Calgary’s Comeback

It has been nearly three months since floodwaters devastated several communities around southern Alberta in one of the largest natural disasters to ever hit the province. But if there is any doubt about the resiliency of these Canadians and their will to rebuild, one has only to examine what has been achieved in Calgary.

Before the flood, Calgary’s economy was considered among the fastest growing in North America. According to Tom Dixon, manager of business development, real estate & logistics with the Calgary Economic Development Agency, the city’s prime location at the intersection of two major highways helped with the rapid recovery.

“Our city lies next to the Trans-Canada Highway, which connects the Atlantic the Pacific,” he says. “We also have the CANAMEX Corridor, which extends north/south from Canada to Mexico, making it attractive for distribution centers. Because we have so many multinational manufacturers and retailers relying on us, we had to make the protection of their supply chains a priority.”

Walmart and Target have a major presence in the region, along with Costco, and Canadian Tire. But the highway network is hardly the only the reason Calgary is a logistical hub.

Canadian Pacific is headquartered here and its intermodal rail yard is a key component to the city’s southeast industrial sector. The main rail line connects downtown Calgary to Port Metro Vancouver. Sears Canada also operates its 24/7 National Logistics Center out of the facility.

Canadian National Railway, meanwhile, unveiled a new $200 million Calgary Logistics Park last spring, which is home to its intermodal terminal located on 1,000 acres in Rocky View County, just outside of Calgary. The park has 170 acres available for CN’s shippers to build their own warehouses and distribution centers. This not only eliminates additional trucking to off-site facilities, but can provide shippers with better customer service and efficiency. An additional 300 acres is also ready for future development, if needed.

More on Calgary tomorrow….

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