Via rail already runs
The Canadian line from Winnipeg through Rivers MB (20 kms north of Brandon). Just need to adjust frequency of the train for any pent up demand waiting to use the run.
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Originally Posted by hipster duck
Manitoba is more centralized than NS. Sydney is larger than Brandon, and is a clear regional centre of a very distinctive (culturally and geographically) region.
Cape Breton Island is an economic basket case, but it probably would be even worse off without a city to anchor it.
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wiki shows Sydney Nova Scotia population to be just under 30,000. if you add near by town of Glace Bay Nova Scotia with 19,000 it's still less than Brandon CA with 58,000.
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Originally Posted by esquire
Agriculture, professional services, public administration, transportation, health care, manufacturing, retail
But realistically a second large city would probably result in a Saskatchewan-like situation where instead of one larger city we'd have simply have two mid-sized ones. I have to admit I kind of like having all of our urban eggs in one basket for the most part... Winnipeg is able to sustain more big-city features and amenities than three cities of, say, 250,000, or two cities of 350,000 would.
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There would definitely be certain economies-of-scale having one larger city like Winnipeg instead of two cities, each half the size, like in Saskatchewan.
Winnipeg's airport airlines have a pax 3½ times larger than Regina and 3 times larger than Saskatoon's airport. This means bigger aircraft with a bit higher frequency of flights to generally more destinations. In retail 99% of all consumers have same stores in each city but Winnipeg is more likely to acquire stores like Ikea in the market with larger population in one area. For singular attractions like zoos or aquariums, Winnipeg's Assiniboine Zoo is twice as large as Forestry Farm Zoo in Saskatoon.
Once you get over a quarter million people in a city you tend to get similar range & size of facilities such as Art galleries and Museums, you just get more of them in larger city. Winnipeg did strike gold by getting $100 million of Federal funding for Museum of Human Rights last decade.
For performing arts theatres, Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Conexus Arts Centre in Regina and TCUplace in Saskatoon are all similar sized venues and get similar range of shows. Winnipeg does have Royal Winnipeg Ballet company of which there is no equivalent in Saskatchewan, or any other city in Canada the size of the Manitoba capital for that matter.
In comparison of facilities like sports arenas/stadiums, Regina and Saskatoon have same sized arenas & stadiums put together as Winnipeg, with the exception of Shaw Park baseball which has 7,500 seats in Winnipeg and Cairns Field in Saskatoon has 5,000, the Saskatchewan cities just have more smaller secondary facilities, there's no equivalent of Saskatchewan's Brandt Centre or Griffiths Stadium in comparison in Winnipeg.
One thing that each of Regina and Saskatoon seem to have over the 'Peg is road/expressway infrastructure that rivals Manitoba's CMA. Winnipeg has had Perimeter highway for half a century but Regina's equivalent is free flowing with no traffic lights, plus Regina's inner city ring road covers another 3/4 of the central part of city, again free flowing. Saskatoon's Circle Drive is free flowing for 90% of it's inner city loop and the city is planning it's second free flow orbit with an outer ring next decade.