Three municipalities in Southeast are banding together to develop trade corridor

Three municipalities in the Southeast have come together to establish a committee for economic development along Highway 75, which they hope to make into a trade corridor.

The RMs of Emerson-Franklin and Montcalm and the Town of Morris have come together to encourage private-sector growth, strengthen their local economies, and build long-term partnerships, while at the same time developing the provincial economy.

“It’s creating jobs and economic opportunities in our area, and it’s creating a world-class trade corridor so we can do that through economic hubs at Emerson, in Montcalm,…the Mid-Canada Transload…and then Morris…We just want to bring more economic opportunities and things to the area, and we need the jobs because we need the population. We need people using our amenities,” said David Carlson, reeve of Emerson-Franklin and chair of the PTH 75 Caucus.

The combined population of the three municipalities has steadily increased over the past 10 years with a total population of 5,690 in 2021, representing a 2.6 percent increase from 2011 (largely due to people moving to Morris), according to a 47-page report paid for by the province in 2024. The report examined the feasibility of creating a regional planning district (RPD), something Carlson said was a goal for the three municipalities.

The report also looked at the development of Highway 75 as a trade corridor, as roughly 65 percent of goods that Manitoba exports to the U.S. and Mexico are shipped via commercial trucks through the Pembina-Emerson port.

Between 2018 and 2022, the Pembina-Emerson border crossing has consistently ranked seventh busiest in Canada for commercial trucks, with more than 1,000 crossing the port of entry daily, and 19th for cars and other personal vehicles. Roughly two-thirds of Manitoba’s exports travel through the port annually, totaling about $70 million to $80 million daily.

Considering the economic importance of the corridor and the Pembina-Emerson port, the caucus has formed a group to discuss the details regarding the development of Highway 75 as a trade corridor.

The collective consists of the three municipalities, the Manitoba Trucking Association, CentrePort Canada Inland Port, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, World Trade Centre Winnipeg, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM), and commercial realtor Cushman Wakefield.