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About Southport

Examining the Economic Impact of Southport 

In February 2020, Southport released a new economic impact study that measured the economic contributions associated with the ongoing activities of Southport through an analysis of 2019 operations. The report was undertaken to update the previous economic impact study of 2016, as significant changes have occurred at Southport since then. This new report highlights how Southport's impact can ripple through the local and provincial economy either directly, indirectly, or through induced impact.

Direct impact is the effect that Southport and businesses located at Southport have on the local and provincial economy. Indirect impact refers to the businesses that supply and support Southport. Induced impact measures the spending of the direct and indirect employees in the general economy surrounding Southport.

The results of the study indicated that Southport and Southport-related businesses directly contribute 600 jobs, $38 million in income, $75 million in gross domestic product (GDP) and $120 million in economic output on an annual basis. Looking at these results alone indicates that Southport has a significant impact on the surrounding economy. 

Southport Economic Impact

Since the 2016 study, Southport increased in several categories assessed by the report. Economic output increased by $10 million, GDP expanded by $8 million, income increased by $4 million, and 20 new full-time jobs were added. A portion of this increase is due to the general steady growth in Southport-related businesses. It is also affected by new tenants at Southport, who in turn create new jobs.

In 2019, Southport gained two new commercial tenants, Roquette and J.R. Simplot Company. Roquette is leasing Southport's 16,000 ftFlightline building for office space and training until construction of their large pea processing facility, just west of Portage la Prairie, is complete. Simplot was the first official tenant of Hangar 5 and utilizes other various Southport services as they travel to and from the Southport Airport. 

Similarly to the 2016 study, this study examined the impact of military flight training at Southport. the study found that a significant portion of Southport's economic impact stems from the Royal Canadian Air Force's program and its related services. For example, 370 jobs at Southport are related to military flight training. the training program also contributes $13 million in income, $48 million of gross domestic product, and $70 million in economic output.

Why does Southport conduct economic impact studies? This relates back to Southport’s Mission Statement, "to stimulate economic development in our region by realizing the full potential of Southport’s airspace, airport, and commercial and residential properties for the benefit of the communities we serve. Performing economic impact studies are an important tool that help us measure how well we are reaching our goals.