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Ogdensburg, N.Y., a sleepy town nestled on the St. Lawrence River’s southern shore, has long been defined by its proximity to Canada. It was, in fact, once part of Lower Canada, before borders were shifted in 1796.

These days, Canadians routinely pack up and make the trip to Ogdensburg International Airport, about an hour south of Ottawa, in search of bargain airfares. Cape Air flies to Albany and Boston at a fraction of the price of flying out of Ottawa.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Cheaper U.S. border airports are often a booming business because they are subsidized by American taxes Back to video

Recognizing the golden opportunity, the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority is proposing a $10-million expansion of the airport, estimated to bring an 40,000 additional air passengers a year into this town of 12,000.

Wade Davis, the authority’s executive director, sees a substantial market, ripe for the plucking.

“[Being] located 45 minutes south of 1.2 million Ottawa residents, gives the airport here the potential to become Ottawa’s U.S. airport if the right carrier-airport combination is found,” he told the Watertown Daily Times. Last month, low-cost carrier Allegiant Air agreed to help fund Ogdensburg’s expansion.