Future potential growing for the Highway 3 region, says CPFC

Posted on September 11, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Trevor Busch
Sunny South News
editor@tabertimes.com

Touted as Canada’s Premier Food Corridor (CPFC), the Highway 3 area of Southern Alberta is one of the nation’s prime regions for agricultural production and value-added investment.

And while the current portfolio is impressive – one only needs to take a drive down Highway 3 to witness its bread-basket potential – dialing up more investment and development is always on the horizon to keep momentum moving.

Sandra Dufresne, cluster development manager with CPFC and an investment and partnership advisor with Economic Development Lethbridge, sees a lot of potential opening up on the heels of an irrigation expansion just getting underway at Chin Reservoir.

“The irrigation expansion which is underway is very exciting. We view irrigation as a unique value proposition for us in Southern Alberta. It makes our region unique. High quality, reliable yields of high-value crops which processors like. The expanded acres mean more of a great thing.”

Government at all levels can do their part to help make the region a great investment choice.

“It’s important that municipalities have land set aside for development so that they can be ready for investments when the opportunities arise,” said Dufresne. “Land that is available, serviced and zones is highly attractive to investors. All levels of government can provide incentives to investments and they should be leveraged when appropriate. These grants are stackable, so an investor can see financial incentives from all three levels of government.”  

With a current project nearing completion between Taber and Burdett, and border-to-border Highway 3 twinning planned for the future, shipping in the region is poised to become easier and safer.

“In its current form, the food corridor runs between Lethbridge and Taber,” said Dufresne. “But we know Highway 3 is a major transportation corridor and runs along the CPKC rail line. Transportation infrastructure is key to moving ag products to market. This investment is very welcome as it will result in safe, efficient and faster transportation for ag – and other – products.”

The Trump administration’s volatile actions in the U.S. with regard to global trade has actually seen renewed interest in the region, but Alberta’s separatist movement – rarely a source of investor confidence – is being watched nervously by others eyeing the area’s potential. 

“For a variety of reasons, we have seen European and Asian investors now considering Canada as their entry point into the North American market – and we welcome it,” said Dufresne. “As for the Alberta separatism movement, that has been trickier to navigate. The debate is causing uncertainty amongst investor circles. On my trips throughout the world, we are being told that companies are paying close attention to it.”

While she has to keep specifics close to the vest, Dufresne says she is working on a number of files currently.

“What I can say is I am working on investment files in the greenhouse sector as well as a number in the biomass/renewable energy sectors.” 

Looking to the future, she sees nothing but potential for the CPFC region.

“I’d love to build on the success we have,” said Dufresne. “There are more than 140 agrifood processors in CPFC, all the way from niche to small and medium sized right up to global food companies, we still have capacity to grow. We ship far too many raw commodities. I’d love to see more ingredient processors in the corridor, adding value to them (value-added agriculture) before shipping them.”

“We tell the story of ‘If you’re in the business of food, you should be here!’ and it’s true. We have the inputs and a well-established ecosystem of processors, industry associations and post-secondary institutions that make southern Alberta a great choice to invest in.”