Doer honoured for role in creating inland port
A FORMER Manitoba premier was celebrated Wednesday for his role in the creation of one of North America's biggest trimodal inland ports.
CentrePort Canada Inc. presented Gary Doer with the first CentrePort Canada Footprint Award at its annual spring mixer in Winnipeg.
The award recognizes an individual who has contributed to the success of CentrePort Canada and its mission to grow Manitoba's role in global trade and logistics.
BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Former premier Gary Doer holds his CentrePort Canada Footprint Award, which recognizes an individual who has contributed to the success of CentrePort Canada and its mission to grow Manitoba's role in global trade and logistics.
'I'm really proud to receive it,' Doer told the Free Press prior to the event. 'I really appreciate the work and progress they've made over the years.'
Doer served as premier from 1999 to 2009. During a business trip to Texas, he noticed a transportation hub between Dallas and Fort Worth.
'It led to my thinking that Winnipeg and Manitoba should look at something like that because we already had five of the major trucking companies located in Winnipeg, we had three railways in Winnipeg… and we have a 24-hour airport, which of course is really positive not only for passengers but cargo,' Doer recalled.
Leaders in Manitoba's business community were talking about the possibilities, too. During his decade in government, Doer introduced the legislation that led to CentrePort's creation.
Today, CentrePort covers 20,000 acres between northwest Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Rosser. It connects to major national and international trade gateways and corridors, and is the only inland port in Canada with direct access to truck, rail and air cargo operations.
Doer served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2016. During that time, he said, he read media reports about CentrePort's development with great interest. He continues to follow the latest developments today.
'It's always interesting for me to see another company showing their absolute belief in CentrePort by investing in developments in that hub,' he said. 'There's been a real pride for all of us involved.'
As the premier that championed the creation of the transportation hub and invested in early infrastructure, Doer was the perfect choice to be the recipient of the inaugural Footprint Award, said CentrePort Canada president and CEO Carly Edmundson.
'Gary's vision for this really has played out the way it's always been intended and we wanted to recognize that,' Edmundson said.
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More than $800 million in construction permits have been issued for more than three million square feet of new buildings since CentrePort Canada was established a little more than 15 years ago. At full build, Edmundson said, the inland port will boost Manitoba's gross domestic product by nearly $8 billion.
At a time of supply chain instability and global trade uncertainty, CentrePort is ready to meet the moment, she added.
'Certainly those are challenges but growing our position as a trade and transportation hub is what we've been doing for the last 15 years at CentrePort and we have the infrastructure and the service providers and the team that's ready to continue to jump on that opportunity,' Edmundson said.
'I think that we're a source of optimism during a challenging time because this is what we were built for.'
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca
Aaron EppReporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
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