08/24/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/24/2023 11:43
HELENA, Mont. - Together with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Governor Greg Gianforte today called on President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to open up the Wild Horse Port of Entry between Alberta and Montana for 24-hour service to expedite trade and citizen travel.
"Due to limited hours of service and deficiency of facilities and infrastructure, the Wild Horse crossing serves as a primary bottleneck, constraining north-south traffic and trade. As a result, businesses are either missing opportunities to move their products and services or are faced with a difficult decision to use other, more costly routes," the leaders wrote in a letter to Biden and Trudeau.
Of the six border crossings between Alberta and Montana, there is only one open for 24-hour border crossing which serves as the main trade route between the jurisdictions. The Wild Horse Port of Entry currently only operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
"The limited hours of service create hardships for our citizens who rely on the border crossing for work or access to essential services," Gov. Gianforte and Premier Smith wrote.
In 2022, trade between Alberta and the United States reached $160.4 billion, and trade between Montana and Canada totaled $10.7 billion.
"Ensuring these goods can continue to flow unimpeded is critical to the long-term economic prosperity of our two jurisdictions," they wrote.
The governor and premier's letter to President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau calling for 24-hour service at the Wild Horse Point of Entry may be found here.