Winnipeg | CentrePort Canada

[Wpg_Guy]

MMI Group Submits Application for Sturgeon Business Park to Expand Industrial Land Supply at CentrePort Canada

Date posted: Jun 10, 2026

Winnipeg, Manitoba — MMI Group Inc. announced it has submitted an application to the City of Winnipeg for Sturgeon Business Park, a proposed industrial development within CentrePort Canada. The project would add new industrial land supply to the market and help position the region to attract future investment.

Phase I of the proposed development comprises 162 acres, with the full business park planned across approximately 400 acres, all zoned M2. The project carries forward a longstanding family connection to the land, including the legacy of the late Maurice Steele, one of the original landowners. Sturgeon Business Park will increase the supply of development-ready industrial sites in a market where site readiness plays an important role in investment attraction. In addition to its location within CentrePort Canada, the site has potential rail access, and future connectivity is expected to be strengthened by the Moray Street extension announced earlier this year by the Winnipeg Airports Authority and municipal, provincial, and federal government partners.

“Sturgeon Business Park is about bringing meaningful industrial inventory to the market at a time when development-ready product plays a critical role in attracting investment,” said Martin McGarry, CEO and Founder of MMI Group. “When well-located industrial land is available, the region is in a stronger position to compete for major users and capture opportunities that might otherwise go elsewhere.”

Beyond the project itself, Sturgeon Business Park points to the broader opportunity to strengthen the industrial growth pipeline in Manitoba over the long term.

“Projects like Sturgeon Business Park will help strengthen our investment climate and ensure our province remains competitive as we grow our economy,” said Jamie Moses, Minister of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation. “This expansion is another example of how Manitoba is attracting investment and economic development to support our businesses and create good jobs for Manitobans.”

The City of Winnipeg also sees the project as a positive signal for industrial growth and future job creation.

“I’m excited to see MMI apply as the second major investor in new Winnipeg industrial land near the airport in less than a month,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham. “With MMI’s 400-acre industrial site so close to the 700-acre project in CentrePort South announced in late May, Winnipeg’s Sky Economy is primed to drive local job growth into the next decade.”

Situated within CentrePort South, in the city of Winnipeg, the proposed project benefits from tri-modal transportation access, including Class I rail, major highway corridors and the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. The business park is intended to strengthen the region’s industrial land supply and support continued growth in trade, logistics, manufacturing and other employment-generating sectors. Government-enabling infrastructure investments are helping create the conditions for new industrial growth across the CentrePort area.

“Congratulations to the MMI team and the landowners of Sturgeon Business Park for reaching this first development milestone,” said Carly Edmundson, President & CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc. “Momentum and a strong sense of excitement is building in CentrePort South. With the CentrePort South Development Team and the Sky Economy Employment Zone Task Force in place at the City of Winnipeg, developments like this are well positioned to move ahead quickly and provide significant economic impacts.”

MMI Group will be leading the development of Sturgeon Business Park and is working alongside MRA Planning + Development as well as engineering and infrastructure partners to advance the application and support the next steps for the project, with a focus on execution, market alignment and creating long-term value for the region.

MMI Group

[Wpg_Guy]

MMI Group eyes 400-acre site at CentrePort
By: Free Press staff
Thursday, Jun. 11, 2026

The company behind real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield Winnipeg is aiming to create a 400-acre development in CentrePort Canada.

MMI Group has submitted an application to the City of Winnipeg. If approved, it’s aiming to sell its first industrial lots by mid 2027, said Martin McGarry, MMI chief executive.

The industrial park would be built in three phases. McGarry estimates the project, called Sturgeon Business Park, will cost between $60 million and $100 million.

MMI Group already owns the Steele Business Park in CentrePort, on the Rural Municipality of Rosser’s side. The trimodal port spans Rosser and Winnipeg; Rosser’s side is more advanced at this point.

Winnipeg crews have spent the past two years beginning to service the city’s land with water and wastewater infrastructure. The servicing, plus a Moray Street extension promised by government and the Winnipeg Airports Authority, prompted MMI Group to submit its development application.

“That has sped up the clock,” McGarry said. “We have to pay a proportional share when we hook up, but somebody else front-ending it makes a huge difference.”

He’s expecting to create five- and 10-acre lots. Twenty per cent of the development could be rail serviced; MMI Group is in talks with Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway, McGarry said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said he’s “very pleased” by the new proposal.

“This is a clear sign of private-sector confidence in Winnipeg’s airport-area economy,” he said in a news release.

The mayor has been touting Winnipeg’s “sky economy,” aiming to promote sectors including aerospace.

MMI Group’s submission follows one from Jessiman Family Investments for a 700-acre development in CentrePort South, the name of Winnipeg’s side.

Interest in the area remains “really strong,” said Carly Edmundson, CentrePort Canada’s chief executive.

She’s clocked a mix of interest from Canadian and international businesses. Defence-focused companies seem increasingly interested, she said.

Phase 1 of the Sturgeon Business Park would span 162 acres. MMI Group is working with MRA Planning + Development, among other firms. The development would be zoned M2.

Winnipeg’s water and wastewater build-out is ongoing.

— Free Press staff

[jim_bred]

This is great, that area of land east to Sturgeon is prime for development.

[pspeid]

"Winnipeg crews have spent the past two years beginning to service the city’s land with water and wastewater infrastructure. The servicing, plus a Moray Street extension promised by government and the Winnipeg Airports Authority, prompted MMI Group to submit its development application."

In this case it sounds like the old cliche "if you build it, they will come" might be accurate.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Or more accurately, "now that the taxpayer has paid to service my land and provide access to it, I'm ready to develop it because I don't have to pay any offsite improvement costs".

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by Mr Tall Forehead

Or more accurately, "now that the taxpayer has paid to service my land and provide access to it, I'm ready to develop it because I don't have to pay any offsite improvement costs".

Yep. More "courageous risk-taking" by the private sector!

[Wpg_Guy]

‘We’re putting in foundational roots’
Montreal-based tire distributor Groupe Touchette doubles down on CentrePort Canada presence
Aaron Epp
Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026


Aaron Epp / Free Press

Paul Hyshka, vice-president of independent sales at Groupe Touchette, in the company’s Rosser warehouse at CentrePort Canada.

RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF ROSSER — A short time ago, in a rural municipality not so far away, a Groupe Touchette executive invoked an iconic freighter from the Star Wars movie franchise when describing the Montreal-based tire distributor’s newly expanded distribution facility in CentrePort Canada.

“As far as the uniqueness and being brand new and the lighting, it’s immaculate,” Paul Hyshka said Thursday morning before leading a tour of the massive warehouse. “This is the Millennium Falcon.”

Hyshka, who serves as vice-president of independent sales, was visiting from his home in Edmonton to participate in a grand opening celebration for the expanded facility, which has more than doubled in size over the last two years.

In early 2020, Groupe Touchette — the largest tire distributor in the country — opened a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in the portion of CentrePort that falls within the RM of Rosser.

Four years later, the company announced plans to build a second distribution centre beside the first one.

The now-completed facility is connected to the first, effectively making it a 106,000-sq.-ft. addition. It brings the company’s total space to 206,000 sq. ft. on 12.6 acres in Brookside Industrial Park, just south of CentrePort Canada Way on the west side of Route 90.

Two years ago, Groupe Touchette announced it was investing $19 million to build the new distribution centre. On Thursday, Hyshka declined to say how much the company ended up spending.

“It’s in our DNA to continue to expand in environments like this,” he said. “It’s key to show that we’re committed (to Manitoba). We’re putting in foundational roots. We’re not just here for a short time. We’re here for the long term.”

Founded by André Touchette in 1979, Groupe Touchette serves automobile dealerships and independent tire retailers. The company also operates retail banners including Tirecraft, Integra Tire, Signature Tire and Touchette Motorsport.

Groupe Touchette has more than 1,800 employees and, Hyshka said, is present across Canada with more than 40 distribution centres. “Every one is just as important as the other because it’s servicing the local (community).”

The company’s CentrePort distribution centre can hold up to 239,000 tires and focuses on customers in Manitoba.

“Having everything local is going to be making us better at servicing the customers, and not dependent on other parts of the nation,” Hyshka said.

“If we can put the right product in the right place at the right time, and (we) have the space to do it, everybody wins.”

The centre has a 10-metre clearance height that allows for efficient storage of inventory, and wide aisles so employees can navigate through the building with ease. There’s ample lighting throughout the warehouse, including a series of north-facing windows.

“It’s all about having the right space design so that it’s safe and efficient,” Hyshka said of the hub, which employs 30 people year-round and another 10 during the winter.

Carly Edmundson, president and CEO of CentrePort, is pleased Groupe Touchette decided to expand locally.

“It is great to see that they saw so much advantage to being in CentrePort that they wanted to double down on it,” she said. “We love to see these Canadian companies growing and seeing a future at CentrePort Canada.”

Much is happening at CentrePort right now, Edmundson added. In CentrePort North, in Rosser, construction continues on Keystone Industrial Park, which Exemplar Developments is bringing to market. The company is preparing to break ground on another industrial park beside Keystone.

In CentrePort South, in Winnipeg, the first development applications have been filed for two major industrial parks: Sturgeon Industrial Park by MMI Developments and Catalyst Park by Jessiman Family Investments.

“It is a busy building time at CentrePort and that really represents the results of a big collective effort in the community to make this inland port a reality,” Edmundson said.

Free Press

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Free Press

I can smell the tire rubber in that photo.

That's great news!

[Wpg_Guy]

MoveMobility opens CentrePort HQ
Wheelchair-accessible vehicles, mobile health-care vans company adds room to grow
Gabrielle Piché
Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2026


Supplied

MoveMobility’s new headquarters at CentrePort Canada at 160 Wheatfield Rd.

Ambulances will soon be built at CentrePort Canada as a Manitoba-based company undergoes a $19-million expansion.

MoveMobility Inc. opens its 60,000-square-foot headquarters in the Rural Municipality of Rosser today.

“We were literally elbow-to-elbow in our office space,” said Carrie McDonald, the company’s chief administrative officer.

MoveMobility has retrofitted commercial wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the area for at least 15 years.

It became bloated with demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not for its usual offering, McDonald said — many transport programs and community outings halted as Canadians were told to stay home. That demand dropped.

“What we heard from a number of … communities was, given the fact that people were isolating, some people were worried to seek health care,” McDonald said. “We heard a lot of people say, ‘It’d be great if we could bring health care out into our community.’”

MoveMobility turned to medical vans, or what McDonald described as “a doctor’s office on wheels.”

The company began making mobile health vehicles outfitted with exam tables and seating areas. It shipped its products throughout Canada, to client municipalities, First Nations and health regions.

Van options now include counselling and harm-reduction models, among others. Counselling-focused vehicles, for example, may include a table and comfortable chairs.

McDonald estimates four vans are retrofitted weekly. MoveMobility also ships to the United States.

“We are really driven by … continuous innovation and improving lives for people,” McDonald said.

The company has been working to expand into the Type 2 ambulance sector (van-based ambulances). Earlier this month, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham issued a statement calling for more funding for ambulances and full-time paramedics.

MoveMobility appears to be the only Manitoba firm building ambulances, McDonald noted.

However, MoveMobility’s space at 465 Lucas Ave. — 17,085 sq. ft. — was too small. The company had already expanded the facility in 2021, McDonald said.

Government funding for a new site has come over the past two years: $1.3 million and $1.1 million, respectively, from Manitoba and the feds.

MoveMobility’s Lucas Avenue site will be available for lease starting July 1.

McDonald didn’t have a timeline for when ambulance production will begin at 160 Wheatfield Rd. Staff are working on the production space, she said, adding they’ve finished at least one prototype.

MoveMobility Type 2 ambulances have been approved for use in Ontario. They haven’t been approved in Manitoba. The company has faced hurdles with provincial regulations; Manitoba generally uses larger Type 3s.

Meanwhile, the business keeps adding staff. McDonald joined the team in 2018; she thinks she was employee No. 19.

MoveMobility now counts around 65 workers. Two business development staff started on Monday. A couple weeks ago, another handful began.

The expansion could create 44 new jobs overall, including for welders and engineers.

CentrePort Canada has clocked a growth in specialty vehicle manufacturing, said president Carly Edmundson.

Fort Garry Fire Trucks increased its production space by roughly 30 per cent, it announced in December. It’s headquartered in the trimodal port. It said it would spend more than $4 million on new equipment and production.

Manitoba’s aerospace industry — Magellan Aerospace, Boeing — has also trumpeted multimillion-dollar expansions in the past months.

“It’s really showing the strength of the Manitoba manufacturing sector,” Edmundson said.

Rosser Reeve Ken Mulligan called MoveMobility’s expansion “nothing but good.”

CentrePort Canada services road, rail and air transport. It spans 20,000 acres over the Rosser and Winnipeg jurisdictions.

Rosser consumes roughly 12,000 acres. About one-third of the developable land is still open, Mulligan said.

Winnipeg Free Press

[Wpg_Guy]

New construction opportunities at major expansion of Winnipeg air force base
Peter Caulfield July 28, 2026


COURTESY 17 WING — The Winnipeg Construction Association is tracking 33 projects at 17 Wing, made up of a mixture of new buildings, engineering projects, alterations, renovations and heavy civil projects.

17 Wing, located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg, is spreading its wings.

Over the next few years, 17 Wing Winnipeg air force base is expected to undertake its largest expansion in several decades.

Department of National Defence (DND) spokesman Kened Sadiku says the expansion will improve training infrastructure and operational readiness and support Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their families with enhanced services and modernized facilities.

Supporters of the expansion say it will bring hundreds of new employees and families to the base, which lies 10 kilometres west of downtown Winnipeg as well as millions of dollars in construction projects.

The Winnipeg Construction Association (WCA) is tracking 33 projects at 17 Wing, made up of a mixture of new buildings, engineering projects, alterations, renovations and heavy civil projects.

One involves a new training facility called the Future Air Crew Training program (FAcT).

“There will be a new combined hangar, training and simulator centre,” says Harrison Ruess, a spokesman for SkyAlyne, the Ottawa-based company overseeing the facility’s construction. “This will include space for aircraft parking, classrooms and other learning spaces, offices and the ground-based simulators.”

The new facilities are being designed now with construction expected to begin in 2027 and take place over several years.

“For construction activities associated with the FAcT program, interested parties should connect with EllisDon, our lead subcontractor for infrastructure,” says Ruess. “As we shortly move towards construction activities, an online landing page with relevant information and opportunities will become available.”

To bid on work at 17 Winnipeg, contractors will have to meet certain security requirements, which depend on the type of work being done, says WCA president and CEO Darryl Harrison.

“The contractor’s firm will need to pass a security check and also potentially the individual workers will need clearance,” says Harrison.

Projects at military facilities in Manitoba don’t come up very often, but WCA members have enough experience and expertise to take on projects at the air force base.

“Manitoba contractors have successfully delivered complex institutional, health care, aviation, defence, industrial and infrastructure projects,” says Harrison. “Our hope is that procurement processes maximize opportunities for qualified Manitoba firms to compete.

“Transparent, timely procurement and early communication with industry will help ensure the project attracts the strongest competition and delivers the best value for taxpayers.”

17 Wing spokesman Capt. Ken Jacobson says all DND contracting opportunities are posted through the Government of Canada procurement systems, including MERX and CanadaBuys.

Tender postings will include the applicable bid requirements, evaluation criteria and any security clearance requirements associated with a specific contract.

Information on contractor security requirements is available through Defence Construction Canada.

In addition, says Jacobson, Defence Construction Canada has an Advance Procurement Notice posted for CFB Winnipeg.

“The reference number associated with that notice can be used by interested firms when proactively pursuing any required security clearances,” says Jacobson.

17 Wing Winnipeg is located in CentrePort Canada, a tri-modal (train, plane, truck) inland port.

CentrePort Canada president and CEO Carly Edmundson says plans are underway for a 500-acre residential development in CentrePort South that is expected to provide housing for between 8,000 and 10,000 residents.

“This development will help meet the need for more housing…and support the area’s growing workforce and population, including new 17 Wing employees and their families.”

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham calls the expansion of 17 Wing “a big economic opportunity for Winnipeg.

“In the near term, it means substantial construction activity and opportunities for local contractors, skilled tradespeople and suppliers,” says Gillingham.

Over the longer term, additional military and civilian personnel and their families will generate demand for housing and local business products and services.

“It will also strengthen Winnipeg’s already significant aerospace and defence sector and help attract further private investment to the airport and CentrePort area,” says Gillingham.

Estimates of new job creation range between 800 and 1,400.

“That’s a significant boost to what’s already one of Canada’s most important air force bases,” he says.

The Manitoba government is also getting involved in the project.

The province is boosting 17 Wing Winnipeg with another 10.5 megawatts of power.

The base provides continually operating functions in the form of airfield operations, communications, security and emergency response.

The site’s energy demand is driven by heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, lighting and “mission-critical operations.”
Journal of Commerce

COURTESY 17 WING — 17 Wing, located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) is expected to undertake its largest expansion in several decades.

COURTESY 17 WING — 17 Wing Winnipeg is located in CentrePort Canada, a tri-modal (train, plane, truck) inland port.

[jim_bred]

Awesome news.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by Mr Tall Forehead

Or more accurately, "now that the taxpayer has paid to service my land and provide access to it, I'm ready to develop it because I don't have to pay any offsite improvement costs".

Bingo.

[Wpg_Guy]

Manitoba association pitches CentrePort for national food terminal
Gabrielle Piché
Thursday, Sep. 3, 2026


JESSICA LEE / FREE PRESS FILES

Michael Mikulak, head of industry advocate group Food & Beverage Manitoba

A Manitoba association is vying for federal dollars to build a major food terminal as Ottawa unrolls its national food security strategy.

Michael Mikulak, head of industry advocate group Food & Beverage Manitoba, said he’s in talks with several federal departments.

He’s envisioning a 120,000-square-foot site at CentrePort Canada, the trimodal inland port spanning parts of Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Rosser.

About 15,000 sq. ft. would become a production-focused commercial kitchen for Manitoba companies to rent as they grow. A warehouse to store and distribute food — from Manitoba and elsewhere — would consume most of the building, Mikulak said.

He’s in talks with a Manitoba-based food distributor and potential partner. “It is a truly transformational project.”

Ottawa unveiled its national food security strategy in June.

The document highlights intentions for three food terminals nationally, where products are gathered and then dispersed to wholesalers, offering an alternate to current grocery store providers.

The strategy doesn’t say how much money will be allotted to the terminals. It outlines a 10-year, $1-billion fund for food distribution systems.

Prime Minister Mark Carney launched his food strategy at the Ontario Food Terminal and promised an expansion. The Toronto facility moves more than two billion pounds of fruits and vegetables annually.

Mikulak says he hopes Manitoba will house one of the other two sites.

He pointed to the province’s transportation network: CentrePort connects companies via rail, air and road. It’s signed an agreement to work closely with Arctic Gateway Group, which oversees the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway in northern Manitoba.

“Manitoba can position itself not just as a gateway to the east and west and south … but to the North and eventually through that northern Arctic gateway, to Europe and other parts of the world,” Mikulak said.

“I want to see us competing and bringing in international dollars.”

Mikulak said he’s conversing with entities including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and he’s going to Ottawa this month to meet with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

He’s estimating the project cost will range between $150 million and $200 million. A mix of public and private funding would be required, Mikulak said.

He’s aiming to have a complete proposal to government by the end of the year.

Food & Beverage Manitoba has long called for a rentable commercial kitchen stocked with equipment seen on factory production floors, such as packaging machines. It planned to build a site inside Market Lands, a mixed-use development in the Exchange District in Winnipeg.

That fell through last year due to costs, Mikulak said.

“(We’d be) building off of assets we already have and moving as quickly as possible,” he said.

Most of the association’s 350 members are part of the “missing middle.” They’ve outgrown farmers’ markets and small retailers but can’t afford the set-up required to go national or international, Mikulak said.

The plan would involve charging renters more once they’ve grown, encouraging them to leave and make room for new businesses. They’d have access to food stored on site, Mikulak said.

Part of the hub would include programming such as business planning; a business adviser would be on site to assist with growth.

Ottawa has set a goal of breaking ground on the food terminals by the end of 2028.

Winnipeg Free Press

[pspeid]

I hope the food terminal plan comes to "fruition" (no pun intended, sort of), but since Carney's plans for "nation building" projects almost never seem to include Manitoba I'll adopt a wait and see attitude.

Yeah, hopeful, but cynical.