North America is in the midst of an economic realignment of historic proportions — and the Champlain-Hudson Trade Corridor has become one of the key connections and beneficiaries of this shift.

From the days of European settlement, both the U.S. and Canada have been dominated by economic development strategies along an east-west axis. Each worked to open up the interiors, developing roads, canals, waterways and trans-continental railroads to tap raw materials and feed coastal industrial centers and ports.

Now the emphasis is shifting firmly and dramatically to a new north-south axis as the U.S. and Canadian economies integrate, with Mexico following as well. And one of the first results is the emergence of a handful of north-south TRADE CORRIDORS which possess the critical transportation links between Canada and the U.S. and which are becoming more than growing commercial routes — they are becoming NEW, BI-NATIONAL ECONOMIC REGIONS.

One of the four most important such Corridors to emerge is our own CHAMPLAIN-HUDSON CORRIDOR which at its core exists from Montreal to Albany, with connections north to Quebec City and south to New York City. For the Plattsburgh-Champlain gateway area, this means:

We are now a GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT GATEWAY to and from the WORLD’S RICHEST MARKETS.

We are now MONTREAL’S U.S. SUBURB, tied directly to that region’s amazing assets and opportunities, ranging from the Port and logistics to the cutting edge industries of tomorrow.

We are a HIGHLY SPECIALIZED SERVICE CENTER, uniquely qualified to support all aspects of Canadian-U.S. interaction wherever they occur.

This bi-annual assessment is a mere snapshot of the impact of this two-way phenomenon on just the U.S. gateway county, demonstrating that something enormously significant is in fact occurring between New York and Quebec.

EXCITEMENT IS BUILDING AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS OF ALL KINDS ARE COMING TOGETHER WITHIN OUR CORRIDOR REGION. Partnerships are realigning as we collectively recognize the rich opportunities at our doorstep if we come together to do the right things.

The CAN/AM CONNECTION COUNCIL of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce has been a leader in revealing these opportunities and building crossborder business of all kinds. It is now also taking the lead in a new CHAMPLAIN-HUDSON CORRIDOR COALITION, linking hundreds of interests throughout the entire Corridor region.

The PLATTSBURGH-NORTH COUNTRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

P.O. Box 310, Plattsburgh, New York 12901 U.S.A.

Tel: (518) 563-1000 Fax (518) 563-1028 http://www.northcountrychamber.com

Study conducted by YELLOW WOOD ASSOCIATES, INC., Consultants
(802) 524-6141 http://www.together.net/~yellow