then distributing those goods throughout North America by air, rail and road.  The governments of Canada and Manitoba are jointly funding the next phase of this project, which involves building a high-speed transportation corridor.

“Encouraging and improving trade is vital to our efforts to fight the global recession,” said the Prime Minister.  “Any time we invest in trade, we are also investing in potential jobs and opportunities for thousands of Canadian workers and businesses.”

Winnipeg plays an important role in both East-West and North South trade.  It serves as a natural connection point between Atlantic shipping lanes and the Asia Pacific Gateway and as the northern terminus of the fast-growing mid-continent trade corridor, with the potential to expand to take advantage of trade opportunities in Canada’s North.

The CentrePort Canada initiative is one of many job-creating investments contained within the Harper Government’s Economic Action Plan.