Manitoba premier, Winnipeg mayor say city is 'best choice' for new Amazon HQ

If Manitoba's two most prominent politicians have their way, Winnipeg could be the site of thenext North American headquarters for Amazon.

The e-commerce giant announced Thursday it's seeking sales pitches fromjurisdictions across North America to build a second base of operations.

Premier BrianPallisterand Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman are launching a "Team Manitoba" targeted push to woo Amazon into planting roots in Winnipeg.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Winnipeg and Manitoba,"Pallistersaid in a statement Saturday.

The Seattle-based company has committed to spending$5 billion US on a new, eight-million-square-foot"HQ2" site where as many as 50,000 employees will work within 10 years. The end goal is to have average salaries of around $100,000 for staff at the new plant, Amazon says.

The company, which currently employs a workforce of380,000, says it added$38 billion US to its home city's economy since setting up in the Pacific Northwest in 2016.

"Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs," JeffBezos, Amazon CEO and founder, said in a statement.

Pallistersaid Winnipeg is the "best choice" for the new headquarters. Apart from being right in the middle of North America and being a low-cost business centre, Pallister said Winnipeg already has adequate transportation infrastructure, greenspaces and an educated workforce.

Amazon claims to be most interested in "urban or suburban" areas with qualities that would help attract and retain tech-savvy workers.

The company also says eligible areas must be near a metropolitan hub with a population of at least onemillion. Statistics Canada reported in March that Winnipeg and surrounding municipalities are home to about 811,000 people.

Bowman added Winnipeg is a perfect home for Amazon due to the local expertise in the tech and manufacturing sectors.

"By partnering with the province and key stakeholders in the economic community, we will present a unified proposal for this significant opportunity," Bowman said in a statement.

Amazon is accepting pitches until Oct. 19.Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver have already expressed interest.