Overview
The Prairie and Northern Region covers a diverse geography from the Rocky Mountains and prairies to the Canadian Shield and tundra. A distinctive focus of the Region is the Arctic.
The Region is home to eight National Airport System airports (Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit). In addition, there are 202 certified aerodromes/airports in the region and 350 air operators. This network supports the movement of people and goods including significant air cargo movements to support northern re-supply.
In the North there is 145,000 kms of coastline and the Region is responsible for the oversight of all vessels traversing Arctic waters including cruise ships and Arctic resupply companies.
There are three large ports located in the Region (Churchill, Milne Inlet and Iqaluit) with the Port of Churchill being the only rail-serviced deep water port in North America that accesses the Arctic Ocean.
The Region has three Class Railroads (Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, BNSF Railway) and one passenger rail operator (VIA) that operate on 19,000 km of federally regulated track and 10,372 road/rail crossings and a number of short-line railway companies. The Canadian National’s training facility is located in Winnipeg and the Canadian Pacific Railway headquarters is located in Calgary.
Transport Canada Presence
Employee count: 440
Offices: 7
- Regional Headquarters is in Winnipeg, MB
- 6 other offices throughout the Region:
- Edmonton, AB
- Calgary, AB
- Saskatoon, SK
- Whitehorse, YK
- Yellowknife
- Note: An office is being established in Nunavut, NU.
Transport Canada owned asset:
- One Transport Canada owned and operated airport in Churchill, MB
Shari Currie
Regional Director General, Prairie and Northern Region
Bio
Shari Currie was appointed as Transport Canada’s Regional Director General, Prairie and Northern Region in December 2017.
Shari brings more than 20 years of experience in the academic, not-for-profit and public sectors to this role. As the Regional Director General of Civil Aviation for the Pacific Region and a part of the national management team, she led a number of transformation initiatives in the areas of surveillance, oversight and service delivery. She also served in other executive positions, including as Director of Policy and Regulatory Services, Civil Aviation and Director of Air Cargo Security.
Before joining Transport Canada, Shari worked at Public Safety Canada, The Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of National Defence. In the not-for-profit sector, Shari was the Executive Director of the Centre for Legislative Exchange, a Washington-based educational organization working on key Canada-United States policy initiatives.